Sanders introduces bill for Yemen War Powers Act
Finally! Bernie tries to stop us from helping Saudi genocide in Yemen.
The U.S. has supported the campaign for almost three years, providing targeting intelligence, weapons, and mid-air refueling support for Saudi warplanes. But neither the Obama administration nor the Trump administration has publicly outlined the legal basis for the U.S. role in the conflict.The Sanders-Lee resolution makes clear that U.S. forces are still authorized to attack Al Qaeda members in Yemen, but requires the U.S. to withdraw its support for the Saudi-led intervention.
The resolution is based on the War Powers Act, which requires the president to withdraw forces from “hostilities” after a 60-day time limit unless Congress explicitly authorizes continued action.
The resolution will be introduced in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but under Senate rules, the sponsors can force a vote on the floor after 10 days. A Lee aide told The Intercept that the procedure was unprecedented, and it’s unclear what type of resistance the process will face from Senate leadership. “It’s never been done before,” the aide said. “We don’t know what to anticipate.”
The resolution will likely face stiff opposition from the Trump administration, which has held classified briefings in support of U.S.-backing for the Saudi bombing campaign.
Last November the House passed a resolution against our involvement in the Saudi war.
The nonbinding resolution adopted 366-30, does not call for a halt to the American support but publicly acknowledges the Pentagon has been sharing targeting information and refueling warplanes that Saudi Arabia and other allies are using to attack Houthi rebels in a conflict that is widely considered a proxy war with Iran — and a humanitarian disaster.
The war powers act is binding.
Next up, Syria.
Comments
Pure kabuki theater.
This will never pass. Sanders know it. The fact that he's doing the bidding of the Porky Dems and their pig worker sychophants tells us he can never trusted again. If he runs in 2020, it'll just be more sheep herding horseshit.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Don't be so sure
This could set up a constitutional battle with the Trump Administration, and there are plenty of Dems who would welcome that.
Plus, Paul Ryan's lone redeeming quality is that he opposes stupid war.
Plus the news media isn't all that fond of this war:
WashPost: Why Congress must vote on the United States’ role in Yemen
US News: Get the U.S. Out of the War in Yemen
Bernie Sanders and his colleagues are right to call out America's role in Yemen's nightmare.
So not even mentioning
it is the same thing? Remember when that guy running against Joe Lieberscum in Connecticut brought up pulling out of Iraq when Dems wouldn't dare hint at that; shortly later the party woke up that the position was popular?
Can't see how there can be a fire without a spark.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
Just because it has in your opinion no chance to pass
doesn't mean Sanders is engaging in kabuki theater. If the lacking chances of passing would be a reason to dismiss any effort to introduce legislation, then it would mean you just introduce legislation that supports the TPTB's legal interests, imo.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Congress held a hearing yesterday about the AUMF
At least congress is discussing this. I don't have any problems with this. Who knows what will come from it. It's a start.
The Vital Congressional Hearing on the Endless War That Probably Nobody Watched
The "2001 AUMF," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), "has become a blank check for any president to wage war anytime, anywhere, anyplace without the consent or oversight of Congress."
Among the experts offering testimony at the hearing was Rita Siemion, international legal counsel at Human Rights First, who noted that not only has the AUMF "been interpreted as authorizing military operations that Congress never intended," it has also been used to justify "a range of human rights abuses from detention without charge or trial to extrajudicial killings via drone strikes far from any battlefield."
No, these were war crimes, especially the extrajudicial killings. They were also unconstitutional.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Who is Al Qaeda?
The name has morphed into so many. It now stands for terror (well defined never) regardless of the name.
