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House Progressives Challenge Biden's 'Unauthorized' Mideast Militarism
"Absent an imminent or actual sudden attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces, the executive branch may not introduce U.S. armed forces into hostilities without Congress' prior approval."
Nov 01, 2024
A handful of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives on Friday accused President Joe Biden of violating the Constitution and the War Powers Act by deploying U.S. troops to help Israel's war effort and urged his administration to pursue "de-escalatory action" in the Middle East.
"We are deeply concerned about the increasing role and involvement of the U.S. armed forces in expanding wars across the Middle East," Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), and André Carson (D-Ind.)—who all sponsored last year's " Cease-fire Now" resolution—wrote in a letter to Biden.
"Congress has the sole power to declare war."
This includes the deployment of U.S. commandos and intelligence officers to Israel just days after last year's Hamas-led attack that left more than 1,100 Israelis and foreign nationals dead—some of them killed fratricidally—and over 240 others taken prisoner, as well as a crew to operate an anti-ballistic missile battery following Iran's barrage against Israel last month.
"Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution," the lawmakers wrote. "As Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 makes abundantly clear, Congress holds the power to direct the removal of any armed forces engaged in hostilities outside the territory of the United States without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization."
"Absent an imminent or actual sudden attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces, the executive branch may not introduce U.S. armed forces into hostilities without Congress' prior approval," they stressed.
The letter—which came shortly before Election Day and is backed by over a dozen peace, progressive, and faith-based groups—continues:
Despite the administration's stated goal of avoiding a regional war, increasingly dangerous escalations have been made possible by transfers to the Israeli government of billions of dollars worth of weapons and military aid, comprehensive intelligence sharing and operational coordination, and diplomatic cover from the United States in the face of widespread condemnation from the international community...
Meanwhile, recent reporting indicates American military officials have discussed unauthorized U.S. military strikes against Iran. We have already seen an increase in U.S. service members deployed to the region in areas where there is a clear and present danger of hostilities.
"This current involvement, and any additional involvement or deployment, of the armed forces in the Israeli government's expanding regional war fall under the definition of 'hostilities' in the War Powers Resolution and are not in response to an imminent or actual attack against the United States," the lawmakers wrote. "As such, these actions are unauthorized and are subject to Congress' authorities pursuant to the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution."
The legislators ask Biden to explain his administration's "legal or constitutional justification" for "proposed hostilities" against Iran, whether the U.S. is "providing military services of any nature" for Israel, and for clarification of claims that U.S. attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen were conducted in accordance with the Constitution's self-defense authority.
The lawmakers stressed:
De-escalatory action is urgent and essential. Since October of last year, the Israeli government has killed over 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza, with this number likely a significant undercount. This includes over 16,700 children. Over 90% of the population has been displaced, and Palestinians throughout Gaza continue to face famine and starvation. In this same period, the Israeli government has killed over 2,700 people in Lebanon, the vast majority of whom have been killed since the start of the Israeli military's ground invasion and bombing campaign last month. Over 1.2 million people in Lebanon have already been displaced. These campaigns of collective punishment have continued to spread, with sieges on Palestinian cities and refugee camps in the West Bank, the bombing of critical civilian infrastructure in Yemen, and escalations of belligerence with Iran and Syria.
"These destructive wars must end, as must any unauthorized U.S. involvement in them," the letter concludes. "The American public deserves a say on the issue of war. Thus, Congress' involvement and debate are necessary. Every day that passes without a cease-fire produces catastrophic loss of life and threatens further death and destruction. We have an obligation to both the living and the dead to put an immediate end to this devastation."
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'Boot-Licking Trump Sycophant' Youngkin Dodges Question on National Guard Threat
"This is the textbook definition of 'gaslighting' by Glenn Youngkin," said a progressive Virginia organization.
Oct 15, 2024
The Virginia Democratic Party said Tuesday that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin—long promoted in the political press as a "moderate" alternative to the far-right MAGA movement—had made clear he was a "disgrace to our commonwealth" in an interview regarding GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's recent threat to deploy the U.S. military against his political opponents.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Monday evening confronted the governor with Trump's comments in an interview broadcast on Sunday in which the former president toldFox News' Maria Bartiromo that he was concerned about violence from "the enemy within" on Election Day.
"We have some very bad people, we have some sick people, radical left lunatics," Trump said in a clip played by Tapper on CNN. "And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military."
He later pointed to U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who helped lead the prosecution during Trump's first impeachment trial, as one of the "lunatics that we have inside."
"Is that something that you support?" Tapper asked Youngkin.
Youngkin repeatedly dodged Tapper's direct question, instead focusing on immigration and claiming the CNN anchor was "misinterpreting and misrepresenting" Trump's words, which he said were related to the former president's views on undocumented immigrants.
"I'm literally reading his quotes," said Tapper. "I'm literally reading his quotes to you and I played them earlier so you could hear that they were not made up by me."
The governor didn't budge from his message, repeatedly claiming that Tapper had taken "little snippets" from what Trump had said and created "a big narrative" out of the comments. He did not answer Tapper's question about whether he would support deploying the National Guard on Election Day.
"This is the textbook definition of 'gaslighting' by Glenn Youngkin... Insane. And EVIL," said progressive Virginia-based news outlet Blue Virginia. "Youngkin is an eternal disgrace to Virginia—worst governor ever, betrayer of our democracy, boot-licking Trump sycophant."
