The US Should Not Support Israel’s War on Iran, Say Democrats and Republicans
Bernie Sanders has sponsored an anti-war resolution in the Senate, while conservative Thomas Massie is doing the same in the House.
Representatives Thomas Massie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, two cosponsors of the House resolution against war with Iran.
(Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images; Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)The members of Congress who put adherence to the United States Constitution ahead of presidential demands or elite partisan loyalties are uniting in an uncommon coalition to oppose deeper US involvement in the burgeoning conflict between Israel and Iran.
How uncommon? On Monday, as President Trump was sending signals that caused at least some analysts to suggest that he might increase US military support for Israel’s war efforts, US Representative Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who by just about any measure is the most seriously conservative member of Congress, went on social media to announce: “This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution. I’m introducing a bipartisan War Powers Resolution tomorrow to prohibit our involvement. I invite all members of Congress to cosponsor this resolution.”
“Signing on!” came the rapid response from one of Massie’s most prominent colleagues on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum: New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Another high-profile member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, California Democrat Ro Khanna, is Massie’s co–lead sponsor for the resolution, which seeks to force Trump to get congressional approval to enter the Israel-Iran war. The pair have structured the measure as a privileged resolution, meaning that it must receive a vote. “It’s time for every member to go on record,” said Khanna. “Are you with the neocons who led us into Iraq or do you stand with the American people?”
That message has gained traction in not just the House but also the Senate, where Vermont’s Bernie Sanders called out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Friday decision to launch the attack on Iran. “Netanyahu started this war with a surprise unilateral attack against Iran, which has already killed hundreds of people and wounded many more,” explained Sanders. “This attack was specifically designed to sabotage American diplomatic efforts: Israel assassinated the man overseeing Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, despite the fact that further talks with the United States were scheduled for Sunday. Whatever you think of the corrupt and authoritarian Iranian regime, this attack clearly violates international law and the United Nations Charter.”
On Monday evening, Sanders introduced the No War Against Iran Act in the Senate, with a statement that referenced the oft-neglected constitutional requirement that wars must be declared by Congress, not initiated by presidential whim. “Our Founding Fathers entrusted the power of war and peace exclusively to the people’s elected representatives in Congress, and it is imperative that we make clear that the President has no authority to embark on another costly war without explicit authorization by Congress,” said the senator. “Another war in the Middle East could cost countless lives, waste trillions more dollars and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, and more displacement. I will do everything that I can as a Senator to defend the Constitution and prevent the U.S. from being drawn into another war.”
Though Sanders has a long record of lonely opposition to illegal wars, this time he did not stand alone. Democratic Senators Peter Welch of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Tina Smith of Minnesota signed on as cosponsors of the plan “to prohibit the use of federal funds for any use of military force in or against Iran absent specific Congressional authorization.”
Another Democratic senator, Virginia centrist Tim Kaine, the 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president, has introduced a War Powers Resolution “expressing concern about the escalating violence in the Middle East and its potential to pull the U.S. into conflict. The resolution will “require a prompt debate and vote prior to using any U.S. military force against Iran.” And a key Republican senator, Kentucky’s Rand Paul, echoed the message, arguing that “it’s not the U.S.’s job to be involved in this war. Iraq was a mess, Afghanistan was a mess.” Paul expressed hope that Trump would resist pressure from GOP hawks, such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who are urging the president “to go all in” on the war.
The best protection against presidential war mongering has always been a reassertion of Congress’s authority to declare wars. And many members of the House are crossing party lines to do that by supporting the Massie-Khanna resolution.
“I support this resolution because the American people do not want another war,” US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said Tuesday. Another supporter, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), said, “The president cannot circumvent congressional war powers and unilaterally send U.S. troops to war with Iran. This is a violation of Article I of the Constitution which requires congressional approval to declare war. The American people do not want another endless war in the Middle East that will cost lives and tear their families apart.”
By Tuesday morning, the cosponsor list for the Massie-Khanna resolution had grown to include more than a dozen representatives, including the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Texas Representative Greg Casar, and the top Democrat on a key committee, Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern. “President Trump must pursue off-ramps and negotiation to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and not let Netanyahu drag Americans into conflict,” said McGovern, who a number of years ago helped form the House No War With Iran Caucus. Now he is urging “de-escalation away from a bloody and expensive conflict.”
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