There is no evidence in the intelligence community that the Islamic State (ISIS, or ISIL) is about to launch an attack on U.S. soil, Sen. Tim Kaine told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"Right now, even the head of the National Counterterrorism Center said there's no credible Intel right now suggesting ISIL attacks on the U.S.," the Virginia Democrat said Wednesday.
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ISIS has threatened to attack the West and, specifically, the U.S., and in a video released on Tuesday the militants warned they were targeting the White House and U.S. troops, reported
the Guardian.
Kaine, who serves on the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, said if there was credible evidence of an imminent threat to the U.S., President Barack Obama had the constitutional power to "defend the nation or defend embassy or American personnel."
Fears of attack on U.S. soil have grown, in light of immigration policies that have allowed thousands of illegal aliens to cross the nation's southern border, with warnings issued by
Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry and other law enforcement officials.
Kaine believed that Obama did need to "get the blessings of Congress for the mission he outlined to the American people last Wednesday," when he laid out his plan to combat ISIS. Toward that end, Kaine said he was introducing a draft authorization for use of military force in the Senate, but with limitations.
The four conditions Kaine said he would set forth included "no boots on the ground; a sunset within a year, so that we have to come back and examine the success of the mission; a repeal of the 2002 Iraq authorization that is still floating around out there; and, a very narrow definition of associated forces."
Rounding up support for his proposal had been "challenging," Kaine said, because some lawmakers "think the president might have the power" without congressional approval, while others were concerned about "timing." He said Foreign Relations Committee Chairman New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez indicated the president would need congressional authorization for his mission against ISIS.
"[Menendez] has committed to have this matter heard before the Foreign Relations Committee. I might like it a little bit sooner than we're going to have it, but at least it's a question of now when will we have it, not whether Congress will weigh in. We have to weigh in," Kaine said.
Kaine said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman
Gen. Martin Dempsey's admission on Tuesday that he could foresee the need for U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria wasn't "all that unusual," given his role as military advisor.
"What General Dempsey was saying is, 'I'm the military guy. I make recommendations. I don't dictate policy. And, I'll always keep open the ability to make recommendations as times changes without limitation, but the president sets the policy,'" he said.