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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsNational securityStarted 9yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

Should the President be able to authorize military force against Al-Qaeda without Congressional approval?

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks the U.S. Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force. The resolution authorizes the president to undertake war against al-Qaeda and its affiliates without Congressional approval. Since 2001 the law has been used to approve military conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Proponents argue that the law is necessary to give the President the powers to act quickly in order to prevent another terrorist attack on the U.S. Opponents argue that all U.S. military conflicts should have Congressional approval and this act has been used in military conflicts that have nothing to do with al-Qaeda.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 5.1m America voters.

35%
Yes
65%
No
31%
Yes
58%
No
4%
Yes, we must use whatever means necessary to prevent another terrorist attack
8%
No, Congress should approve all military conflicts

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @9GK257P from North Carolina  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, but only in emergencies when an instant response is needed. Such operations shouldn’t last beyond 30 days without congressional authorization

 @9JZH4LX from Michigan  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, and in theory, as the most powerful person in the nation, the President can do whatever they want without anybody else’s approval

 @9RXP9KX from Michigan  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, Congress can vote to influence the president’s decision, but should not ultimately make it for them

 @9FC9JN6 from Illinois  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes and no, congress should have a say in some conflicts, only in the extreme should the president beable to authorize without congressional approval.

 @95SKRY9 from Texas  answered…4yrs4Y

Yes and gangs too

 @9D8GBQR from Texas  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes and drug and slave traffickers

 @9GJ79J6 from Virginia  answered…3yrs3Y

Man, don't ask me this. I don't even know how the government works. I'm practically an anarchist dude.

 @949FBJ5 from Arkansas  answered…4yrs4Y

Yes, but with reasonable cause

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

▲  1614 replies

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

▲  1012 replies

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the President be able to authorize military force against Al-Qaeda without Congressional approval?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 21, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/3256128614

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