WASHINGTON: The US missile strikes Thursday on a Syrian air base were conducted without formal congressional approval. A White House official said more than two dozen members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, were briefed Thursday by White House and Cabinet officials. Following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, Congress gave Bush authority to attack any countries or groups involved in the attacks, which was generally accepted to mean al-Qaida . Obama used that same authority to fight the Islamic State militant group, which emerged in 2014 as an outgrowth of al-Qaida. Mike Lee, R-Utah, insisted that if the US increased the use of military force in Syria, ``we should follow the Constitution and seek the proper authorization from Congress.''

Source: Economic Times April 07, 2017 13:51 UTC