(4.5.2016) Smith supports the war on military and moral grounds and considers the Islamic State an „army of butchers.“ But he wants the court to tell Obama that he needs to ask Congress for a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force.

The White House did not comment on the lawsuit.

To fight IS, Obama has been relying on congressional authorizations given to President George W. Bush for the war on al-Qaida and the invasion of Iraq. Critics say the White House‘s use of post-9/11 congressional authorizations is a legal stretch at best.