Congress Reconsiders War Authorization Powers in Wake of Iraq and Vietnam Wars.
Congress is set to debate and vote on a bill repealing the authority given to President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq in 2002. The move is aimed at reasserting more control on the war-making decisions of the executive branch. The repeal bill would apply only to the later resolution aimed specifically at Iraq and a 1991 AUMF concerning Iraq's invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait. The last time Congress repealed a similar resolution was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964, which had allowed then-President Lyndon Johnson to escalate the conflict in Vietnam.