Repeal the AUMF

You know that if we are to stay alive
Then see the peace in every eye
--Paula Cole

As gaffe and scandal escalate for this administration, we should note that President Obama has made a positive move. Yesterday, he proposed that the Authorization for Use of Military Force law (AUMF) be repealed. After 9/11, the AUMF was passed by near unanimous vote to authorize the president to prosecute a 'war on terror' using US military forces.

That the AUMF is even constitutional and should have ever seen the light of day is certainly debatable. Repealing it would end a war that otherwise has no measurable endpoint.

Old school Republicans are upset, of course, as repealing the AUMF reduces prospects for waging perpetual war.

On the other end of the spectrum, critics suggest that the president's motives are mainly rhetorical, as his actions have fallen short of retracting the aggression that he is now speaking against.

A fair point. But nonetheless, repealing the AUMF would be a step in the right direction.