Rep. Adam Schiff reported earlier today that his amendment on repealing the Authorization on Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed in the wake of 9/11 was going to be voted on tonight, but it will ultimately wait until Thursday.
Rep. Schiff pushed materially the same bill in July of last year, but it failed 185-236. President Obama has since given some support to the idea of repealing the AUMF, however, which may swing this year’s vote in favor of it.
The bill will be an amendment to the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), one of over 100 amendments offered to the bill, which is itself also expected to come to a vote in the House Thursday.
The Senate also discussed the potential revocation of the AUMF today, where the State Department insisted the AUMF was essentially meaningless, and that the president had Constitutional authority to launch wars unilaterally without the consent of Congress.
Hopefully the repeal passes, and events conspire to keep this unilateral-war-powers bit a stationary target. Pretty good guess it couldn't stand on it's own merits.
They've already indicated that sans-AUMF they believe they still have the Constitutional authority to do what they wish – wage war on anyone, at any time, with or without Congressional approval. So, repeal is a moot point as far as the Administration is concerned.
'Diversification' may be one strategy they're following; not just a moving target, but multiple targets. Attack the AUMF successfully, then they fall back on the 'constitutional' bit. Attack that successfully, then it's AUMF again. Best take one away, nail the other to the wall, and fire away. As it stands, 'the enemy' (peaceniks) are probably too confused about their targets given this situation, and that's probably the point.
This is subterfuge from Congress to (appease) the American public in a midterm election year.
For the US War Party, it will be just another day at the office.
With the increasing slew of WH/Pentagon lawyers who illogically and unconstitutionally contend their logic allows the President to wage war without the consent of Congress, the country needs to resolve and dismiss their contentions. They are wrong and diametrically opposed to what the Constitution states. What the lawyers are defining is Monarchical. I find it mind-boggling that this is even in question given all the rhetoric coming from the politicians who claim they both understand and defend the Constitution…some even claim to be Constitutional scholars.
It's time the people started to reign in the rush to Empire before the lawyers and scholars do something that cannot be reversed, much less defended.
I'd have to say the bridge of "things that can't be reversed, much less defended" was crossed when torture was authorized by Yoo and Bybee, both since promoted.
The evil part is not that they justified torture with "official" memos stating that what they're doing is legal, which it isn't, or a memo declaring that the President has the power to drone anyone, anywhere, regardless of borders but that they are codifying it all…setting precedent upon which they will base further erosion of rights and freedom down the road – I was going to say a "long way down the road" but I don't really think it's that far off anymore. The American people, generally speaking, are turning the conversation about lost rights and freedom off. They don't want to deal with it – and therefore, the elites stop talking about it but don't end it. When was the last time there was a major public discussion regarding the legality of torture? A couple of years? The attention span of the American people is just about 6 months.
During the Vietnam war protests, the protesters didn't let up the pressure on the government. And eventually the government had to respond. Nixon tried to expand the war and the protests expanded along with him. Nixon had to end the war because it was becoming politically untenable. Today, the government has morphed into something that doesn't really care what the American people think or want. This mentality has to be changed – on both sides of the coin.
Let's be absolutely clear. The United States of America is a police state dictatorship. The President and Congress ignore the constitution continually, and with impunity, especially concerning military action and war powers. Obama can legally arrest any of us and imprison us ..forever, without ever having a trial or even charging us with a crime. Obama has already murdered 3 American citizens (that we know of, and, he admits to) thousands of miles from a war zone, and, he has not had to justify this in any way. He claims this right to murder us under executive privilege. He has yet to release the underpinning secret laws that supposedly give him these God-like powers, even though he has been ordered to do so by the court. This justification for this police state resides in the constant wars and war powers used to prosecute them. They are buttressed by the sprawling all invasive and intrusive intelligence community that are used to cow us and execute false flags to keep the wars coming, the war party in office, and further reduce what few civil liberties we still have. We must swing the wrecking ball at this whole structure and insist, with whatever means necessary, to return to strict adherence to our constitution.