Tag: AUMF

House Committee Votes to Repeal AUMF

Holy Crap!

I never thought that I would live to see the day when a GOP led House Committee voted to repeal AUMF……

House Committee Votes to Repeal AUMF, Ruled ‘Out of Order’| Republican leaders argue vote cripples terror war, shouldn’t count.

In a stunning move, the House Appropriations Committee today approved an amendment to the massive military spending bill offered by Rep. Barbara Lee (D – CA). The amendment, passed in a voice vote, and would repeal the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF).

Source: House Committee Votes to Repeal AUMF, Ruled ‘Out of Order’ – News From Antiwar.com

It is still NOT a done deal….but one helluva step forward.

Walking Our Way To More War

I have been bitching for years about the fact that the US uses military force without proper authorization…..and recently a few brave reps in Congress have offered up their bills to change the way we use military force….these events I have written about recently……

Source: Some Real “Men” In Congress After All – In Saner Thought

I wrote my post when I heard the news of these attempts….but I had not read any of the proposed bills…..like the most recent one, the Flake-Kaine Authorization Bill….

Source: Flake-Kaine AUMF | United States House Of Representatives | United States Senate

After reading the above bull I found myself concerned about the wording.  While I applaud the reps for their effort I am not too sure that anything would change if it is ever signed by this president.  In other words ir sounds like a sugar coated business as usual…..

I decided to do a little research to see if there were any others with similar concerns…..there were……

The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force has been used to justify military strikes around the world – dubiously, in the opinion of many legal scholars.

In their place, the new legislation would allow military action against the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, commonly known as ISIS, along with “associated groups,” specifically including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front), the so-called Khorasan Group, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Shabab.

Military action would be allowed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

If the president wanted to take military action against additional associated groups or inside countries not specifically named, he would have to notify Congress, which would then have the option of passing a motion of disapproval.

Source: Bipartisan War Authorization Bill Would Make Trump ’21st Century Version of King George III’ | US News

This is an open-ended authorization to attack anyone by simply stating that they are “associated” with AQ or ISIS…..

Again I just do not see this as anything different than what is being done today……the only good thing is there is an expiration date on the AUMF….5 years.

Some Real “Men” In Congress After All

I have accused most of the people serving in the Congress as cowards…and I still believe that most have no nuts for the job.

But there are a few that show the cajones to take on the president and the M-IC…..I have written about others that are showing some gumption…..

Source: Tulsi Gabbard Finds An Ally – In Saner Thought

Source: Did Congress Grow A Set? – In Saner Thought

Recently our president made a trip to Saudi Arabia and promised them about $110 billion in weapons…..and that will be challenged by a couple of brave Senators….

US senators introduced legislation on Thursday to stop at least a portion of President Donald Trump’s $110bn sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Republican Rand Paul and Democrats Chris Murphy and Al Franken introduced a resolution of disapproval in the Senate to force a vote on whether to block part of the sale.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee received formal notice of the pending sale on 19 May.

The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 allows a senator to force a vote on an arms sale, once Congress is formally notified of plans to go ahead.

The same three senators introduced a similar resolution last year seeking to block the sale of $1.15bn of tanks and other equipment to Saudi Arabia. That measure was defeated overwhelmingly.

(middleeasteye.net)

They will probably not be successful for the Saudis have many Senators in their back pockets….but at least these people are forcing the Congress to take a long look at the wasteful crap of this president.

On another front some of these people are pushing for the action on the Authorization for Use of Military Force(AUMF)….this is an attempt to try and force the Congress to do their duty and vote on any war-like action.

Since the US started attacking ISIS years ago, the legal basis for the war has been pretty much non-existent, with officials sometimes claiming the 9/11 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) from 2001 covers ISIS too, even though ISIS didn’t even exist when it was passed.

Congress has long spurned the idea of voting on the ISIS war, however, delaying it early in the war because it was too close to an election, and mostly forgetting about it after that. Sens. Jeff Flake (R – AZ) and Tim Kaine (D – VA) are reviving the push for a AUMF vote.

Flake issued a statement saying it was “past time for Congress to voice its support for the war against ISIS.” Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Corker (R – TN) says last year was “not the right time,” but that he thinks conditions might be right now for the vote.

(antiwar.com)

I may not agree with these people politically but I am on their side with this attempt to protect our troops and the curb the waste of money in war.

We are always hearing some moron going on about a balanced budget…..you want that then stop spending all the cash on war…pretty goddamn simple!

My hat is off to these brave souls as they will be chastised and will probably lose this battle but at least it will put both actions on the record and bring a little more light to them.