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Congress seeks to exert more control over Middle East wars

Lawmakers want more of a say in US military activity in the wake of last weekend’s Syria strikes.
People carry water tanks as they walk at the site of damage after a Saudi-led air strike, north of Yemen’s capital Sanaa, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC1A64C77B50

Congress is seeking to rein in President Donald Trump’s war-making powers following last weekend’s military strikes in Syria.

While many lawmakers of both parties agree that the commander in chief has broad authority to engage in such short-term actions, they are under growing pressure to play a more forceful oversight role. One new bill under discussion would supplant a counterterrorism law from 2001 that has been used to justify an ever-expanding number of interventions in the Middle East and beyond, while another could complicate US support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.

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