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On March 29, the Senate voted 66-30 to revoke the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that gave former president George W. Bush the authority to launch a military invasion of Iraq under the false premise that the country was harboring weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The bill will now proceed to the House of Representatives, where it is unclear whether or not it will be put on the floor for a vote.
Congress has abdicated its powers to the executive for too long," said Senator Tim Kaine. "Presidents can do mischief if there are outdated authorizations on the books," he concluded. Kaine has authored many of the Senate's attempts to abolish the Iraq AUMF over the past several years.
If the bill manages to pass the House and is signed by President Biden, it would be the first revocation of a war authorization since 1974.
Despite voting to repeal the 2002 authorization, the Senate last week overwhelmingly voted against rescinding the original AUMF, which was signed into law on September 18, 2001, by George W. Bush in response to the devastating attacks on September 11.
The 2001 AUMF is seen more in the light of being a sweeping, blank-check law that was passed to target the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, whereas the Iraq AUMF specifically gave authority for the U.S. to invade another country.
The 2001 AUMF has been used to justify over 40 military interventions in at least 22 countries without the approval of Congress, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Following 2001, Congress also approved several 'security cooperation authorities' (SCA) that have permitted the Pentagon to covertly deploy troops and launch secret wars in dozens of countries.
According to a New York University of Law's Brennan Center for Justice report, an SCA allows the Pentagon to "train and equip foreign forces anywhere in the world" and to "provide support to foreign forces, paramilitaries, and private individuals who are in turn supporting U.S. counterterrorism operations," and comes with a spending limit of $100,000,000 per fiscal year.
SCAs have been used in dozens of countries as springboards for hostilities, which the Pentagon has chosen not to inform Congress or the American public of.
The report states, "Researchers and reporters uncovered [SCA] programs not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also in Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen."
"The U.S. military-industrial complex has grown into a hydra-headed monster with almost no controls on the American war machine," wrote the former acting head of the Pentagon, Christopher C. Miller, who believes the U.S. should be held accountable for the failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We invaded a sovereign nation, killed and maimed a lot of Iraqis, and lost some of the greatest American patriots to ever live - all for a goddamned lie," Miller added in an interview with The Hill.
Congressman Cory Mills of Florida announced during a recent Congressional hearing impeachment articles against Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for dereliction of duty.
CJCOS General Mark Milley committed to Congressman Matt Gaetz in a Congressional hearing to end drag events at military facilities. This happened while SecDef Lloyd Austin refused to admit they are happening at all.
I bet our enemies are deterred in spades.
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Republican Reps. Michael Waltz of Florida and Jim Banks of Indiana demanded answers from West Point regarding the school’s role-play exercise for cadets on "respecting the pronouns people prefer."
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained Waltz’s and Banks’ Tuesday letter to West Point superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland regarding a leaked "facilitator guide" for role-play exercises involving academy cadets.
The exercises are meant to serve as training "for Cadets to gain competence in their bystander intervention skills" — including when someone disagrees with the progressive pronoun orthodoxy...
To read more visit Fox News.
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Four GOP Congressmen are pushing the hesitant Biden administration to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. The munitions, which indiscriminately drop hundreds of smaller individual bombs over a large area, have been banned in some 120 countries and are seen as far less accurate compared to other, more conventional weapons. Despite this, 4 Congressmen sent a letter to the Biden White House criticizing its “reluctance to provide Ukraine the right type and amount of long-range fires and maneuver capability to create.”
The letter was signed by the following 4 Republican members of Congress:
The Congressmen want the cluster munitions provided as part of the next major weapons package approval.
While Ukraine has specifically requested the MK-20 air-delivered cluster bombs, Kyiv claims that it will not be dropping the small bombs en masse as they are designed to be but rather will be dropping the individual bombs from either drones or 155mm artillery cluster shells.
While the U.S. has a history of producing, using, and selling cluster munitions to its allies, those practices stopped in 2016 when Textron Systems Corporation stopped producing MK-20s, and the U.S. stopped selling them to Saudi Arabia. However, it is estimated that there are still approximately 1 million cluster munitions in Pentagon stockpiles.
AFP Host L Todd Wood speaks with LTC Darin Gaub (USA, Ret) speaks about his efforts to 'Defend the Guard' and www.restore-liberty.org.
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The FBI is greatly expanding its headquarters, which leaves many wondering if it will be expanding its ranks as well. The FBI is planning to build a new headquarters building, which is expected to be twice the size of the Pentagon.
One cannot help but wonder if the Bureau will be expanding the number of agents to fill such a massive building and what the FBI needs such a huge headquarters for anyway. Especially, given the recent corruption scandal in which it was revealed that top agent, Charles McGonigal, who insisted former President Donald Trump had colluded with Russia, was himself working with a Russian oligarch.
If anything, it seems the FBI should be cleaning house, not building a bigger one.
