| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Ferre
Cannabis Sacrament Minister.
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
Posts: 7295
Location: Amsterdam
|
 Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:13 pm Post subject: Attack Syria? Invade Iran? By What Constitution? |
 |
|
| Quote: |
Attack Syria? Invade Iran? By What Constitution?
by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 19, Condoleezza Rice was asked whether the Bush administration was planning military action against Syria. She answered, “I don’t think the President ever takes any of his options off the table concerning anything to do with military force.”
Last time we read the U.S. Constitution, the grave decision to use military force against another country was a matter for Congress to decide -- not an “option” for a President.
And last time we read the UN Charter, it provided that “all members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”
We’ve been here before. President Bush used trumped-up fears (like mushroom clouds over American cities) and frauds (like imaginary “yellowcake” uranium) to fool the American people into attacking Iraq. Now we and the Iraqi people are paying the price.
With the American military bogged down in what Lt. Gen. William Odom, director of the National Security Agency under Ronald Reagan, calls “the greatest strategic disaster in United States history,” and with a majority of the American people saying the US made the wrong decision in using military force against Iraq, it may be hard to believe that the Bush administration is really contemplating further adventures.
But regimes facing military embarrassment are notorious for expanding the theater of war – witness Nixon’s expansion of the Vietnam war into Cambodia. And the same delusions that got us into Iraq – from imaginary threats of illicit weapons to dreams of welcome from cheering crowds – are being repeated about Iran and Syria.
War with Syria is already dangerously close. A series of clashes between US and Syrian troops have killed Syrians and, according to current and former US officials, raise the prospect that cross-border military operations may become a dangerous new front in the Iraq war. According to press accounts, US forces have crossed the border into Syria, sometimes by accident, sometimes deliberately. An October 1 meeting of top Bush officials in the White House considered “options,” including “special operations” against Syria. Bush administration officials are already laying the groundwork for attacks with the kinds of justifications they used to ensnare the U.S. in Iraq.
The Bush administration seems to believe that the President has the power to make war on anybody it chooses without even having to consult with Congress. Senator Chafee observed to Secretary Rice, “Under the Iraq war resolution, we restricted any military action to Iraq.” Then he asked, “So would you agree that if anything were to occur on Syrian or Iranian soil, you would have to return to Congress to get that authorization?” Rice’s reply? “Senator, I don’t want to try and circumscribe presidential war powers. And I think you’ll understand fully that the President retains those powers in the war on terrorism and in the war on Iraq.”
The provisions of the Constitution that limit the power of the President to make war are wisely designed to protect the people of our country from just the kind of dubious war that the Bush administration conducted against Iraq – and that the great majority of Americans now believe was a mistake. Similarly the restrictions on aggressive war in the UN Charter protect not only countries that might be attacked, but also the people of countries whose leaders may be tempted to conduct such attacks. Nothing could do more for American’s national security today than a reinvigoration of these constraints on military adventurism.
While we are debating how to extricate ourselves from our quagmire in Iraq, the Congress and the American people need to make one thing perfectly clear: Attack on Iran, Syria, or any other country without the explicit endorsement of the U.S. Congress and the UN is not an “option” for the President.
As the old saying goes, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!” Congress and the American people allowed President Bush to fool us into war with Iraq. Shame on us if we allow him to do it again in Syria, Iran, or anywhere else!
Legal scholar Brendan Smith and historian Jeremy Brecher are the editors, with Jill Cutler, of In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond. (Metropolitan/Holt, 2005).)
Sources: Anne Gearan, “Rice: U.S. May Still Be in Iraq in 10 Years,” Associated Press, October 19, 2005./ Evan Lehman, “Retired general: Iraq invasion was 'strategic disaster',” Lowell Sun, September 30, 2005/ Princeton Survey Research Associates/Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, interviews conducted October 6-10, 2005./ James Risen and David E. Sanger, “G.I’s and Syrians in Tense Clashes on Iraqi Border,” New York Times, October 15, 2005./ CQ Transcriptions, October 19, 2005.
