Obama seeks authorization for fight against ISIL

US President Barack Obama sent Congress on Wednesday a draft authorization for the use of military force against the terrorist group Islamic State, which limits operations against Islamic militants to three years and prohibits the use of American units in "enduring offensive ground combat," Hina reports, as carried by the Patria News Agency.

According to the text, Obama wants to repeal the 2002 measure that authorized the war in Iraq. At the same time, he considers the 2001 authorization, passed shortly after the September 11 attacks, which relates to the fight against al-Qaeda and its associates, to remain in effect.

Obama reiterated his commitment to working with Congress to "refine and ultimately repeal" the 2001 authorization. The President claims that the legal measure to combat ISIL members can serve as a model for changing the 2001 authorization.

"I have developed a comprehensive and sustained strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL," Obama wrote in a letter accompanying the draft.

"Local forces, rather than American forces, should be deployed to carry out these operations," he added.

The White House announced that Obama would make a statement on his proposal this evening Central European Time.