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There are 222 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although they would all claim to be for a strong national defense, most of them are incorrigible warmongers that don’t know the difference between offense and defense.
There are forty-one national emergencies that presidents have declared in the forty-seven years since the National Emergencies Act was passed that are still in force, the oldest of which dates back to 1979. Representatives Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Eli Crane (R-AZ), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) recently tried to end five of these national emergencies (the Congo, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria), but could not get the support of their fellow Republicans in the House.
According to Rep. Gosar:
Emergencies are by definition temporary. That is why the law governing national emergency declarations provide the president temporary powers and are intended to be short-lasting and require Congressional review and oversight no later than six months after being declared, and every six months thereafter.
The “emergencies” at issue here are between 10 and 20 years old, and are clearly not urgent, temporary or short lasting. Congress has failed to perform its most basic Constitutional duty: checking the powers of the executive branch. Not once has Congress reviewed any of these decades-old emergency declarations, as required by law.
Sadly, in many instances, the sanctions imposed by these national emergency declarations aid and abet conflicts thousands of miles away, destroy innocent lives and exacerbate human suffering.
No president, regardless of party, should be handed a blank check and endless special powers that can be used to circumvent the normal democratic process, exceed their constitutional authority, and violate the balance of power.
He further says that “the extended national emergency declarations related to the Congo, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria allow the President to access 135 special statutory powers.”
If I lived in Arizona, and I voted, I would vote for Paul Gosar.
H.J.Res.68 would terminate “the national emergency declared by President George W. Bush on October 27, 2006, which blocks the property of certain persons contributing to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” The Republican vote was 24 for the resolution and 191 against.
H.J.Res.70 would terminate “the national emergency concerning Libya declared by President Obama on February 25, 2011.” The Republican vote was 26 for the resolution and 189 against.
H.J.Res.71 would terminate “the national emergency declared by President George W. Bush on May 22, 2003, with respect to the stabilization of Iraq.” The Republican vote was 22 for the resolution and 194 against.
H.J.Res.74 would terminate “the national emergency declared by President Barack Obama on May 16, 2012, which blocks the property of certain persons threatening the peace, security, or stability of Yemen.” The Republican vote was 23 for the resolution and 192 against.
H.J.Res.79 would terminate “the national emergency declared by President George W. Bush on May 11, 2004, which blocked the property of certain persons and export of certain goods to Syria in response to Syria supporting terrorist activity in Iraq, among other activities.” The Republican vote was 20 for the resolution and 193 against.
House Republicans are incorrigible warmongers.
Regarding Iraq in particular, Rep. Gosar wrote in a Washington Times op-ed:
“In 2003, President George W. Bush declared a national emergency and cited it as the legal basis for the invasion of Iraq, despite the fact that Iraq was not actually a threat to the national security of the United States. This decision was an abuse of executive power, violated international law, and undermined the authority of Congress.”
U.S. foreign policy is reckless, belligerent, and meddling because Republican warmongers make it so.
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Laurence M. Vance [send him mail] writes from central Florida. He is the author of The War on Drugs Is a War on Freedom; War, Christianity, and the State: Essays on the Follies of Christian Militarism; War, Empire, and the Military: Essays on the Follies of War and U.S. Foreign Policy; King James, His Bible, and Its Translators, and many other books. His newest books are Free Trade or Protectionism? and The Free Society.
Featured image is from South Front