Bernie is grasping when he believes that only some entity called Al Qaeda will be targeted. Our government creates them as they need them.
https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm
Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Date Designated
Name
10/8/1997
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
10/8/1997
Aum Shinrikyo (AUM)
10/8/1997
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
10/8/1997
Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) (IG)
10/8/1997
HAMAS
10/8/1997
Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
10/8/1997
Hizballah
10/8/1997
Kahane Chai (Kach)
10/8/1997
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) (Kongra-Gel)
10/8/1997
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
10/8/1997
National Liberation Army (ELN)
10/8/1997
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
10/8/1997
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
10/8/1997
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLF)
10/8/1997
PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC)
10/8/1997
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
10/8/1997
Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
10/8/1997
Shining Path (SL)
10/8/1999
al-Qa’ida (AQ)
9/25/2000
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
5/16/2001
Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA)
12/26/2001
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
12/26/2001
Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT)
3/27/2002
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB)
3/27/2002
Asbat al-Ansar (AAA)
3/27/2002
al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
8/9/2002
Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA)
10/23/2002
Jemaah Islamiya (JI)
1/30/2003
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
3/22/2004
Ansar al-Islam (AAI)
7/13/2004
Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
12/17/2004
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (formerly al-Qa'ida in Iraq)
6/17/2005
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)
3/5/2008
Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B)
3/18/2008
al-Shabaab
5/18/2009
Revolutionary Struggle (RS)
7/2/2009
Kata'ib Hizballah (KH)
1/19/2010
al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
8/6/2010
Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI)
9/1/2010
Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
11/4/2010
Jundallah
5/23/2011
Army of Islam (AOI)
9/19/2011
Indian Mujahedeen (IM)
3/13/2012
Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT)
5/30/2012
Abdallah Azzam Brigades (AAB)
9/19/2012
Haqqani Network (HQN)
3/22/2013
Ansar al-Dine (AAD)
11/14/2013
Boko Haram
11/14/2013
Ansaru
12/19/2013
al-Mulathamun Battalion
1/13/2014
Ansar al-Shari'a in Benghazi
1/13/2014
Ansar al-Shari'a in Darnah
1/13/2014
Ansar al-Shari'a in Tunisia4/10/2014
ISIL Sinai Province (formally Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis)
5/15/2014
al-Nusrah Front
8/20/2014
Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC)
9/30/2015
Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al Naqshabandi (JRTN)
1/14/2016
ISIL-Khorasan (ISIL-K)
5/20/2016
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Branch in Libya (ISIL-Libya)
6/30/2016 Al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent
8/16/2017
Hizbul Mujahideen (HM)
2/27/2018
ISIS-Bangladesh2/27/2018
ISIS-Philippines
2/27/2018
ISIS-West Africa
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
The US didn't create
or even support almost all of those you list. Not Shining Path, not Tamil Fighters… Some, especially now in Syria, but not all by a long shot.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
The Houthis aren't al-Qaeda
And no one is claiming they are, which applies here.
Right? AUMF not
applicable in any interpretation.
Of course, no Dem apparatchik wanting Trump impeached proposes genocide a basis. They'd have to note Obama's starting the crime.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
Vietnam and Watergate
One of the articles of impeachment against Nixon was the bombing of Cambodia.
Of course I'm getting way ahead of myself.
It has to pass the Senate first. But if it does, it's a 100% chance that Trump will defy Congress.
But created they are.
I never said support them. It's a fact that we will create them to satisfy our MIC.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Want to bet?
Many of the terrorist groups were created, armed and funded by this country as well as our allies. This has been known for some time by other countries, but not ours.
I read this last night and wanted to weep for the carnage that was done intentionally. Over a million people are dead and many millions more have lost not only their homes, but their countries.
The day before Deraa: How the war broke out in Syria
The White Helmets are not a bunch of do gooders who rescuer the injured. They are funded by us, the U.K. and other gulf countries.
Caitlin has written about them numerous times and here she's reporting on how they are going to take their actions on the road.
The horrors we've unleashed needs to be known here because we are paying for it.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Nope. Not that list I replied about.
The US did not create Boko Haram nor the Irish Republican Army. Does the US create terrorist and regime-change outfits? Absolutely. But that list is wrong if the point is to say the US created them. "Designating" and "Caused to Be" are different things.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
Not directly
But by removing Gaddafi and destroying Libya, terrorists were able to cross the borders were easily. This allowed Boko Harem and other terrorist group to come and go as they pleased.
