In other words, that paragraph authorises the use of force to prevent attacks on towns and cities, whether those attacks are directed at civilians or even at what would be legitimate military targets.

换言之，这一段授权使用武力，防止针对这些城镇的攻击，不管这些攻击以平民为目标，还是有合法的军事目标。

youdao

And the Qaddafi regime has chosen as a government, as the military force, as the -- well, as a government and a military force to undertake attacks of those citizens and those civilian-populated areas.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

Mr. Obama said for the first time that the 2001 congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks should be revised and eventually repealed to recognize that al Qaeda is a terror organization on the path to defeat.

WSJ: Obama Narrows Scope of Counterterrorism Fight

In a 2012 speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, Brennan asserted that the drone strikes are legal under a military force authorization approved by Congress after the 2001 al Qaeda attacks on the United States.

CNN: Senate panel gets classified drone document from Obama