WASHINGTON – In response to a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian military commander and others, American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi, had the following reaction:
“Congress has not authorized war or hostilities against Iran. Based on the Trump administration’s justifications for this strike so far, it is not permissible under international law or under the Constitution as an act of self-defense against an imminent attack. In the coming days, we need to focus on the many costs of war-like approaches, starting with the harms to human lives and rights, as well as to peace and stability. After almost two decades of expansive presidential claims of authority to use force abroad, Congress needs to robustly exercise the oversight and restraining powers that are integral to our system of checks and balances.”