There is NO congressional authorization for the use of military force in Syria. And the U.S. Constitution specifically bars presidents from dropping bombs anywhere in the world simply because they want to.
The devastating bomb-first, authorize-later approach Biden is adopting continues to treat Iraq, Syria, and so many other countries as the killing fields for U.S. proxy wars — regardless of the human costs. And president after president has abused two congressional authorizations (AUMFs) passed after 9/11 to justify almost every single U.S. military action overseas.
Poll after poll show people across the ideological spectrum want the era of endless war to end. President Biden himself campaigned on it. But we don’t have to rely on Biden, or any other president’s promises: Congress is how we stop this.
In retaliation for rocket attacks that wounded U.S. military members, President Biden ordered airstrikes last week that killed at least 22 people and wounded more. He failed to get Congressional approval before taking military action, which is unacceptable.
This act is just the latest in an ever-expanding, global conflict based in the Middle East, which has killed countless civilians, militarized our society, and fed xenophobia and hate worldwide. So we’re joining our allies at Common Defense, a progressive veterans’ organization, to call on President Biden to end the cycle of violence.
As my sister in service Ilhan Omar said:
“Aside from the questions of legality for this particular strike, we must understand this in the greater context of a failed strategy in the region. For years, the Syrian people have suffered from a brutal civil conflict that has metastasized into a proxy war for powers in the region and globally. Our presence in the war has done nothing to end the violence—but has only exacerbated the pain and suffering of the Syrian people.”
It’s true: Our strategy of military intervention in the region has utterly failed.
We need to bring our troops home. We need to stop bombing other countries. And we need to spend the trillions of dollars that we’re wasting on the Forever War here at home instead, making investments that benefit working Americans like COVID relief, green jobs, healthcare, and more.
But in order to make these changes, we’ve got to show as much support as possible from the people of this country. Will you sign our petition calling on President Biden to end the Forever War now?https://actionnetwork.org/forms/end-the-forever-war-1/?source=group-rashida-tlaib-for-congress&referrer=group-rashida-tlaib-for-congress&redirect=https://secure.actblue.com/donate/endtheforeverwar&link_id=2&refcodeEmailReferrer=email_1097778&can_id=a9cc613253a2dd891f4ba47e9c8d73ea&email_referrer=email_1097778&email_subject=president-bidens-syrian-airstrikes-add-to-cycle-of-violence
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