January, 02 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Congresswoman Barbara Lee on the Killing of Qasem Soleimani
Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement after a US airstrike on Baghdad airport killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and other Iranian officials:
"The airstrike and killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and other senior Iranian military officials without Congressional authorization is a dangerous escalation of tensions with Iran that brings us close to the brink of war.
WASHINGTON
Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement after a US airstrike on Baghdad airport killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and other Iranian officials:
"The airstrike and killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and other senior Iranian military officials without Congressional authorization is a dangerous escalation of tensions with Iran that brings us close to the brink of war.
"Since day one, Trump and his war hawk administration have shunned diplomacy by ending the effective Iran nuclear deal, and have had no real strategy or plan to replace it.
"The Trump Administration has acted without any consultation with Congress or an authorization to use military force. It is beyond clear that Congress must act urgently to repeal the 2001 and 2002 Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF). My amendment to repeal the 2002 AUMF was included in the House-passed FY2020 NDAA, but stripped by Republicans from the final bill.
"We must work to prevent further military action in the region. We have known for years that there is no military solution, and it's past time to return to a diplomatic strategy with our allies. We must protect our national security, our brave troops, our allies, and the American people."
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a Democrat, represents the 13th District in California.
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DNC Chair Jaime Harrison Calls Sanders Critique of Election Loss 'Straight Up BS'
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"[President Joe] Biden was the most-pro worker president of my lifetime—saved union pensions, created millions of good-paying jobs, and even marched in a picket line," said Harrison.
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He asked whether the "well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party" would "learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?"
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As Common Dreamsreported on Thursday, Biden advisers have also posited this week that Harris muddied her early message that Trump was a "stooge of corporate interests" by elevating billionaire businessman Mark Cuban as one of her top surrogates.
Whether Democratic leaders including Harrison will listen to those concerns from Biden's inner circle remains to be seen, but he expressed hostility when the message came from Sanders.
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Journalist Mitchell Northam noted that the Democratic Party has studiously ignored and expressed hostility toward Sanders' call for centering economic justice and cutting ties with Wall Street since the 2016 election, when the senator ran for president as a Democrat.
Sanders' message this week got an unlikely boost from conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks, who in 2020 dismissed the veteran, consistently popular senator as "useless" and "marginal."
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Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch applauded Brooks' "striking moment of self-awareness."
Progressive Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid expressed hope that Democratic leaders such as Harrison will do the same.
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President-elect Donald Trump is set to begin his promised mass deportation of undocumented immigrants as soon as he takes office on January 20, 2025, even as rights groups are mobilizing to stop him.
Trump national press secretary Karoline Leavitt toldFox News Wednesday morning that "the American people delivered a resounding victory for President Trump."
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The ACLU has urged cities and states to take steps to protect their undocumented residents ahead of January 20.
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The Brennan Center for Justice has called on Congress to repeal the act.
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