General Discussion

...and making themselves accountable to the world through the U.N., often acting under their mandates through NATO.

Without informing or consulting Congress, Obama launched airstrikes against Libya alongside NATO allies. He informed Congress 2 days later. However, this action was in the middle of a humanitarian crisis and had broad multilateral support.

Also, Congress had already passed a broad 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force to approve war against al-Qaida and the Taliban, which Obama relied on to justify his military activities, even though it's true he stretched use of the 2001 AUMF to target militant groups that either did not exist on Sept. 11, 2001, or weren't al-Qaida affiliates.

The Iraq-era Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs), specifically the 2002 and 1991 AUMFs, are not currently in force. The Senate voted to repeal both AUMFs as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)