Sputnik - President Trump has no Congressional authorization to order strikes against Damascus or Iran's proxies in Syria, according to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.





WASHINGTON (Sputnik)�� President Donald Trump has no Congressional authorization to�order the US military to�target groups backed by�Iran in�Syria, Secretary of�State Rex Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in�a hearing on�Tuesday.
"I would agree with�that," Tillerson said when asked if there was no legal authorization from�Congress to�target Syrian President Bashar Assad or Iranian proxies.


Tillerson stressed that the US mission and purpose in�Syria has not changed from�its focus on�defeating Daesh. The US-led coalition has been fighting the terrorist group in�Syria since�2014 without�UN approval or Assad's request.

On June 8, the coalition bombed pro-Damascus forces in�Syria near�the town of�al-Tanf. On June 6, the coalition conducted a strike on�pro-Syrian government forces as�they entered a de-confliction zone and allegedly posed threat. On May 18, the coalition hit pro-Assad fighters near�al-Tanf for�the first time.

On April 6, US Navy destroyers fired 59 cruise missiles at�the Ash Sha'irat Airbase in�western Syria, calling their attacks a "warning" to�Damascus following a chemical weapons incident in�Idlib province which Washington claimed was carried out�by Syrian government forces. The claim was rejected by�Damascus. The world is still waiting for�the US and its allies to�provide any proof for�its claims of�Syrian government involvement in�the alleged chemical attack.

Furthermore, on�September 16, US-led coalition aircraft carried out four strikes against�the Syrian Army near�the Deir ez-Zor airport, killing nearly 100 people, according to�reports.

Last month, Senators Jeff Flake and Tim Kane introduced a bill to�update the 2001 Authorization of�the Use of�Military Force (AUMF), passed in�response to�the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Every president since�George W. Bush has used the AUMF to�conduct military operations in�countries where it says terror groups are present, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.