Mattis, Tillerson Want Blank Check to Wage Illegal War
Saturday, November 04, 2017
By Marjorie Cohn, Truthout | News Analysis
Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 30 that the Trump administration has all the legal authority it needs to kill people anywhere in the world. But just in case Congress wishes to update its old Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), Mattis and Tillerson told them how to do it: Write a blank check to the president.
The October 4 killings of four US soldiers on a "routine training mission" in Niger brought the committee's hearing into sharper focus. It turns out the presence of these troops in Niger was unlawful.
Mattis claimed the four dead US soldiers were just there on a train-and-advise mission. "I think it was reasonable to think they could go out there and train these [Niger] troops without the idea they're going into direct combat; but" he admitted, "that's not a complete answer. I need to wait until I get the investigation to fully appraise it."
Derek Gannon, a former Green Beret, said, "[US military involvement in Africa] is called Low Intensity Irregular Warfare, yet technically, it's not considered war by the Pentagon. But," he added, "warfare is warfare to me."
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/42469-mattis-tillerson-want-blank-check-to-make-illegal-war
