In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s decision, it appeared he might also bully his way past Congress, the press, and Europe to begin escalating toward military conflict. But the tide may be turning against Trump and his “war cabinet.”
This week, Congress sent a message loud and clear to Trump: you do not have legal authorization to start a war with Iran. As part of the annual defense bill, a massive piece of “must-pass” legislation that provides the legal authority for the Pentagon’s operations, a group of lawmakers inserted a key provision to put the brakes on any plans by Trump, Bolton, or Pompeo to start a war. The language — drafted by Reps. Keith Ellison, Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, Jan Schakowsky, Jim McGovern, and Walter Jones — amended the defense bill to state clearly that “the use of the Armed Forces against Iran is not authorized by this Act or any other Act.”
The Senate would do well to follow the House’s lead — and go even farther to shut all the backdoors to war. If the Senate approves the House’s language, President Trump would likely be forced to sign into law an acknowledgement that he does not have the authority to launch a war against Iran. This is vital, as it would close a dangerous path that the administration may have been planning to take: citing the 2001 authorization for military force against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the very one that has been used as legal cover for nearly all of America’s military adventures in the Middle East ever since.
Congress should also explore further options to counter Trump’s attempt to bully Europe into backing out of the Iran deal and allowing its companies to succumb to U.S. sanctions. Lawmakers should seriously consider trying to put legal limits on Trump’s ability to sanction U.S. partners who are simply complying with an Iran accord that the U.S. itself helped write.
If Trump does manage to force Europe to cave, the threat of escalation rises exponentially. A European failure to save the deal, followed by an Iranian decision to follow suit—exiting the deal, kicking out inspectors and ramping up the production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel—would accelerate the escalatory tit-for-tat set off by Trump’s Iran deal decision and lead to war.
This possibility was, in fact, what led Obama to go all in on a nuclear deal in the first place: a recognition that Iran’s nuclear program was advancing so quickly ..........
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/05/did-congress-just-shut-down-trumps-war-plans-iran/148613/
fuck Trump puppet and war monger republicans and neocons.
This week, Congress sent a message loud and clear to Trump: you do not have legal authorization to start a war with Iran. As part of the annual defense bill, a massive piece of “must-pass” legislation that provides the legal authority for the Pentagon’s operations, a group of lawmakers inserted a key provision to put the brakes on any plans by Trump, Bolton, or Pompeo to start a war. The language — drafted by Reps. Keith Ellison, Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, Jan Schakowsky, Jim McGovern, and Walter Jones — amended the defense bill to state clearly that “the use of the Armed Forces against Iran is not authorized by this Act or any other Act.”
The Senate would do well to follow the House’s lead — and go even farther to shut all the backdoors to war. If the Senate approves the House’s language, President Trump would likely be forced to sign into law an acknowledgement that he does not have the authority to launch a war against Iran. This is vital, as it would close a dangerous path that the administration may have been planning to take: citing the 2001 authorization for military force against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the very one that has been used as legal cover for nearly all of America’s military adventures in the Middle East ever since.
Congress should also explore further options to counter Trump’s attempt to bully Europe into backing out of the Iran deal and allowing its companies to succumb to U.S. sanctions. Lawmakers should seriously consider trying to put legal limits on Trump’s ability to sanction U.S. partners who are simply complying with an Iran accord that the U.S. itself helped write.
If Trump does manage to force Europe to cave, the threat of escalation rises exponentially. A European failure to save the deal, followed by an Iranian decision to follow suit—exiting the deal, kicking out inspectors and ramping up the production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel—would accelerate the escalatory tit-for-tat set off by Trump’s Iran deal decision and lead to war.
This possibility was, in fact, what led Obama to go all in on a nuclear deal in the first place: a recognition that Iran’s nuclear program was advancing so quickly ..........
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/05/did-congress-just-shut-down-trumps-war-plans-iran/148613/
fuck Trump puppet and war monger republicans and neocons.
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