When will they say, “No More War!”
[from MoveOn.org]
“Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) has introduced a bipartisan bill to block
additional U.S. forces from being sent into Syria.
“H.R. 1473 prohibits the Department of Defense from funding any attempt by
the administration to expand our presence in Syria by putting U.S. combat
boots on the ground. Under the bill, the Pentagon would be prohibited from
using funds to send troops to Syria for ground combat operations, award a
contract to a private security firm for ground activity or otherwise
establish or maintain a presence of U.S. troops or a private security
contractor in Syria. The bill would allow for exceptions to ‘protect,
rescue or remove’ U.S. personnel.
“’I strongly object to the White House’s decision to unilaterally place
U.S. boots on the ground in Syria,’ Rep. Lee said. ‘The Constitution is
clear: Congress must debate, vote and authorize the use of military force
in matters of war and peace.’"
The U S Constitution in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11, says only Congress
shall have the power to “To declare War, grant Letters of Marque
<https://www.usconstitution.net/glossary.html#MARQUE> and Reprisal
<https://www.usconstitution.net/glossary.html#REPRISAL> and make Rules
concerning Captures on Land and Water.”
Rick Nolan is the only Congressional Representative from Minnesota to
co-sponsor this legislation with Barbara Lee.
Why?
This Bill is quite clear. To support the Bill means you are opposed to
committing ground troops to Syria to begin an armed invasion of that
country. If you do not sponsor it or support it, then you are in favor of
committing U S armed forces to an invasion and occupation of Syria.
There is no compromise on this. You are either against this new escalation
of war, or you are for it.
Why hasn’t Keith Ellison signed on? Why hasn’t Betsy McCollum? Why hasn’t
Amy Kobuchar introduced a similar resolution in the Senate? Why hasn’t Al
Franken?
Why do they want more war?
Who are ISIS?
BY ED FELIEN
What is the Islamic State?
ISIS is mostly Sunni Arabs against the world. Their last holdouts are the
northern city of Raqqa (220,488 population) in Syria and the northern city
of Mosul (664,241 population) in Iraq. In Syria a small army of Sunni
Arabs are fighting the Shia Syrian Army, the Shia Iranian Army, the Kurds,
the Russians and, now, ground troops from the U.S. In Iraq the Shia Army
has surrounded Mosul and captured the railroad station.
In Syria ISIS began as peaceful protests by farmers whose subsistence farms
had been turned into desert by global warming. They were asking the
government for support and relief. There is some evidence that the CIA
exploited and expanded those protests. The Shia Syrian government of
Bashar Assad overreacted, violently suppressed the protests, and that, in
turn, created the violent reaction of ISIS.
In Iraq the U.S. military gave arms to the Sunni Arabs who were part of
Saddam Hussein’s Revolutionary Guard to protect their neighborhoods.
Eventually, the Sunnis felt they were being oppressed by the U.S.-sponsored
Shia national government, and that led to the forming of the separatist
Sunni Islamic state in northern Iraq.
Trump has said he will “utterly destroy ISIS.” But he can’t do that unless
he kills every Sunni Arab in Syria and Iraq. The Shia troops may win
militarily and they may occupy Raqqa and Mosul, but, ultimately, they will
have to withdraw and let the Sunni Arabs control their own communities.
The most sensible and humane course of action for the U.S. would be to get
out and stay out. Further involvement is a prescription for disaster.
Ed Felien[image: Description:
http://t.sidekickopen68.com/e1t/o/5/f18dQhb0S7ks8dDMPbW2n0x6l2B9gXrN7sKj6v4f8h4N4XyGdPcVYW6N7dSlGHQFLCHW72mJNF1k1H6H0?si=4931905006338048&pi=04e83df1-525d-4143-ab57-790a38965384]