In addition to a massive campus, plans for the new headquarters include woke regulations, which will ensure the Bureau's headquarters are compliant with diversity, equity, climate change, and LGBTQ+ goals.
While the FBI has long been eager to vacate the concrete monolith it currently occupies between the White House and Capitol, the new plans seem a little overboard. Plans for the new headquarters place the FBI's new home on one of 3 sites in suburban Virginia and Maryland. Each of those sites is a large parcel of land at 58, 61, and 80 acres respectively.
Given the size of the potential sites, it would mean the new headquarters is at least twice the size of the Pentagon, if not bigger. The Pentagon sits on roughly 29 acres and includes a 5 acre courtyard. It was, until recently, the largest office building in the world.
To offer an idea of the massive size of the proposed new FBI headquarters, the Kremlin in Moscow sits on just over 66 acres and includes everything from administrative offices for the Russian government to the presidential residence, multiple palaces and auditoriums, an arsenal, and a museum, along with 3 cathedrals and 7 churches. Why does the FBI need a headquarters of comparable size and what is it planning to put there?
While it can be difficult to stop the FBI, Republicans in Congress might be able to prevent the new headquarters from being built by exercising the House's control of the purse strings.
The House could withhold funding to lease, purchase, or develop land not already owned by the federal government. That would knock out the two possible sites in Maryland.
House GOP lawmakers could also prevent funding to design, develop, or construct federal property that is tied to equity, diversity, and inclusion programs with taxpayer money.
Lastly, Congress could refuse to authorize any funds for the new headquarters unit the FBI cooperates fully with Congress to bring accountability to individuals within the bureau for abuses of power and criminal activity - Charles McGonigal.
While the Bureau's new headquarters is a long way from being built, it should be concerning to all Americans that an organization that has a top official working for a Russian Oligarch wants to build a headquarters bigger than the world's largest office building.
Guest post by Colonel Jim Waurishuk, USAF (Ret.)
Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) need to shut-up and sit the hell down on Ukraine, NOW! I don’t care if they are Senators and veterans, they show ignorance about military strategy and operations, especially in the context of Russia's 'near abroad'. They certainly are totally clueless on the history of the region. They are out of control in their call for escalation in Ukraine -- as they are calling for boots-on-the-ground, massive deployment of military equipment -- tanks, missiles, and combat aircraft.
Geopolitically, they are completely ignoring the lack of national security imperative for the confrontation. Ukraine is not an ally of the U.S., nor is it an ally of NATO. Both fail to admit there is absolutely no “vital national interest” in Ukraine for the United States, never has been. PERIOD! No U.S. national security plan, directive, or policy addresses or identifies Ukraine as a vital national security interest in any way, shape, or form. Both of these Senators are absolutely wrong on policy, wrong on objectives, and wrong on their stance for increased U.S. involvement.
FACTS and HISTORY: To be blunt, everyone needs to understand this is a ‘border dispute’ between Ukraine and its eastern Russian speaking border which has been on going for centuries. The people and locally run provincial governments of the two main border provinces are Russian, speak Russian and want to be Russian. These provinces and people have absolutely no interest in being part of Ukraine. They never have been interested. Ukraine should let them go, and as a concession (for peace), let those provinces decide for themselves. Don’t let yourself be fooled like Graham and Cotton are.
Neither grasp or conceptually have an understanding of what is at play; in fact, they are being led, coerced, and obviously bankrolled by the Defense Industrial Complex. They are reckless and are proposing an absolute disaster. They are part of the Washington Establishment NeoCon War Machine and are LOCKSTEP with Biden. We are on the precipice of getting into a hot war with Russia. Their failure to grasp and understand the geopolitical ramifications, and the lack of missionm the lack of objectives, are literally “Sleepwalking into World War III”. And then there is this third idiot, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) who is not ruling out a ‘nuclear first strike option’ by the U.S. These members of the UniParty Coalition (Leftists and Establishment Republicans) in Congress are pushing for much greater escalation. They are “gaming the system”, essentially “wagging the dog” for the U.S. to get into a shooting war with Russia.
Graham, Cotton, and Wicker have demanded a complete surrender on logic and policy and have joined with “permanent Washington” and the radical, illogical Democrats, and the ‘forever war NeoCon warmonger defense contractor corporatists.’ These three are the same ‘Republicans in Name Only leftists’ who signed on with their close friend, the installed and current occupant of the White House Joe Biden on the Omnibus Bill. If fact, Cotton has never been critical of Biden saying, “Biden has not been ‘escalatory enough’ on Ukraine” by not getting U.S. troops involved directly with Russia quicker.
