Trump’s order to strike Iranian commander sparks fresh debate in Congress over war powers
Category: News & Politics
Via: krishna • 5 years ago • 11 commentsBy: Paul Kane and Image without a caption Paul Kane Senior congressional correspondent and columnist Email Bio Follow Mike DeBonis
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) unveiled plans to use privileges in the War Powers Act to at least force votes on a debate in the Senate on authorizing use of force. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
A bipartisan clutch of rank-and-file lawmakers seized on President Trump’s order for a lethal missile strike against an Iranian leader to spark a new debate over the parameters for instigating military action.
Arguing that war resolutions from 2001 and 2002 are outdated, some members of the House and Senate have begun exploring options to try to force what has become a long, dormant debate over Congress’s inability to craft a new use-of-force resolution for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. drone strike that killed Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani provided new impetus to their efforts.
“We’re now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm’s way,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
Kaine later unveiled plans to use privileges in the War Powers Act to at least force votes on a debate in the Senate, hoping to rein in Trump’s ability to wage war without congressional actions.
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“We’re now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm’s way,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
And now that we have a true Chickenhawk Neo-Con as president, the lives of many more of America's kids are being needlessly put at risk.
War Powers need to be seriously curtailed.
Republican and Democratic presidents have applied the broad authority of the post-Sept. 11 authorization and the 2002 Iraq War resolution to multiple military operations, from Libya to Syria.
Earlier this decade, when Democrats held the White House and Senate, Kaine and his allies grew outraged as the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs were cited as grounds for expanding operations against terrorists into Yemen, Africa and other hotspots far from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Trump will blow off any restrictions and do as he pleases. After all, he knows more about everything than anybody.
Yes... and the horrendous death toll on the coalition side!
/sarc
What president could possibly show such a callous disregard for human life-- the lives of YUGE numbers of Amercan military men and women-- who were needlessly put in harms way in the Libyan operations!
And Oh-- the horrendous death toll that that involved:
Military losses on the coalition side
22 March : One USAF F-15E flying from Aviano crashed in Bu Marim, northwest of Benghazi. The pilot was rescued alive by US Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit based on the USS Kearsarge . The weapons systems officer evaded hostile forces and was subsequently repatriated by undisclosed forces
27 April : An F-16 from the United Arab Emirates Air Force crashed at Naval Air Station Sigonella at about 11:35 local time; the pilot ejected safely.
21 June : An unmanned US Navy MQ-8 Fire Scout went down over Libya, possibly due to enemy fire.
20 July : A British airman was killed in a traffic accident in Italy while part of a logistical convoy transferring supplies from the UK to NATO bases in the south of Italy from which air strikes were being conducted against Libya
Shouldn't the president be held responsible for these horrendous losses of American life?
/double sarc...with a cherry on top!
What? What is he talking about?
Trump hasn't put any of our troops "in harm's way." Our troops are right where they have been. We did this with an airstrike, not "troops." If you think the troops already stationed in Iraq weren't already in harm's way from Iran or its proxies, then you haven't been paying attention.
I think it's ridiculous that this is suddenly a crisis. How many people did Obama wipe from the face of the Earth with drone strikes? Does anybody even know? ( This article says Obama authorized 193 drone strikes just in Pakistan. Do most people even know we're fighting in Pakistan?) This article says he approved 563 drone strikes in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. Add to that, 495 airstrikes over 6 months in Libya. Libya??? I mean you can't even keep track of them all!
Then there's this:
All of that was just fine for Mr. Nobel Peace Prize, but Trump greases one asshole-in-charge-of-all-the-other-assholes and you'd think he tea-bagged the Queen of England.