Antiwar.com Blog

April 18, 2018

Dear Colleague:

For some time now, Congress has abdicated its authority to declare war. The status quo is that we are at war anywhere and anytime the President says so.

So, Congress’s new solution is not to reassert Congressional prerogative but to codify the status quo.

It is clear upon reading that the Kaine/Corker AUMF gives nearly unlimited power to this or any President to be at war anywhere, anytime and against anyone, with minimal justification and no prior specific authority.

This is not an AUMF, it is a complete rewriting of power of the executive and constitutional separation of powers.

The new Kaine/Corker AUMF declares war on:

1. The Taliban
2. Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula
3. ISIS anywhere
4. Al-Shabaab in Somalia and elsewhere
5. Al-Qaeda in Syria
6. Al-Nusra in Syria
7. The Haqqani Network in Pakistan and Afghanistan
8. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Niger, Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Nigeria
9. AND ASSOCIATED FORCES (as defined by the President) throughout the globe.

Previous AUMF have never codified associated forces. The Kaine/Corker AUMF not only codifies associated forces, but by conservative estimates declares war on over 20 nations with forces "associated" with either Al-Qaeda or ISIS.

Should Congress declare war or not declare war? Absolutely. Should we be having this debate? Absolutely.

Continue reading “Sen. Rand Paul: The New AUMF Codifies ‘Forever War’”

I first learned of Gideon Levy many years ago, during a casual conversation with an Israeli human rights activist. He told me that he had asked Levy why was he such a serious critic of Israel’s government and its policies with the Palestinians. Levy, whose own father was a German Jewish refugee who had settled in Israel, responded, "I don’t want Israelis to say that they didn’t know."

Levy frequently travels to and writes about the Occupied Territories. As a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Levy wants to show the evils of the occupation and how it hurts not only the Palestinians but also the Israel that he loves so much. "I am an Israeli patriot. I want to be proud of my country. I want us to do the right thing," he declared. His writing has gained him several prestigious awards, but also the hatred of many Israelis and several personal attacks.

Continue reading “Gideon Levy: A Voice of Sanity From Israel”

Former UK Ambassador to Syria Peter Ford joins today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report to share his vast experience in the region. He has notably deviated from the government/media narrative about the alleged Assad gas attack. How likely is it that Assad used gas? Why are inspectors being prevented from visiting the site? How is the “official narrative” holding up to increasing scrutiny?

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

An endless war in Afghanistan, where the US takes the side of the communists it opposed in the 1980s. No end in sight and no one even knows what victory looks like. Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria – once the US gets involved it becomes just another government program that can never be cancelled. In today’s Liberty Report, Scott Horton joins us in-studio to discuss his new book, Fool’s Errand – Time to End the War in Afghanistan, and the many other US empire wars. Could the Afghan war have been avoided even though Afghanistan had hosted al-Qaeda? Horton tells us exactly how the US could have pursued its national interest and national security without a 17 year quagmire:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton was on the phone with Egypt’s intelligence chief trying to organize a Arab army to take over US duties occupying northeastern Syria. The Trump Administration’s big idea is to have the Saudis lead the occupation to “prevent ISIS 2.0 from emerging in the area.” That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering the fact that the Saudis were behind the creation of ISIS 1.0! As media arrives on the ground in Syria begins looking into US claims of a Syrian government gas attack in Douma, they are finding the US narrative does not match the facts on the ground. Congress thinks a new authorization for the use of military force might do the trick. All in all it seems the US has no idea why it remains in Syria. There is no policy but to continue doing what Obama started in 2011. Tune in to today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

Only a couple of weeks ago, US president Donald Trump stated his desire to bring American troops home from Syria: “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon …. Let the other people take care of it now.”

As if on cue: An alleged chemical attack in Douma, where the Assad regime’s forces are rooting out rebel resistance in their re-taking of the eastern Ghouta region.

Investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are only now arriving to look into the claim, but Trump (as well as the UK’s Theresa May and France’s Emmanuel Macron) wasted no time proclaiming the allegations proven and Assad the culprit. On April 14, the three governments launched missile strikes on supposed Syrian chemical facilities.

The strikes were illegal under both US and international law. Congress hasn’t declared war on Syria. Congress hasn’t even passed an extra-constitutional “Authorization for the Use of Military Force” regarding Syria. Nor has the United Nations authorized military action versus Syria.

Continue reading “Trump Isn’t the First War Criminal President – He Should be the Last”