###
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1020-26.htm
|
_________________
█ Please read the Board Rules and Posting, and you
█ Radio Free Amsterdam
People who know truth, speak truth.
Those who don't, quote scriptures. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Brother Adam
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 1915
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| As the old saying goes, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!” Congress and the American people allowed President Bush to fool us into war with Iraq. Shame on us if we allow him to do it again in Syria, Iran, or anywhere else! |
They damn sure didn't fool me for a minute.
_________________
-Brother Adam (we are all one family)
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
-James Madison
Police officers acquitted for beating a 64 yr old man recently in New Orleans. In the words of their defense attorney "all he had to do was comply"....and they wouldn't have fractured his face. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
indicaspice
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 1491
Location: somewhere on earth
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
They're fooling someone. 
_________________
What worries you masters you.
Haddon W. Robinson |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Brother Adam
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 1915
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:03 am Post subject: |
|
|
| indicaspice wrote: |
| They're fooling someone. |
More than just someone. Damn near everyone......
_________________
-Brother Adam (we are all one family)
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
-James Madison
Police officers acquitted for beating a 64 yr old man recently in New Orleans. In the words of their defense attorney "all he had to do was comply"....and they wouldn't have fractured his face. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mystic Power
admin THC-Ministry YahooGroup
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 3605
Location: Key West
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Rev. Adam wrote: |
| indicaspice wrote: |
| They're fooling someone. |
More than just someone. Damn near everyone...... |
He's got a 37% approval rating. He ain't foolin' anyone, except the few who are always fooled all the time.
You gotta get out of Yeehaw Junction now and then Bro Adam. Those goobers are gonna drive you nuts. 
Ben
_________________
"We are the Ones we have been waiting for."
~Hopi Elder ~
"In Lak'ech"
~ Ancient Mayan: "I am another YOU." ~ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Brother Adam
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 1915
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
Even with a 37% approval rating, people still don't know or care that they are being taken on a magic carpet ride straight down the shitter.
Also, Bro. Ben, I can not help but feel that I have an important mission living here among those deprived of all logical and rational thought. In the land of "psy-op" approved opinions It gives me a purpose as a minister of the truth hoping to lead an unbiased path towards enlightenment. All I do is keep planting my seeds of truth in their minds until it itches away at them and they decide to seek truth for themselves.
_________________
-Brother Adam (we are all one family)
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
-James Madison
Police officers acquitted for beating a 64 yr old man recently in New Orleans. In the words of their defense attorney "all he had to do was comply"....and they wouldn't have fractured his face. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ferre
Cannabis Sacrament Minister.
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
Posts: 7295
Location: Amsterdam
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Rev. Adam wrote: |
Even with a 37% approval rating, people still don't know or care that they are being taken on a magic carpet ride straight down the shitter.
Also, Bro. Ben, I can not help but feel that I have an important mission living here among those deprived of all logical and rational thought. In the land of "psy-op" approved opinions It gives me a purpose as a minister of the truth hoping to lead an unbiased path towards enlightenment. All I do is keep planting my seeds of truth in their minds until it itches away at them and they decide to seek truth for themselves. |
Hehhe, I find myself in the same position. 
_________________
█ Please read the Board Rules and Posting, and you
█ Radio Free Amsterdam
People who know truth, speak truth.
Those who don't, quote scriptures. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
zero
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 28 Nov 2004
Posts: 1579
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:39 am Post subject: Re: Attack Syria? Invade Iran? By What Constitution? |
|
|
[quote="Ferre"]
| Quote: |
| Rice’s reply? “Senator, I don’t want to try and circumscribe presidential war powers. And I think you’ll understand fully that the President retains those powers in the war on terrorism and in the war on Iraq.” |
And thus a great democracy becomes an evil empire.
Good bye America. We all loved what you once stood for.
_________________
www.shoutwire.com
www.spikedhumor.com
"I understand that fear is my friend, but not always. Never turn your back on fear. It should always be in front of you, like a thing that might have to be killed." |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mystic Power
admin THC-Ministry YahooGroup
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 3605
Location: Key West
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| Also, Bro. Ben, I can not help but feel that I have an important mission living here among those deprived of all logical and rational thought. |
Missionary work amid red-neck America, where HEE-HAW and DUKES OF HAZZARD are considered cultural programming on the local PBS station.
