Russ Feingold: How to End the War

[marmar]

from TomPaine.com:


How To End The War
Russ Feingold
February 02, 2007



Russ Feingold is a United States senator from Wisconsin.

Our founders wisely kept the power to fund a war separate from the power to conduct a war. In their brilliant design of our system of government, Congress got the power of the purse, and the president got the power of the sword. As James Madison wrote, “Those who are to conduct a war cannot in the nature of things, be proper or safe judges, whether a war ought to be commenced, continued or concluded.”

Earlier this week, I chaired a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee to remind my colleagues in the Senate that, through the power of the purse, we have the constitutional power to end a war. At the hearing, a wide range of constitutional scholars agreed that Congress can use its power to end a military engagement.

The Constitution gives Congress the explicit power “ declare War,” “o raise and support Armies,” “o provide and maintain a Navy” and “o make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces.” In addition, under Article I, “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” These are direct quotes from the Constitution of the United States. Yet to hear some in the Administration talk, it is as if these powers were written in invisible ink. They were not. These powers are a clear and direct statement from the founders of our republic that Congress has authority to declare, to define and, ultimately, to end a war.

If and when Congress acts on the will of the American people by ending our involvement in the Iraq war, Congress will be performing the role assigned it by the founding fathers—defining the nature of our military commitments and acting as a check on a president whose policies are weakening our nation. .....(more)

The rest of the piece is at: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/02/02/how_to_end_the_war.php

[goodhue]

1. Why other dems are unwilling to use power of the purse is beyond me

What a bunch of cowards.

[dogday]

3. This cartoon was made during the time Feingold wanted to censure

but it seems to still apply today.....

[mzmolly]

4. I understand why:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_go_pr_wh/iraq_intelligence_estimate

If U.S. troops were to leave, the report said, "we judge that this almost certainly would lead to a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict in Iraq." It would also intensify Sunni resistance to the Iraqi government and hamper reconciliation efforts, the report found.

But, I do expect we will use the "purse" to shape our exit. Murtha is in a position to do just that. We have to come to the conclusion that we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't.

[goodhue]

5. Relying on a National Intelligence Estimate report

That's part of the problem

[mzmolly]

6. I don't think anyone disputes that when we leave, the violence will escalate?

However, we're just prolonging that fact, and our kids/parents/sisters/brothers are dying in the mean time.

[goodhue]

11. actually people have differing opinions as to whether violence will increase

Here is poll of Shias in Iraq . . .

[mzmolly]

13. Very good to know.

Thanks. Do you have a link I can bookmark?

[goodhue]

16. WorldPublicOpinion.org

Summary . . .
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/275.php?nid=&id=&pnt=275&lb=hmpg1

Full report . . .
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/sep06/Iraq_Sep06_rpt.pdf

Also see here . . .
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brmiddleeastnafricara/250.php?nid=&id=&pnt=250&lb=brme

[mzmolly]

18. Thank so much.

:hi:

[lyonn]

21. It's all in the interpretation! Ha n/t

[TahitiNut]

10. The die was irrevocably cast in March 2003.

It is not the US "exit" from Iraq that certainly "lead(s) to a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict in Iraq" - it was the invasion itself. The consequences were absolutely guaranteed at that point. The bodies of American servicemen are being used as a cap on a pressure cooker that's going to blow, no matter what!

[mzmolly]

14. Yes indeed.

And, "we" all said it when we opposed the war.

[TahitiNut]

19. Rarely have I ever been more certain of anything than when I marched in September 2002.

(With some TERRIFIC DUers, too.) It was so crystal clear that Cheney/Bush were hell-bent too create chaos (PROFITABLE chaos) in the Middle East that I couldn't believe that people didn't see it. For sure, the 50-100,000 people in the streets that day sure saw it.

Impeach. Remove. Indict. Convict. Imprison. (Rinse. Repeat.) - America has NO honor unless and until we do this. None.

[mzmolly]

23. I marched as well. And, did so alongside veterans for peace -

some of whom were in the first gulf war. Indeed, people saw it - but the MS media helped some adjust their blinders.

[lyonn]

15. Murtha was the only smart pol on the Hill a year ago when he

set-out his idea for backing away from Iraq. He did not say abandon Iraq, he said to get out of the heat of battle and "stand by" in case the U.S. needed to intervene in something that would affect us. Abandoning Iraq does not make sense but escalation and putting our troops in the heat and heart of the Shiite battle (in particular) is suicide for the troops and no help to the sitution in Iraq at this time.

It seems fairly obvious that the Shiite and Sunnis must work together somehow. The Sunnis no doubt have outside help like the Saudis and most of the Arab nation. The Shiite have the majority population. The U.S. should concentrate on making the two factions come to some sort of an agreement where both sides can benefit. The would be oil and power.

