How long will the war on terror last? Another five years? Or ten years?
That question was put to a senior Pentagon official by Congress last week during hearings by the Senate Armed Services Committee over whether to revise the AUMF, the Authorization to Use Military Force. “Do you agree with me, the war against radical Islam, or terror — whatever description you like to provide — will go on after the second term of President Obama?” Senator Lindsay Graham asked.
In response, Assistant Defense Secretary Michael Sheehan said he estimated the war would go on “at least 10 to 20 years” more.
First written just three days after 9/11 the AUMF granted President George W. Bush authority to use “necessary and appropriate force” against whoever was behind those attacks.” More than a decade later, however, that provision lingers on — and has essentially grown into a doctrine.
Fred Kaplan, Slate’s “War Stories” columnist and author of the book, “The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War,” explains what the AUMF means and why its extension matters.