Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is trying to address concerns in Congress about President Barack Obama's request for a go-ahead to use military force against the Islamic State group.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and counsel Neil Eggleston have been meeting with Senate Democrats today, as Obama prepares to formally unveil the proposal.
A spokesman says the proposal should be finished this week, as the White House steps up negotiations with lawmakers from both parties to finalize the details.
The request sets up the first war vote in Congress in 13 years. And it comes amid news that American aid worker Kayla Jean Mueller (MYOO'-lur), who had been held by the Islamic State for more than a year, died in captivity.
A congressional official says the president will ask for a three-year authorization, so the next president will have to seek renewed authority to fight IS.
The official says Obama wants to leave open the option to send in combat forces if needed, but is not seeking an authorization that would permit a prolonged U.S. troop presence on the ground.
%@AP Links
132-v-36-(Mark Smith, AP White House correspondent)--President Obama is poised to ask Congress for an updated authorization to attack Islamic State militants. AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports. (10 Feb 2015)
<<CUT *132 (02/10/15)££ 00:36
133-c-20-(Mark Smith, AP White House correspondent)-"new Mideast war"-AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports the president's trying to come up with language that gains wide acceptance in the GOP-led Congress. (10 Feb 2015)
<<CUT *133 (02/10/15)££ 00:20 "new Mideast war"
APPHOTO BAG101: Broken glass remains at the scene of a suicide bomb attack at Adan Square, located in a predominantly Shiite part of the capital, Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. President Barack Obama is expected, as early as Tuesday, to ask Congress for new war powers, sending Capitol Hill his blueprint for an updated authorization for the use of military force to fight the Islamic State group. Haggling then begins on writing a new authorization to battle the Sunni extremists, who have seized territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria and imposed a violent form of Sharia law. (AP Photo) (9 Feb 2015)
<<APPHOTO BAG101 (02/09/15)££
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
