The Obama administration's political and legal authority to wage war against al-Qaeda has steadily eroded. Both liberal and conservative members of Congress have challenged the administration’s lack of transparency in conducting drone attacks against alleged al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Foreign allies as well as adversaries have asked whether the United States has arrogated the right to kill enemies anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, the appearance of new branches of al-Qaeda in northern Africa and, most recently, Syria has raised the question of whether the legal authority Congress granted in September 2001 for using military force applies to those groups.
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