Obama to ask for declaration of war against ISIS

U.S. lawmaker: Obama may make formal Islamic State force request soon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is expected to ask the U.S. Congress soon for a formal authorization to use military force against Islamic State, a top Republican senator said on Thursday.

Bob Corker, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he has been talking to officials from President Barack Obama's administration and was optimistic they might soon spell out to Congress what they would like to see in an authorization.

Constitutionally, a Congressional authorization for the use of military force is a declaration of war.

This is a debate that the country needs and the Congress should have. It is imperative, however, that the administration spell out what its national strategic objectives are and what means it intends to use to achieve them, with what intensity and with what aftermath. But frankly, I am not hopeful that anyone in the administration is actually thinking about that.

Update: "US-led aircraft have dropped nearly 5,000 bombs in the air war against Islamic State."

The United States and its Western and Arab allies have carried out 1,676 strikes so far and launched 4,775 munitions, officials said. ...

The US share of the operation already has surpassed the American role in the 2011 air campaign in Libya.

Meanwhile: "Britain's MI5 chief warns al Qaeda in Syria planning mass attacks on West"

"A group of core al Qaeda terrorists in Syria is planning mass casualty attacks against the West," Director General Parker said in a rare public speech at MI5 headquarters in London. His last public speech was in October 2013.

In the speech, planned before the killings in Paris, Parker said seasoned al Qaeda militants in Syria aimed to "cause large-scale loss of life, often by attacking transport systems or iconic targets" in the West.