Obama Extends 9/11 “Emergency” War On Terror Powers As US Says Al Qaeda No Longer Target

"Fifteen years ago the U.S. government, in response to 9/11, took the unprecedented step of declaring war on a tactic. Waging a ‘war on terror’ gave the president and his neocon cabal vast new powers to make the world a battleground and sacrifice constitutional rights. Key to this was the declaration of a 'State of National Emergency' on September 14, 2001. This, combined with the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), gave the executive branch dictatorial powers, allowing for the invasion and occupation of Iraq – which had nothing to do with 9/11 – and bypassing the Geneva Conventions to declare foreign fighters as 'enemy combatants' to be tortured and held indefinitely."