Congresswoman Duckworth should stop "leaning" and lead charge against criminal Syrian bombing
The news report yesterday listed IL-8th District Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth as a "leaning NO" vote to the President's proposed criminal bombing of Syria. While that is encouraging, it is not good enough. Duckworth served in President George W. Bush's criminal Iraq war that killed hundreds of thousands, including 4,422 of her fellow GI's, and she is still reticent about Bush's criminality and still reticent about demanding no more murderous military ventures. Her last website statement on Syria is 12 days old and lists this as her priority: "While the United States cannot stand by as innocent civilians are being massacred, it's my responsibility as a Member of Congress to make sure we don't commit resources, the most precious of which are our men and women in uniform, with no comprehensive plan for our involvement."
What Duckworth doesn't get is that her responsibility, as well as that of her 434 colleagues, is to ensure that an Imperial President never again sentences thousands of innocents in a foreign land to being blown to bits to save face, or to pretend that the US matters in the Middle East, which it doesn't when you've piled up enough corpses to reach the moon. Her statement implies murderous intervention is fine if we have a comprehensive plan. That is bunk.
A more disturbing line in her August 30th statement reads: "While I support the President's authority to initiate action since he was elected by this nation and in light of the divisiveness in Congress today, I will have tough questions for the Administration should they intervene prior to Congressional approval". Since when does being elected give the President the power to initiate criminal war, or any war for that matter, without Congressional approval? If her response is to simply ask "tough questions", than she is surely shirking her Congressional, Constitutional and moral duty.
It's good to have vets in Congress to wisely demand US pullback from our rampant, murderous militarism. But we need ones who truly comprehend the heinous activities that have left Middle East countries in ruins and a neglected America heading for the scrapheap failed empires. My first choice would not be Tammy Duckworth who still appears conflicted about really doing the right thing. My pick is former Iraq war vet Chelsea Manning, who was tortured by Uncle Sam for a year for daring to "out" the criminality we peaceniks suspected all along. Oh, I forget. She has to serve about nine more years of unjust imprisonment before being eligible to run.
OK, Congresswoman Duckworth. It's up to you.
What Duckworth doesn't get is that her responsibility, as well as that of her 434 colleagues, is to ensure that an Imperial President never again sentences thousands of innocents in a foreign land to being blown to bits to save face, or to pretend that the US matters in the Middle East, which it doesn't when you've piled up enough corpses to reach the moon. Her statement implies murderous intervention is fine if we have a comprehensive plan. That is bunk.
A more disturbing line in her August 30th statement reads: "While I support the President's authority to initiate action since he was elected by this nation and in light of the divisiveness in Congress today, I will have tough questions for the Administration should they intervene prior to Congressional approval". Since when does being elected give the President the power to initiate criminal war, or any war for that matter, without Congressional approval? If her response is to simply ask "tough questions", than she is surely shirking her Congressional, Constitutional and moral duty.
It's good to have vets in Congress to wisely demand US pullback from our rampant, murderous militarism. But we need ones who truly comprehend the heinous activities that have left Middle East countries in ruins and a neglected America heading for the scrapheap failed empires. My first choice would not be Tammy Duckworth who still appears conflicted about really doing the right thing. My pick is former Iraq war vet Chelsea Manning, who was tortured by Uncle Sam for a year for daring to "out" the criminality we peaceniks suspected all along. Oh, I forget. She has to serve about nine more years of unjust imprisonment before being eligible to run.
OK, Congresswoman Duckworth. It's up to you.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 5:36 AM
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