Would you agree with me, the battlefield is anywhere the enemy chooses to make it?“ asked Graham.

„Yes sir, from Boston to FATA [Pakistan‘s federally administered tribal areas],“ answered Michael Sheehan, the assistant secretary of defense who oversees special operations.

Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) later raised the specter of the AUMF being used to intervene in Syria, where the group Al Nusra, believed to be affiliated with Al Qaeda, is active.