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U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, speaks during a Republican rally in Edmond, Okla, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014.

The Associated Press

Published: September 6, 2014

WASHINGTON The senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee is pushing legislation authorizing the president to use military force against Islamic state militants in Iraq, Syria and wherever else they threaten U.S. interests.

Sen. Jim Inhofe is circulating a draft of a resolution granting the president the authority to "use all necessary and appropriate force in order to defend the national security of the United States against the threat posed by the organization called the Islamic State or 'IS,' formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as well as any successor organization."

The measure, which has no end date, would allow the president to deploy ground forces as well as continue with airstrikes against the merciless militants who have seized swaths of Iraq, threaten the government and killed two American journalists inside Syria.

Inhofe is seeking bipartisan support for his measure as Congress returns to Washington next week from its five-week break. The resolution also forces the president to submit a strategy to Congress within 60 days for how to defeat the Islamic State group. President Barack Obama has vowed to destroy and degrade the militants but conceded last week that the administration has no strategy.

The Senate has a shortened session in September, and it is unclear whether lawmakers will act on any legislation responding to the militant threat. Some Republicans and Democrats contend that the president already has authority to act based on the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

Other Republicans say they are reluctant to give the president any blanket military authority absent a detailed strategy.

Pending in the Senate is the sweeping defense policy bill, and Inhofe's resolution could be part of that debate, although the Senate is not expected to act on the defense bill until a postelection, lame-duck session in November.

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Republican senator seeks action against militants

BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A Louisiana judge ruled Friday that a Republican challenge to Sen. Mary Landrieu's residency can only be made if she wins another term.

District Judge Wilson Fields did not determine if Landrieu, a Democrat, is a resident of Louisiana. He said the U.S. Constitution's requirement that senators must be residents of their states at the time of election means residency is only an issue on election day.

Landrieu and her husband own a $2.5 million home in Washington, and she is a partner in a family corporation that owns a share in her parents' New Orleans home. She has deep roots in the city as the daughter of a former mayor and the sister of the current one.

While Landrieu is registered to vote in New Orleans, she has used her Washington address on some official documents.

State Rep. Paul Hollis said he has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision.

Republicans clearly hope Landrieu's residency will be a campaign issue, however the legal fight is resolved. She has two Republican challengers, U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy and Rob Maness, a retired U.S. Air Force officer backed by several Tea Party organizations.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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Judge throws out Republican challenge to Sen. Landrieu's residency

Republican Party Values - an Atlas Summit panel discussion
This special luncheon event was held at the 2014 Atlas Summit featured a panel discussing what fundamental values should be guiding the American right wing. ...

By: Atlas Society

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Republican Party Values - an Atlas Summit panel discussion - Video

Freeholder Joseph Howarth is abandoning his re-election campaign because of his ongoing fight with Crohns disease.

The Evesham Republican, who has served on the Burlington County Board of Freeholders since 2012, announced his decision to drop out of the race late Friday.

In a letter to the media, Howarth disclosed that he has long battled the digestive condition, but that his condition now requires him to undergo surgery this week and his expected recuperation would prevent him from campaigning with the same passion and energy that have been hallmarks of my past successful campaigns.

A competitor by nature, and someone who is immensely proud of the work done by our Republican majority of the freeholder board to cut property taxes, reduce county spending and still provide key services to middle-class families, seniors and veterans, this is not an easy decision. But it is the right one, Howarth said in the letter. I wish the best to my running mate and friend, Bruce Garganio, and trust that the County Republican Committee will find a strong candidate to replace me on the ballot.

Howarth, a school aide with the Lenape Regional High School District, said he intends to remain on the board and serve out the remaining four months of his three-year term.

The Burlington County Republican Committee will meet Monday night to name a replacement candidate in time to meet the Burlington County Clerks Office's printing deadline, GOP Chairman Bill Layton said Friday.

First off, I applaud Joe for all the work hes done on the freeholder board, Layton said. Hes been an outstanding freeholder whos done wonderful work, and were hoping he makes a full recovery.

Layton said that the full committee was notified Friday about Howarths decision and that several people have expressed an interest in running for the seat. He declined to identify the possible candidates.

Sources familiar with the inner workings of the party said former Freeholder Mary Ann OBrien, of Medford, was a possibility, along with former Freeholders Aubrey Fenton, of Willingboro, and Bill Haines, of Medford.

OBrien served as a freeholder from 2010 to 2013. She and Garganio, of Florence, were unseated during the 2012 election by Democrats Aimee Belgard, of Edgewater Park, and Joanne Schwartz, of Southampton.

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Republican freeholder drops re-election campaign

Published September 05, 2014

This March 25, 2014 file photo shows House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., leaving a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.AP

A top House Republican is urging the Obama administration to consider sending U.S. ground forces as part of its strategy against the Islamic State, saying we will have to risk Americans" to defeat the terrorist group.

The call by Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers R-Mich., puts him out in front of even his Republican colleagues, many of whom echo the administration line that the U.S. should not commit boots on the ground in Iraq.

Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated that stance on Friday in Wales ahead of a meeting among allies on how to address the Islamic State threat.

I think thats a red line for everybody here, no boots on the ground, Kerry said.

But Rogers, in a forceful op-ed published in Time, said the U.S. must not let the standard trope that there be no boots on the ground become a mantra of self-defeat or a definition of intelligence operations and special capabilities.

The column comes as even Democrats take a tougher stance toward ISIS. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., while not supporting U.S. boots on the ground, plans to introduce a bill authorizing U.S. airstrikes in Syria.

Rogers, who also supports taking the fight to Syria, stressed that American infantry and tanks rolling back into Iraq or Syria are not needed. But it is not enough simply to send a few hundred troops to defend American diplomatic compounds, Rogers wrote.

This is a terrorist organization that has an army, and we need to treat it that way. To defeat this enemy, we will have to risk Americans who will be operating in the fight. But lets be clear, American lives around the world are presently at risk from ISISs brutality, Rogers said.

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Top Republican warns 'boots on the ground' may be needed to defeat ISIS