An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line at Hurlburt Field Fla., April 24, 2014.

An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line at Hurlburt Field Fla., April 24, 2014. U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. John Bainter

The Forever War is Over. Its 2001 Authorization Lives On.

Pentagon says “over the horizon” strikes in Afghanistan will be conducted under the AUMF passed two decades ago.

“Over the horizon” strikes against terror groups in Afghanistan will be conducted under the war powers act Congress authorized just days after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, the Pentagon said Thursday. 

The Biden administration has said such strikes will help the U.S. prevent terrorist attacks on American soil without the need for U.S. troops on the ground. 

But some in Congress question whether the two-decade-old law actually authorizes such strikes. In this week’s hearings, several lawmakers demanded details about how the strikes would be conducted.

“We want to see a plan, and we want to see it today,” Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee told Austin Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. Frank McKenzie Wednesday. 

Pentagon leaders have said that at least one of Afghanistan’s neighbors is allowing U.S. aircraft to fly through its airspace, but none is allowing U.S. troops to operate there. 

Even the Air Force assets needed for such strikes remains undecided, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown told Defense One on Wednesday. Brown said the Air Force is talking with U.S. Central Command and the air component commander there to determine what’s needed.  

“It’s just a matter of what’s asked of us, then we’ll look at our capability to be able to respond and drive down any risk,” Brown said. 

But that still leaves a lot of questions, Rep. Andy Kim, D-Ca., said at Wednesday’s hearing.

“Is the airspace over Afghanistan currently considered sovereign airspace? Is it currently legal for the United States to conduct ISR sorties and airstrikes in Afghanistan? Under what authority is that legal?” asked Kim, who served as an advisor to Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. John Allen in Afghanistan. 

Responded Austin: “The same authorities we were using before.”

Kim asked if that meant the U.S. was operating under a 2014 defense cooperation agreement signed with the government of Afghanistan. 

“No,” the secretary said. “What we are prosecuting now are the authorities that were referred to by Gen. McKenzie earlier when he mentioned he would have to take that into a classified setting.” 

The Taliban, who control Afghanistan but have not yet been officially recognized by Washington as the country’s governing body, issued a statement on its official Twitter account saying the U.S. is violating international law by flying drones over Afghanistan. 

On Thursday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said drones are not the only way to hit targets in Afghanistan. 

“Over-the-horizon doesn't have to mean unmanned. It doesn't even always have to mean aviation,” Kirby said. “Over the horizon, as the secretary defined it, means that the strike, assets, and the target analysis comes from outside the country in which the operation occurs, and we can do that in a variety of means.” 

Asked what authorities Austin was referring to, Kirby said the strikes are being conducted under the 2001 war powers act. “As a matter of domestic law, the president has authorized U.S. forces to strike ISIS-K targets in Afghanistan pursuant to the 2001 AUMF.” 

“We have the authorities that we need,” Kirby said. 

But continued use of the 2001 AUMF comes as Congress has been looking to rein those war powers in, and regain some of its oversight role into planned strikes before they are carried out. 

Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Ca., asked McKenzie how the military  will ensure that future strikes are actually targeting terrorists. A drone strike on Aug. 29 killed 10 Afghan civilians, including children and an aid worker employed by a California-based humanitarian non-profit. 

McKenzie’ said strike planners will have more time to doublecheck than they did on Aug. 29, when there was an imminent threat of another attack on U.S. personnel at Kabul airport. 

“I will note your comments on imminence the next time we have questions on war powers with some of the strikes,” Jacobs said. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.