My hat's off to ya. The living conditions must be hideous!
You might ingratiate yourself with the indigenous community by helping them to dig wells...and remove the wheels from their homes.
As a field missionary, living under these conditions, you must feel obligated to teach them basic sanitation and hygiene, in order to help stem the spread of disease.
The following hygiene tip may be of some use to them, and might actually save a few lives: When taking a shower, it is important for them to remember to remove their pick-up's transmission from the bath-tub first.
Also, helping them to get free tickets to Jerry Springer will win you life-long allies.
Follow Your Bliss!
Ben
_________________
"We are the Ones we have been waiting for."
~Hopi Elder ~
"In Lak'ech"
~ Ancient Mayan: "I am another YOU." ~ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mystic Power
admin THC-Ministry YahooGroup
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 3605
Location: Key West
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
P.S.
Field Missionary Tip #2: Take your most promising Protégés on a pilgrimage to Daytona Beach. I understand it is somewhat of a Mecca based upon the internal combustion engine, and will win you many converts!
Bliss,
Ben
_________________
"We are the Ones we have been waiting for."
~Hopi Elder ~
"In Lak'ech"
~ Ancient Mayan: "I am another YOU." ~ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Brother Adam
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 1915
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
You know, if I buy them tickets to the WWF or a Nascar race I make friends for life. Oh, and we're planning a "missing front tooth gathering" so they can all come together and talk about woodshed dentistry, talk about a revival! 
_________________
-Brother Adam (we are all one family)
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
-James Madison
Police officers acquitted for beating a 64 yr old man recently in New Orleans. In the words of their defense attorney "all he had to do was comply"....and they wouldn't have fractured his face. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mystic Power
admin THC-Ministry YahooGroup
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 3605
Location: Key West
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| Oh, and we're planning a "missing front tooth gathering" |
Sometimes known as a "wedding."
Sometimes known as a "family reunion."
Often known as BOTH.
_________________
"We are the Ones we have been waiting for."
~Hopi Elder ~
"In Lak'ech"
~ Ancient Mayan: "I am another YOU." ~ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
aeroplane
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 1472
Location: Valhalla
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
What the hell is Congress & Senate waiting for? This is obviously an illegal government by all accounts. These jackasses are going to put amerika in a dangerous situation where both Russia & China will feel threatened enough by the us, that the them with nukes will join together to battle for us for oil, the world's primary energy source.
It's time for a new American Revolution to begin that reinstates the power of the Constitution over all wealthy & powerful.
Or better yet, the end of all governments. 
_________________
"Penalties against the possession of a drug
should not be more damaging to the individual
than the drug itself."
US President Jimmy Carter |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mystic Power
admin THC-Ministry YahooGroup
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 3605
Location: Key West
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| What the hell is Congress & Senate waiting for? This is obviously an illegal government by all accounts. |
Waiting for the 2006 mid-term elections to put an end to 10 years of a Republican Majority in both houses.
...unless the Repubs realize that Bush no longer has "political capital" and cuts and runs to save their own phony-baloney jobs.
| Quote: |
| Or better yet, the end of all governments. |
That has MY vote.
Ben
_________________
"We are the Ones we have been waiting for."
~Hopi Elder ~
"In Lak'ech"
~ Ancient Mayan: "I am another YOU." ~ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Don Quixote
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 547
Location: london
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 4:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
hi
i hope nobody takes offence at this , but i am crying with laughter at brother Mystic Powers posts here.
i was supposed to go out ten minutes ago but i can't stand up ! all that talk of 'goobers' and 'engines in the shower' is too much.
bro. Mystic , you are world class . thank you so much for cheering me up. no matter what happens today i am going to be walking around with a big cheesy grin.in this particular slum , smiling can get you killed , but i dont care.
DEEPEST LOVE AND RESPECT TO YOU ALL.
PEACE.
. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
Public Forum
Members only forum
Members Group
| 
