Sen. Coons: “When the President sends American troops into harm's way, those men and women, their families, and the American people deserve clear authorization from Congress, a robust debate in Congress, a strategy that outlines the path to success, and, at the moment, I am concerned that we have none of those three.”

Sen. Coons: “When it comes to our military, I'm not here to criticize the President or disagree with my colleagues across aisle – I'm here to work with them so that we can do our best to provide our troops with the strategy, the resources, and the support they need.”

Sen. Coons: “I want them to succeed.  We all want them to succeed. But what does success look like?  How do we define success? That requires a strategy. What are the national interests we are defending and advancing on these battlefields? We have to have a conversation between the branches, executive and legislative, about what our goals are in Afghanistan and in Syria and what it will take to achieve them.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today attended the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing entitled “Reviewing Congressional Authorizations for the Use of Military Force.” At the hearing, Senator Coons questioned John Bellinger III, Senior Associate Counsel to former President George W. Bush, and Dr. Kathleen Hicks, former Principal Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.

“When the president sends American troops into harm's way, those men and women, their families, and the American people deserve clear authorization from Congress, a robust debate in Congress, a strategy that outlines the path to success, and, at the moment, I am concerned that we have none of those three. President Trump has not yet presented to us a strategy for success in Afghanistan and in Syria.”

Full audio and video are available here.

Senator Coons’ opening remarks, as delivered, are below: 

Thank you, Chairman Corker. Thank you, Ranking Member Cardin. And, thank you to the witnesses. And, thank you, to Senators Flake and Kaine for their hard work in framing what we are debating and discussing today and for the committee as a whole for their engagement on this. I think this is an opportunity for us to demonstrate how the Senate can work together in an important and difficult constitutional moment.

When the President sends American troops into harm's way, those men and women, their families, and the American people deserve clear authorization from Congress, a robust debate in Congress, a strategy that outlines the path to success, and, at the moment, I am concerned that we have none of those three. President Trump has not yet presented to us a strategy for success in Afghanistan and in Syria.  We have taken important steps on a bipartisan basis in this committee, and I am encouraged to see that we are having this hearing today and that there is more than not agreement between our witnesses.  But, I’ll note the absence of an administration witness. The decision to send Americans off to fight in battle deserves our thoughtful consideration and bipartisan effort to produce a clear path forward.

This isn't a partisan issue. We have more than 8,000 of our troops deployed in Afghanistan, and there are reports that several thousand more American troops will soon be deployed. We have several hundred American troops deployed in Syria, who have recently been taking fire from both ISIS and Assad forces in one of the most dangerous and complicated battle spaces on Earth.

I want them to succeed.  We all want them to succeed.  But what does success look like?  How do we define success? That requires a strategy. What are the national interests we are defending and advancing on these battlefields? We have to have a conversation between the branches, executive and legislative, about what our goals are in Afghanistan and Syria and what it will take to achieve them. 

Particularly when it comes to our military, I'm not here to criticize the President or disagree with my colleagues across aisle – I'm here to work with them so that we can do our best to provide our troops with the strategy, the resources, and the support they need. 

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