Hadley says, our current policies are designed to deal with the issues set-out in the NIE report; we can succeed with the right policies.

Bull Shit Hadley, and all those that put you out there to spout this idiocy.

[mzmolly]

17. Agreed.

The primary position of Democrats is to re-deploy and secure the borders.

[Decruiter]

22. Read Karen Kwiatkowski's essay, Dead Men Walking..., January 8, 2007....

snip to last 4 paragraphs,

"The challenge is to shift the dynamic here at home, in our own prisonhouse of misplaced faith in government, our own illusions of goodness where instead there is only the now-metasticized military-industrial-congressional complex described by President Dwight D. Eisenhower nearly fifty years ago. Three generations since then, and maybe more, have disregarded, or perhaps never understood what we were paying for, in treasure and in constitutional principle.

To imagine freedom from our current foreign policy imbroglio, we step into dangerous territory. It is estimated that 60 million American voters have a financial stake in the military-industrial complex, not counting those who invest in the many American companies that rely on militarism abroad and at home to provide shareholder dividends. As we contemplate a draft, we forget that we really and truly don’t need one. Undereducated and underemployed young people may complain, but they don’t really count. Increasingly, college students are willing to take any paying job, including one offered in the name of “service” and patriotism. Their parents and grandparents will accept the draft as well, in the name of that societal restructure that Eisenhower warned against, and has now become the norm.

Thus, the dead man walking is not just our increasingly confused and cartoonish Mr. Bush. We see dead men walking in the discredited Republican party, once valued for both fiscal restraint and political seriousness. We find them in the United States Army, and in nearly every office of the E-ring of the Pentagon. We see dead men walking as we watch the young men and women who have been sent to the Middle East to spread “democracy” at the point of the gun, to occupy in a land that will never accept our occupation, and doesn’t need it. Finally, here at home, many Americans who otherwise would stand up and act to reject their government instead cower. Because for all of our understanding of the farce, and our recognition of the cure – leaving Iraq immediately – too many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, burdened by personal and national debt – to the tune of $440,000 for every American household. At least 60 million of us truly believe we need that Department of Defense paycheck, that military contract, that service-sector job that sucks greedily at the military-industrial teat.

Thus, Americans of all parties seem to be nastily cheering George W. Bush as he marches into the valley of the shadow of death, fearing no evil and intending even more murder, more destruction, more breaking of banks and breaking of hearts. Better him than us, we mutter. But we are all dead men walking. "

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski169

[Martin Eden]

25. Let's beat those swords into plowshares

The military industrial complex is an expensive government program with a destructive product. Since so much of our tax money is being wasted and so many Americans depend on this industry for their paychecks, the solution should be obvious: retool the industry.

Let's put all those people and all that money to work building safe, efficient transportation systems.

Let's invest heavily in non-polluting renewable energy sources.

Let's produce a new generation of efficient and recyclable appliances.

Let's add insulation and solar panels to older homes and require new ones to meet standards for the 21st century.

Let's rebuild our schools and really invest in the future of our children.


I think all of the above would produce better results than spending that money in Iraq and on the next generation of weapons of mass destruction.

[pstans]

2. We are lucky to have Feingold fighting in the Senate

He is the one of the only one's with a backbone.

Russ is standing up for US!
"It's time to stand up - not to cheer, but to fight back." - Russ Feingold

[lyonn]

9. Feingold should be in the running for Pres, but, he is much

needed on the Hill. We need representation there nearly as much as we need predidential direction.

[pstans]

24. He is in position to lead on many important issues

He is leading the opposition against the Iraq War. He is also in position to lead on health care, campaign finance reform, reforming our media, and protecting our civil liberties.

[nam78_two]

7. K&R.nt

[midnight]

8. Come on congress let's do the job your are suppose to be

doing. Please put some over site into this illegal war, and end it.

[RiverStone]

12. "If and When Congress Acts"

Russ is rocking with this proposal and I hope all our DEMS on the Hill are paying close attention, because we The People sure are.

There should be no "if" at all! I expect of my DEM leaders a swift and decisive response of support to Russ's proposal. Ending this tragic war was part of the huge mandate that put DEMS in power last November (thankfully). Yet, now that they are there, I expect no complacency - I expect them to vote to end the $$$ for Shrub's war of aggression in a timely manner. Doing any less, IMHO, would cause me to question their party loyalty on principles and actions.

[lyonn]

20. The Peoples' only weapon, Cut Off The Money

Per our pres.: “Frankly, that’s not their responsibility.”

Per our VP: “It’s not going to stop us.”

Their response to those against a surge and Their War Plan.

Well, at least we know where we stand with this bunch, soooo, I'm for cutting off the money, now.