Rand Paul wants the Biden administration to answer about US troops in Niger
Christopher Tremoglie
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It seems as though Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is one of the only senators in the country seeking to hold the Biden administration responsible for its many blunders. From his valiant stance to challenge the administration’s misinformation campaign during the pandemic to holding Dr. Anthony Fauci accountable for his misinformation during congressional testimony, Paul has always prioritized following the principles of the Constitution.
On Tuesday, Paul sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demanding answers regarding the Biden administration’s continued use of the 9/11 Authorization for Use of Military Force. The contents of the letter pertained to the AUMF and the continued deployment of U.S. troops in Niger, which has been a hotbed of activity that has endangered the lives of U.S. service members.
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In 2017, there was an ambush that led to four U.S. soldiers dying. In July 2023, there was a military coup in Niger that overthrew the government. One of the coup’s leaders was Moussa Salaou Barmou, a person trained by U.S. forces. Following the coup, Barmou was named the new military chief of staff.
“U.S. service members have been stationed in Niger for about a decade, ostensibly to train, advise, and assist Nigerian forces,” Paul wrote. “One of those individuals trained by the United States, Moussa Salaou Barmou, is one of the coup leaders who toppled the duly elected government of Niger on July 26. As a result of the military coup d’etat in Niger, over 1,000 U.S. service members deployed there now face additional dangers to their safety.”
Paul’s letter to Austin included a list of nine questions he wanted him to answer. Among them were inquiries on “how many U.S. service members have been killed or wounded in Niger since 2013?” Paul also wanted to know how the administration is ensuring that “nations receiving U.S. funds, training, equipment, or other kinds of support” are using the resources appropriately and not engaging “in human rights violations.”
Additionally, Paul highlighted that Congress never voted to authorize military force in Niger. And such military quagmires are part of the problem of what could only be described as an abuse of the 9/11 AUMF.
“Congress never voted to authorize U.S. combat operations in Niger. The tragic deaths of four U.S. soldiers — Staff Sergeant Bryan Black, Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, Sergeant La David Johnson, and Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright — should have served as the catalyst to end our operations there,” Paul wrote. “Yet, the Biden Administration continues to cite the 9/11 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which was narrowly tailored to bring justice to those who played a role in the 2001 terrorist attacks, to justify the presence of approximately 1,016 U.S. troops in Niger.”
The continued use of the 9/11 AUMF continues to put military personnel in danger, as evidenced by the incidents in Niger. And while the deployment of troops to Niger predates the Biden administration, and both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations have used AUMFs in a questionable fashion, Paul’s letter was focused on returning wartime powers and the use of AUMFs to Congress, as intended by the nation’s Founding Fathers. Allowing any presidential administration unchecked powers to deploy the military without congressional approval runs counter to the core tenets on which the Constitution was founded.
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“The administration’s limitless interpretation of the 9/11 AUMF and frequent use of Title 10 authorities results in military operations abroad conducted with little congressional oversight and even less public scrutiny,” Paul wrote. “Taken together, these authorities are employed in such a manner as to circumvent our Constitution, which was designed to ensure that the decision to engage in hostilities would be made only after serious deliberation in the legislature.”
Earlier this year, Paul proposed legislation that would have repealed the 2001 AUMF, an act to usurp congressional approval of war powers, which has been used to “justify acts of war in over 20 countries.” According to a press release, the proposal failed, with only nine senators supporting the repeal but 86 senators voting against it.