1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i UPDATED: Recent U.S. Airstrikes: Legal Authorities and Questions Updated February 18, 2020 Update: The Trump Administration has reported to Congress a “change in application of the existing legal and poli
2、cy frameworks” regarding the use of military force, which presented the following legal justification for the January airstrikes: Article II of the United States Constitution, empowers the President, as Commander in Chief, to direct the use of military force to protect the Nation from an attack or t
3、hreat of imminent attack and to protect important national interests. Article II thus authorized the President to use force against forces of Iran, a state responsible for conducting and directing attacks against United States forces in the region. In addition, under the 2002 Authorization for Use o
4、f Military Force Against Iraq (2002 AUMF), “the President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to . defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq.” Although the threat pose
