Iran is prosecuting an actual war against us. I applaud the president for taking decisive action against the jihadist regime’s top combatant commander, General Qassem Soleimani, who had orchestrated the operations of anti-American terror networks and was responsible for killing hundreds of American troops.
Rather than engaging in the partisan preening of pointless WPA bickering, Democrats should be joining with Republicans to present a unified American front, in support of a president who is trying to prevent all-out war with Tehran, not provoke it. – Andrew McCarthy, Contributing Editor, National Review
FoxNews.com reports that
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced plans for the House to vote Thursday on a War Powers Resolution that aims to limit President Trump’s military action toward Iran, saying Democrats have “serious, urgent concerns about the administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward.”
The Democrat-authored resolution would reassert congressional authority and rebuke Trump’s decision to take out Iran’s top general without their consent. Pelosi said the resolution will go to the House Rules Committee on Wednesday and will be brought to the floor for a vote Thursday.
“Last week, the Trump administration conducted a provocative and disproportionate military airstrike targeting high-level Iranian military officials,” Pelosi said. “The administration took this action without consulting Congress. This action endangered our service members, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran.”
Fox News obtained the text of the resolution the House is prepping for debate on the floor. The resolution “requires the president to consult with Congress ‘in every possible instance’ before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities.”
The measure also appears to handcuff Trump when it comes to future strikes. The resolution says “Congress has not authorized the president to use military force against Iran.” The measure also “directs the president to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military” unless there is a specific blessing by Congress.
In other words, the plan would have specifically forbidden the drone strike ordered last week that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Republican leadership aides argued to Fox News that this War Powers Resolution is “toothless,” saying it has “NO chance of becoming law.” They noted how it is a “concurrent” resolution – which are not submitted to the president and do not have the force of law.
The first War Powers Resolution was passed in 1973 in an effort to prevent presidents from using the military without congressional approval. Since then, questions of presidential compliance have become common, with controversy stemming from President Bill Clinton’s actions in Kosovo and President Barack Obama’s operations in Libya.
Similar legislation passed the House last year but failed in the Senate. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is pushing it again this year and plans to force a vote that could come as soon as next week.
The announcement from Pelosi came after Democrats huddled at the Capitol Wednesday morning plotting how to rein in Trump after he authorized the lethal strike against Soleimani, even as the president signaled shortly afterward that he’s looking to de-escalate the situation.
Democrats have demanded answers from the administration about the alleged imminent threat that sparked the Soleimani attack, and how Trump will de-escalate the tensions with Iran and keep Americans safe.
Addressing the nation, Trump said Wednesday morning that Iran, though, appears to be standing down and there were no causalities in its retaliatory attack.
“The American people should be extremely grateful and happy,” Trump said in an address from the White House. “No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime.”
Oh, the hypocrisy.
Under Former President Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm), the U.S. carried out over 2,800 strikes against targets located in Iraq and Syria as part of the overall war against the Islamic State (ISIS).
After Obama came “under intense pressure from Capitol Hill”, he finally submitted a draft authorization for the use of military force against the terrorist organization.
Where was all of this pearl-clutching “concern and righteous indignation” against President Obama when he was approving airstrikes against terrorists in Syria and Iraq?
And, how about the intervention in Libya which Obama arranged with his buddies at the United Nations which turned out to be an abject failure?
In fact, King Barack the First acted on his own authority several times, including his work with DACA and several revisions of Obamacare.
Remember the $150 billion that Obama paid the Mad Mullahs of Iran in 2016?
He certainly did not ask Congress’ permission beforehand. He just did it.
So, if Obama could stage all of those military operations and give all of that money to our Sovereign Nation’s sworn enemy and a state sponsor of Radical Islamic Terrorism, then why can’t President Trump avoid Word War II by taking out a murderous butcher who killed over 600 Americans?
By the way, Obama’s Nuclear Deal with the Iranians would have protected the barbaric General Quassem Soleimani.
Perhaps that is the reason the Pelosi and the Democrats want to be able to control the military actions of our “Commander-in-Chief”…Obama’s “friends” are their “Friends, also.
And, well, there is another reason, as was reported back in January of 2019 by Breitbart.com…
In her inaugural speech to the House of Representatives on Thursday, Pelosi sounded a similar theme, calling Congress “co-equal” to the presidency:
“Our nation is at an historic moment. Two months ago, the American people spoke, and demanded a new dawn.
They called upon the beauty of our Constitution: our system of checks and balances that protects our democracy, remembering that the legislative branch is Article I: the first branch of government, co-equal to the president and judiciary.”
By inference, Pelosi seems to believe, the leader of the legislative branch is equal to the president in power.
Dementia is a horrible thing, especially if the demented individual is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
As we say down in Dixie,
Her cornbread ain’t done in the middle.
First off, Pelosi is not the Head of the Legislative Branch of our Constitutional Republic.
She is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, established by our Founding Fathers to be like the British House of Commons, that is, the LOWER House of Congress with the Senate being patterned after the House of Lords, or, the UPPER House.
The United States Constitution mentions the position of Speaker but gives it no unique powers, except being ranked third in the line of succession if anything happens to the President (God forbid).
Also, nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the three branches of government are “co-equal”. The President does not answer to Congress. Congress sends bills to his desk to be signed into law OR VETOED.
He can act on his own accord concerning matters of national security and foreign policy. And, the Judicial Branch, i.e., the courts, have the ability to overturn legislation passed by Congress.
And, while I’m thinking about it, did y’all ever hear Pelosi claim that Cryin’ John Boehner or Vichy Republican Paul Ryan was the equal of Former President Barack Hussein Obama?
Puhleeze.
Pelosi’s Resolution means two things: diddly and squat.
Until He Comes,
KJ
Kingsjester's Blog 