Independent journalist Eric Michael Garcia said the interview presented the latest evidence that Youngkin—who rose to his state's highest office after campaigning against the teaching of accurate U.S. history, including the history of racial injustice, in public schools—is not the "upbeat Post-Trump alternative" his supporters claim he is.
The interview aired around the time that Mark Esper, Trump's former defense secretary, urged CNN viewers to take seriously the GOP presidential nominee's threat to deploy the military on Election Day.
"I saw over the summer of 2020 where President Trump and those around him wanted to use the National Guard in various capacities in cities such as Chicago and Portland and Seattle," Esper toldCNN's Kaitlan Collins, referring to Trump's response when the police killing of George Floyd sparked racial justice protests. "So that's what equally concerns me about his comment would be the use of the military in these types of things."
At a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Monday, Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota also addressed Trump's threat, telling the audience, "He's talking about you."
"We'll let the lawyers decide if what he said was treason, but what I know is it's a call for violence, plain and simple," said Walz. "If anyone wants to pretend that this is a normal conversation that Donald Trump is having, just dispel that."
After Youngkin refused to say that as a governor, he would oppose mobilizing the military against Trump opponents, progressive strategist Murshed Zaheed said that "every reporter should be asking every Republican governor whether they will call the National Guard to help Trump target his enemies."
"Would love to get answers to this question from governors of Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, etc.," he said, referring to several battleground states.
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Chagossians 'Deplore' Deal Allowing US-UK to Keep Diego Garcia Air Base
"We remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland," one diaspora Chagossian said in response to the agreement.
Oct 03, 2024
Activists on Thursday decried a deal under which the United Kingdom will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius with the exception of Diego Garcia, an island from which the Indigenous Chagossian people were forcibly expelled over half a century ago to make way for one of the world's largest and most important U.S. military bases.
The agreement—which was announced Thursday by the U.K. and Mauritius governments—grants the latter full sovereignty over the remote Indian Ocean archipelago, while allowing the United States and Britain to keep the joint base on Diego Garcia for the next 99 years. Under the deal, Mauritius authorities will facilitate Chagossians' eventual resettlement of the archipelago, with the apparent glaring exception of Diego Garcia.
"Following two years of negotiation, this is a seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law," a joint statement published by the U.K. and Mauritius governments states. "Negotiations have been conducted in a constructive and respectful manner, as equal sovereign states, on the basis of international law, and with the intention of resolving all outstanding issues between the United Kingdom and Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago, including those relating to its former inhabitants."
"The treaty will address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians," the statement adds. "Mauritius will now be free to implement a program of resettlement on the islands of the Chagos Archipelago, other than Diego Garcia, and the U.K. will capitalize a new trust fund, as well as separately provide other support, for the benefit of Chagossians."
U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed what he called the "historic agreement," which he said represents a "clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes."
Some Chagossians also welcomed the deal. Isabelle Charlot, chair of the Chagos Islanders Movement, told BBC Radio 4 that the agreement gave her hope that her family could return to "a place that we can call home, where we will be free."
Other Chagossians decried the deal. The advocacy group Chagossian Voices—which is based in Crawley in West Sussex, England—said in a statement:
Chagossian Voices deplore the exclusion of the Chagossian community from the negotiations which have produced this statement of intent concerning the sovereignty of our homeland. Chagossians have learned this outcome from the media and remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland. The views of Chagossians, the Indigenous inhabitants of the islands, have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty.
"We remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland," Chagossian Voices founding member Frankie Bontemps told the BBC.
Diego Garcia was once home to around 1,500 Creole-speaking Chagossians and their beloved dogs. However, in the 1960s the U.S. convinced Britain to grant it full control there and subsequently began to "sweep" and "sanitize" the atoll of its Indigenous population, in the words of one American official.
"We must surely be very tough about this," one British official privately wrote, adding that "there will be no Indigenous population except seagulls."
Many Chagossians were tricked or terrorized into leaving. U.S. Marines told them they'd be bombed if they didn't evacuate, and Chagossians' dogs were gassed to death with fumes from military vehicles. The islanders were permitted to take just one suitcase with them. Most were shipped to Mauritius, where they were treated as second-class citizens and where many ended up living in poverty and heartbreak in the slums of the capital, Port Louis.
Meanwhile—and without any apparent sense of irony—the U.S. military dubbed the new Halliburton-built base on Diego Garcia Camp Justice. In addition to launching an unknown number of attacks on countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq from Diego Garcia during the ongoing so-called War on Terror, the U.S. military also dumped large amounts of human sewage into a protected coral lagoon on the atoll, belying British claims of commitment to ecological stewardship.
The forced displacement of the Chagossians was largely hidden from the U.S. and British public. However, the Chagossians never stopped fighting for justice. Britain's High Court of Justice twice ruled that their removal was illegal. In 2010, WikiLeaks published a secret U.S. diplomatic cable exposing nefarious intentions—denying Chagossians their right of return—behind the establishment of a marine reserve around the atoll.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an advisory opinion that the U.K. was exercising "illegal" sovereignty over Diego Garcia and urged the British government to "decolonize" the atoll by handing sovereignty to Mauritius, whose government long contended it was forced to cede control in order to secure its own independence from Britain.
Responding to the new agreement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday that while the deal will "address the wrongs against the Chagossians of the past," it "looks like it will continue the crimes long into the future."
"It does not guarantee that the Chagossians will return to their homeland, appears to explicitly ban them from the largest island, Diego Garcia, for another century, and does not mention the reparations they are allowed to rebuild their future," HRW senior legal adviser Clive Baldwin said in a statement.
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