Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday introduced a new Authorization for Use of Military Force against ISIS, seeking to expand the fight against the group with no limitations on the use of ground troops and no expiration date. The legislation will “allow the United States to go after ISIL anytime, anywhere, using any means” necessary, said Graham, who served for more than 30 years as a judge advocate general in the Air Force Reserve. The proposed AUMF mirrors the one Congress adopted targeting al-Qaida in the days following Sept. 11, 2001, he told reporters at the Capitol before introducing the legislation. Graham’s proposal places no geographic limits on the military’s actions, with no expiration date, no prohibitions of sending troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria, and no limit to the United States’ ability to disrupt online recruitment. Graham told reporters he would like to see the US increase the amount of ground troops in Iraq to 10,000 to “expedite the removal” of ISIS and beef up Iraqi forces. Graham said the Obama Administration is looking to do the bare minimum and then pass the problem onto another administration. The senator had previously opposed any expansion of the authorization of force, but that changed with the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that made him “more unnerved by their capabilities,” he said.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.