NEW
WARS / OLD WARS – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The New York
Times today published a
story on its front page today about stepped-up US air attacks
on ISIS-controlled oil fields in Syria. Revenues from the oil fields is said to
provide $40 million a month to finance the Islamic State. Nowhere in the
article is it mentioned that the ISIS oil is transported and sold on the black
market in US ally Turkey.
Tell
President Obama and Congress:
MORE
DIPLOMACY, LESS WAR IN SYRIA!
As the war in Syria
continues to rage, the US took two contradictory steps in the past week. The
convening of an international conference in Vienna with all the major interested
outside parties, including Iran for the first time, was a positive development.
On the other hand, the announced dispatch of US special forces into the Syrian
war zone without authorization by Congress or the UN continues the policy of
Presidential unilateralism which ignores international law, the constitutional
role of Congress, and sound policy.
‘Make
No Mistake About It, This Is a War’
As
Welch observes: “The legal framework justifying this war is loosely tied to the
fumes of a Congressional authorization approved in response to the 9/11 attack
on America over 14 years ago.” “I am deeply concerned by escalating mission
creep in Syria."—Congresswoman Barbara Lee
That’s
an absurd construct, argues Welch. “A civil war in Syria did not exist 14 years
ago. ISIS did not exist 14 years ago. Neither the United States nor Russia were
conducting military operations in Syria 14 years ago,” notes the congressman,
who says it is time for Congress to focus on the question of whether the United
States should be engaged in a new war in the Middle East… There should be no
question that a congressional debate is required—and needed. Americans should be
brought into this discussion, and the way to do that is by raising the issue in
Congress. The House and Senate should reject the flimsy excuse of a 14-year-old
AUMF and vote on whether to authorize the growing intervention that the
administration is now implementing across Iraq and Syria. More
House
Lawmakers Call on Speaker Ryan to Bring AUMF to House Floor for Debate and
Vote
The
letter to Speaker Ryan is led by Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Tom Cole,
(R-OK), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Walter Jones (R-NC), Peter Welch (D-VT), and John
Lewis (D-GA). Click here to view the letter… “We do not share the same
policy prescriptions for U.S. military engagement in the region, but we do share
the belief that it is past time for the Congress to fulfill its obligations
under the Constitution and vote on an AUMF that clearly delineates the authority
and limits, if any, on U.S. military engagement in Iraq, Syria and the
surrounding region,” the lawmakers added. “Congress can no longer ask our brave
service men and women to continue to serve in harm’s way while we fail in
carrying out our constitutional responsibility in the area of war and peace,”
the lawmakers concluded. “As long as the House fails to assert its
constitutional prerogatives and authority, the Administration may continue to
expand the mission and level of engagement of U.S. Armed Forces throughout the
region. We strongly urge you, Mr. Speaker, to bring an AUMF to the floor of the
House as quickly as possible.” More
H.Res.508 -
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President of the
United States should use the full authority of his office to convene
international negotiations intended to stop the civil war in Syria
has been cosponsored by just Reps. Moulton and McGovern from our
state; let your own House Member know that you want them to sign on.
The U.S. - Saudi
Alliance: Disaster for the Middle East, 7:00 pm to 9:00
pm, First Church in Cambridge • 11 Garden Street • near Harvard Square T
stop • Cambridge. The US-Saudi relationship is a key reason for the
instability and terror inflicted across the Middle East by murderous sectarian
groups, repressive governments and US and Saudi bombing campaigns. Breaking up
this destructive US-Saudi relationship will be a major step towards peace in the
region. Medea Benjamin Code Pink, speaking on the corrupt US-Saudi
alliance; Code Pink is a co-founder of the Coalition Against the US-Saudi
Alliance; Rabyaah Althaibani on war & human rights abuses in her
homeland of Yemen. Sponsored by United for Justice with Peace, Cosponsored by:
American Friends Service Committee, Massachusetts Global Action, Massachusetts
Peace Action, UNAC (United National Antiwar Coalition), and Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom.
5pm -
RALLY: Stop Supporting Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf
Tyrannies, @MBTA-Harvard Square
Sen.
Tom Udall: KEEP U.S. TROOPS OUT OF SYRIA
Efforts
to support so-called moderate forces in Syria have failed so far. Many of the
weapons we provided to rebels under the failed train-and-equip program are now
in the hands of militants affiliated with al-Qaeda or other jihadist groups. It
is a mistake to believe that continued involvement on the ground would do
anything other than put our troops directly in danger. We should not increase
our military footprint in Syria without a realistic mission that has a chance of
success… Further, U.S.
boots on the ground put the United States on shaky legal ground under both the
War Powers Act and international law. Congress has not provided an authorization
for the use of military force in Syria, and we have not been invited by Syria,
as we have in Iraq, to provide support for groups opposed to ISIL.
That
is why I introduced legislation with Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut to prevent further escalation of
American military involvement in Syria. It allows for humanitarian aid and
intelligence gathering against America’s foes. More
S.2239 - Protecting Americans from the Proliferation of
Weapons to Terrorists Act of 2015 Prohibits
the obligation or expenditure of funds made available to the Central
Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the National Security Council,
the National Security Agency, or any other U.S. agency or entity involved in
intelligence activities for the purpose of, or in a manner which would have the
effect of, supporting military or paramilitary operations in Syria.
Makes
an exception for funds obligated for non-lethal humanitarian assistance for the
Syrian people provided directly by the U.S. government through nongovernmental
organizations and contractors or foreign governments.
So far only three
cosponsors: Sen. Tom Udall [D-NM], Sen. Mike Lee [R-UT], Sen. Christopher S.
Murphy [D-CT]. You can call Sen. Warren (202-224-4543) and Sen. Markey
(202-224-2742) to ask that they also cosponsor.
FREE
SYRIAN ARMY DECIMATED BY DESERTIONS
The
FSA, once viewed by the international community as a viable alternative
to the rule of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has seen its power wane
dramatically this year amid widespread desertions… The FSA began suffering battlefield setbacks as early as 2013, including some to Islamist rebel groups in northern Syria. This prompted some
members of the US House Intelligence Committee and the Obama administration to
lose faith in the FSA… The desertions have taken a toll on the
FSA's strength. Determining the total number of FSA fighters is difficult, said
Columb Strack, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at global
information company IHS. "The FSA is made up of more than 2,050 factions," he
said. He estimates that FSA groups in southern Syria have about 35,000 fighters. He
noted that estimates for northern FSA groups prove harder because the FSA "is so
fragmented there"… Desertions from the FSA have been common in Aleppo and
northern Syria more generally, where Islamist groups such as the Nusra Front,
which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, are more powerful… Moreover, he noted that
the better funding, arms and strength of Islamist rebels had made "far more
recruits - and even many moderate combatants - join such groups", since 2012,
whereas the FSA is currently dealing with many desertions. More
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