WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, released the following statement on President Obama’s proposed authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL:

"The President should be applauded for sending AUMF language to Congress that recognizes the need to place common sense limitations on the use of military force in the fight against ISIL. Now, there can be no more excuses for Congress standing idly by while a new unauthorized war rages on in the Middle East. The President's submission should be a starting point in the discussion, and as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Administration to pass an AUMF that authorizes a strategy that can immediately degrade, and ultimately destroy ISIL.

“As part of this debate, Congress needs to assure that we learn from the mistakes of our previous engagements in Iraq. American combat troops alone will not defeat ISIL. Limited military power is an essential part of a counter-ISIL strategy, but only to give space for the local political and economic reform that will ultimately stamp out this terrorist threat. This authorization needs to make it crystal clear that U.S. combat troops cannot be sent back into the Middle East as part of this conflict, and I worry that the vague limitations on ground troops in today's draft may turn out to be no limitations at all. Over the coming weeks, I look forward to working with Senator Corker and Senator Menendez to get to a bill that can win support from both sides of the aisle."