No wars without congressional approval

In Germany we have a "parliamentary army", i.e. a deployment of the Bundeswehr requires the approval of the Bundestag. Theoretically, this rule existed (with some exceptions) in the U.S. - until President Bush forced the AUMF on Congress in 2002 - an Authorization for Use of Military Force for the war against Iraq and finally worldwide as the "War on Terror".

Now there are initiatives by NGOs and congressmen to take this blank check for waging war back from the president, or at least to end the 2002 AUMF. Win Without War reports on this:

With the growing public awareness of our forever wars’ costs, we’re on the verge of a HUGE breakthrough: a provision in a “must-pass” defense bill would repeal the 2002 Iraq war authorization, a key law used to justify potentially illegal and unconstitutional military actions around the world.

This repeal is how we can start to close the door on an era of endless war, but with time running out in the congressional calendar, everything is coming to a head — and we need your support to keep up the pressure.

On March 18, 2019, the U.S. military dropped two bombs over 12 minutes, killing as many as 64 women and children huddled against a river bank in Baghouz, Syria. Yet until this weekend, the strike — a possible war crime — was covered up by the U.S. military. What else are they hiding?

Here’s where we remind you: the United States is NOT authorized to be at war in Syria. There is NO specific congressional authorization for use of military force for Syria. Yet U.S. operations there and across the globe continue because presidents and the Pentagon twist current law to find the authority to keep dropping bombs.

And Congress has largely acquiesced — until now.

Air Force lawyer Lt. Col. Dean W. Korsak flagged the strikes as a possible war crime, but an investigation was never done. Instead, the military downplayed the death toll and United States-led coalition forces bulldozed the blast site. After witnessing multiple internal failures to investigate, Col. Korsak alerted the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this year.

The people of Syria have suffered immensely in the face of U.S. forever wars. We already knew that this sort of devastation wasn’t a one-off. As independent NGOs have been reporting for years, the United States has long been accused of carrying out bombings in Syria alongside coalition forces that have killed thousands of civilians. The vast majority without acknowledgement or redress.

This is no accident. Our system is geared towards war and violence because of the power of weapons contractors, because voices of impacted people are silenced or locked out, and because U.S. policymakers have for too long looked the other way.

But not if we can help it. Momentum is building in Congress to repeal the 2002 AUMF and — finally — start to tear up outdated, blank check AUMFs that allow for endless war.

That’s why our team is pushing with everything we’ve got to ensure this repeal is included in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, a bill near-guaranteed to make it to President Biden’s desk. We’re ramping up our work to meet this moment, as well as move into this next crucial phase of our campaign — and we need you with us for the long haul.

the Win Without War team

Read more https://winwithoutwar.org/
and the AUMF-2002 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Iraq_Resolution_of_2002

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