While most of the focus in Congress is on the impeachment, Congress has still found time to advance some votes relevant to the potential war with Iran, and are set for some such votes next week.
Two votes are planned in the House, and expected on Thursday. One is from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) prohibiting any funding for a war in Iran without Congressional authorization. The second will attempt to reveal the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF).
The 2002 AUMF was meant to authorize the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. With the Hussein government long gone, many have questioned the relevance of the AUMF, though the administration has at times claimed it authorizes other wars, including military action against ISIS in “Syria or elsewhere.”
While the Iraq AUMF isn’t directly related to a possible Iran War, repealing it would go a long way toward Congress reasserting its war-making powers, and emphasizing that the authorizations aren’t open-ended after the intended war is long over, allowing them to be reinterpreted indefinitely for other operations.
The Senate is not expected to take up any of the Iran War votes this week, though the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be given a briefing from the State Department on the matter. The State Department had previously canceled this briefing weeks ago.
It’s a start, but wake me when congress declines to pass a military spending bill, then they’ll have a role that’s relevant to the US empire and its latest adventures.
What had to be done was done. There are no more war issues with Iran and this is an empty gesture.
You could say the same after a full on nuclear exchange….
Not in the cards Dave. All chess pieces move or get sacrificed for a reason.
I am not a chess piece! Trump has no moral authority to sacrifice ANYONE!
In the eyes of world leaders and secret orders, we are all expandable. I’m surprised you haven’t reached that conclusion by now.
“world leaders”
F*ck world leaders! My life is my own. It does not belong to Donald Trump, the Clintons, Barack Obama or George W. Bush.
The president is not playing 6D Chess. He is an imbecilic child who is going to stumble us into WWIII.
It’s funny how your suggestions of world leaders was limited the U.S. presidency. Your indoctrination is now complete.
I never claimed there weren’t “world leaders” in other countries as well. It is, however, my own government which oppresses me, and my own government’s leaders which have done this oppression. The leaders of other countries do not have nearly as much negative effect on me. You are inferring something that isn’t there, apparently for the sole purpose of putting me down.
When you reply to someone’s comment to ridicule rather than to converse don’t expect to be taken seriously.
For example: “my own government which oppresses me, and my own government’s leader which have done this oppression.”
I’ll let someone who has lived outside U.S. to reply to your Tom and Jerry comment.
The day small wars come to a end is the day you know one of the largest wars in this world’s history is about to take place. World peace is the childish lie of fool’s. The only day war ends is the day fire stops burn trees. We are the tree’s and war is just the fire acting as the normal changing force of nature. The key is undergoing change before the need for war takes place if you truly want a end to war. Communist and socialist create failure time and time again and war burns them but just like calfornia houses they build in the same fire zone time and time again. Madness is repeating the same thing time and time again. Communist and socialist like those in calfornia were given what was a golden jewel of America and turn it into a shit hole. They solve homelessness by set policies in place design to kill them off which show every effect numbers but even with that homelessness grows in California. Housing developer build in fire zones because it means the house only needs 3 to 5 years to burn to the ground until they can sell it again but are they in jail? No. High treason doesn’t even mean anything anymore. Hell what Joe Biden’s son did was high treason and he is just one of a great many people who are taking treasonous actions for personal gain. I would not be surprised if half the members of are government haven’t committed high treason in is day in age. A new position with power to unlimitly investigate in high rank officials and with proof have them killed by fire squad. A Judge dredd universe just for the rich and powerful and those that steal a set amount of money. Why do we pay to sent people to go to jail for life? Greed and no other reason. It’s business of not put people to death for money. The problem is they still die slowly each day and jail produces evil. Maybe there could be a new jail system were it cost next to nothing and jail people live limited but not totally unhappy life’s never to be released. It could be done but who would do that when the money is the only point to it not law and order. Many of you sound like fool’s talk about a dream world In you head and this is the real world not some dreamland. War, death and taxes people just grow up. People are always expandable when they don’t real mean anything to you and expanding them means money and power that would stop you from having to facing the same fate.
Hope it’s a good read and as always have a great day.
Assert the proper role of Congress in declaring war, etc.? What a joke. Never going to happen. They are all too spineless and unprincipled to honor their oath to the Constitution.
No, not congress, the gop
Like there’s a dimes worth of difference between the Reps and the Dems.
Gimme a break.
Well, I guess if you never follow war authorization votes in congress, you could believe such a ridiculous notion. Seems I have to list the votes for each commenter several times here. I am afraid Thomas will start marking my list as spam.
Spam is commercial solicitation, so no, I wouldn’t mark it as that and if Disqus mistook it for that I’d rescue it from the spam folder when I saw it there.
The only relevant vote was the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force – which was ( save one ) passed unanimously.
So the two Iraq war authorizations dont mean anything since the dems voted against them ?
“Like there’s a dimes worth of difference between the Reps and the Dems.”
It doesn’t happen very often, and I can’t remember which year this occurred, but one time a few years back, the federal budget proposed by the Democrats and the one proposed by the Republicans differed by 11 cents per capita, so, technically, that year, there was a dimes worth of difference.
But any meaningful difference? A most emphatic no!
Most U.S. Congress members are warpigs, and it does not matter whether there is a “D” or an “R” behind their names.
If you want perpetual war….vote Republican.
However, if you want perpetual war….vote Democrat.
If you want a surveillance-police state……vote Democrat.
However, if you want a surveillance-police state……vote Republican.
If you don’t want either of the above…..vote with ropes.
“vote with ropes.”
Not sure a “Reign of Terror” is appropriate here, but certainly, prison time would be called for with some of them. We might actually put some people in prison who belong there.
How will you put them in prison when they make and control the laws and it’s enforcement ???
Imprisonment IS a REIGN OF TERROR !!! Regardless how you look at it. Your views are those conditioned by accepting standards set by Wall Street, it’s media, and the tribe in general. I promise you when that time comes…..eliminating the 75% (already ongoing), reeducation camps, virtual slavery……those people being referred to will have no such hesitation of raining terror on you and everyone else.
Holding fast to principles that stand in opposition to our survival……is exactly the goal of a dumbed down public education system and Wall Street’s media.
“Imprisonment IS a REIGN OF TERROR !!!”
You are the one who suggested hanging them! I think putting them in prison is a somewhat milder punishment, and certainly less of a “Reign of Terror” than hanging.
It’s still terror. Point was, unless you hang a few, how will you ever convince them to prosecute and imprison themselves ???
It doesn’t work that way with cops, either. Only the few most blatant are prosecuted…..to keep us from hanging the most of them for their crimes. The crimes continue.