Gaddafi's death did make the terrorists situation much worse. Sorry, I can't find the article on this. But BH wasn't as big a problem before his death.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Judean Popular People's Front
Campaign for a Free Galilee
8/17/1979
Judean People's Front
8/17/1979
Judean Popular People's Front
8/17/1979
People's Front of Judea
8/17/1979
source
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Nicely done.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
The question is would it make any difference?
I doubt it. Not based on the track record of Congress. They would support bombing Liechtenstein if it had oil or if Israel wanted it done. Then again, major debates over officially declaring war could help get people off their butts and tell Congress to fuck off.
Didn't you hear?
Debates are now relegated to elections only.
You can only vote on anything every two years. That's now called debate.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
they're talking about it
At least now, they're talking about it. Our task now is to make sure they keep doing so.
It's the issue of our times, as you have correctly pointed out more than once.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Why now and not during Obama? Why would congress vote yes?
Wow I liked the headline, but that is all. Why is Bernie proposing a vote now, and not when Obama was in charge? Not enough starving kids I guess. Or just politics, that's why. He is the consummate politician, a real smooth talker who gets on TV a lot now. Too bad.
I know there are a lot of voters who really want Bernie to be the one true leader, I am grieving in advance for them. All of their hard work and heart felt actions, useful string puppets of plutocracy. It means shite to me when he says "I'm an independent" when followed by "who caucuses with the Democrats" (because plutocracy) Then the real zinger comes, "This is a bipartisan effort." A chance for all to pad their voting records. Sorry to all the Yemenis who starved to death since way before Trump was the problem.
money for hope
money for dope
money for rope
gimme some truth
Bernie didn't have much political capital until 2016
I think that's why not under Obama.
Of course he could still have done it last year.
Ya, this is about Trump, that's why.
There are other efforts going on also, this seems like a dem party effort to muzzle Trump. What Bernie doesn't say is the key. One could say his little speech actually gives cover to the U.S., and Obama who started it, by stating it's a civil war and a "Saudi war in Yemen", with the U.S. only providing assistance when it's actually a proxy war started by the U.S. and allies (U.K. specifically) using S.A and others as their proxies.
Yeah I dissed those efforts too. Sheesh.
thanks I am really still wanting to punish bad leadership, not reward it. Get some justice for a change. Y'all know I'm anti-war, an inadvertent tax resistor, not enough income to even file a return the last four years. Yay?
peace
There is no doubt I am let down by Bernie Sanders.
Regardless, I can't bring myself to throw the baby out with the bath water. Until I have a better option, I'm still on Bernie's side. I just hope he hasn't hurt himself so badly that he missed his opportunity in history. Obama sure did.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
missed his opportunity
Obama didn't miss his opportunity in history; he deliberately trashed it. He could easily have gotten his campaign promises fulfilled and a single-payer healthcare system enacted the first 18 months of his term. Instead, he opted to go corporate, flushing all his political capital down the toilet and guaranteeing he would be a lame duck President for a record six years.
Like yourself, I hope Bernie hasn't done the same thing to himself!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
just fyi, TRNN is featuring the bill with the
gaggable (imo) ben norton as host. the link.
BERNIE SANDERS: Many Americans are unaware that the people of Yemen are suffering today in a devastating civil war with Saudi Arabia and their allies on one side and Houthi rebels on the other.
In November of this year, the United Nations emergency relief coordinator said that Yemen was on the brink of "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades." So far at least 10,000 civilians have died and over 40,000 have been wounded in the war. And 3 million people have been displaced.
BERNIE SANDERS: This is not a partisan issue. Support for the Saudi intervention in Yemen began under a Democratic president and has continued under a Republican president. Senator Lee is a conservative Republican; I am a progressive independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
In November of last year, the House of Representatives, with a strong bipartisan vote, voted overwhelmingly for a non-binding resolution stating that U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war is unauthorized. Only 30 members of the House voted against that resolution. And that is what we are saying today: we are in agreement with the vast majority of the Democrats and Republicans in the House.
gosh, bern; why the hurry now? thank the gods that mark ruffalo approves it! (most of the comments are rather scathing to the bern.)