Tim Kaine raises issue with ISIL strikes

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement today, five months after the start of U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIL on August 8, 2014.

“Today we enter the sixth month of war against ISIL without Congressional authorization. Until December, when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took the important first step of debating and approving a specific Authorization For Use of Military Force against ISIL, Congress was silent – an unacceptable abdication of our most solemn responsibility as legislators. Now it’s time to finish what we started and not shy away from what’s required to reach a political consensus on the serious threat ISIL poses and the scope of this critical mission. Additional delay not only sets a dangerous precedent for future conflicts, it dishonors the sacrifice of American servicemembers who are risking their lives in this mission.”