WHAT IS MISSING? A THING CALLED DIPLOMACY. I must ask … whatever happen to diplomatic negotiation – aka peace talks? Have they heard of the Dayton Accords, which were implemented and negotiated in Eastern Europe 28-years ago, following the fall of the Soviet Union and the Communism in Yugoslavia? Since Biden was installed, there has been zero effort to hold talks with Putin. Zelenskiy needs to sit down and talk. In fact, in September 2019, President Trump told Zelenskiy he needed to sit down and talk with the Russian president. Granted, there needs to be discussions and concessions worked out from the standpoint of both sides. But the process called “Diplomacy” needs to be attempted to the ‘nth degree’ -- that must happen first, and so far, the Biden Regime has refused to allow it.
Let’s remember, as President Trump said, he could and would deescalate the current situation within 24-hours, as was the case during his 4-years as President. President Trump will be laying out his solution and plan for Ukraine, on Saturday, January 28th during his events in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
We are now on a fast track for WWIII rather than rationality, reason, and logic. Where will the trillion dollars, or more for this insanely contrived catastrophe come from to pay for this new wartime venture before we are all “lit up” by an RS-28 SATAN II?
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After the Republicans used the passage of defense legislation last month as a means to force Democrats to drop the mandatory Covid-19 vaccine for all military personnel, the Pentagon released a memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Tuesday evening that formally repealed the mandate.
Austin’s memo rescinds the mandate for active duty, the National Guard, and the Reserves.
The repeal comes after an order from Austin on August 24, 2021, in which he mandated that all military personnel be full-vaccinated or be discharged from military duty.
Prior to the lifting of the mandate, some 8,400 troops were discharged, with tens of thousands applying for accommodation requests, including for medical, administrative, or religious reasons. Tens of thousands of reservists, allegedly up to 60,000, remained unvaccinated and were set to be discharged as well. The mass discharges came as the military has faced a serious recruiting crisis in recent years.
In an escalation of the battle between the military and leadership, forces successfully sued to temporarily enjoin the Navy, Air Force, and Marines from taking action against individuals who had applied for religious accommodations. The inspector general for the Pentagon also sent a memo to Austin indicating that blanket denials of religious accommodation requests flirted with breaking the law.
Some troops took a different tactic and fought the mandate on the basis that the DOD can only mandate FDA-approved vaccines, which some of the Covid vaccines at the time were not. The claim argued that the military was using a form of the vaccine that was under the Emergency Use Authorization provision and not FDA pre-approved. Then-DOD official, Terri Adirim, replied in another memo the two vaccines were interchangeable.
Despite the repeated challenges from troops and the massive loss of forces, the Biden administration refused to back down and reverse the mandate until House and Senate Republicans used the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes defense spending, to strong-arm the administration into repealing the mandate. In a statement released in conjunction with Austin’s memo, the Pentagon said, “This recession requirement was established by the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.”
The Pentagon’s statement continued, “The health and readiness of the Force are crucial to the Department’s ability to defend our nation. Secretary Austin continues to encourage all Service members, civilian employees, and contractor personnel to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 to ensure Total Force readiness.”
Austin’s memo stated, “No individuals currently serving in the Armed Forces shall be separated solely on the basis of their refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination if they sought an accommodation on religious, administrative, or medical grounds.”
The memo went on to clarify that the military would also remove adverse actions that were solely associated with denials of accommodation requests for troops, including any letters of reprimand, which could be career-ending.
The memo also noted that the military would stop any current reviews of accommodation requests for service members.
The correspondence did include a section indicating that the DOD would still take action against unvaccinated troops saying, “Other standing Departmental policies, procedures, and processes regarding immunization remain in effect. These include the ability of commanders to consider, as appropriate, the individual immunization status of personnel in making deployment, assignment, and other operational decisions, including when vaccination is required for travel to, or entry into, a foreign nation.”
Austin concluded his memo by noting that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness would be issuing additional guidance to “ensure uniform implementation” of the memo. Recently, the Coast Guard and Army have both issued guidance only to have it retracted hours later. It just goes to show that the military leadership has never considered any alternatives to the vaccine mandate.
Meanwhile, Republicans have vowed to fight for the reinstatement of discharged troops with backpay in 2023. The question remains though, how many discharged service members will return to a military that denied their civil liberties, attempted to silence their voices, and turned its back on them? Unfortunately, the answer is probably, too few. Austin’s memo is like Biden’s border visit – too little, too late.
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Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has vowed to launch an investigation into General Mark Milley and Nancy Pelosi.
In a January 7 Tweet, Gosar wrote, "Remember - we will conduct a real investigation into J6. The effort to attempt a coup between traitor Gen. Mark Milley and Pelosi will be reviewed and exposed."
Gosar continued, "Milleys treasonous sell-out to China will be investigated. Pelosi not warning members about intel of impending violence will be exposed."
"Soon, we'll know the truth," Gosar concluded.
Gosar's tweets were in response to a tweet from comedian John Fugelsang who had Tweeted, "Remember - Kevin McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert & Paul Gosar all share the same pre-existing sedition."
Rep. Gosar was one of 20 holdout lawmakers who initially voted against Rep. Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House. After numerous negotiations, though, Gosar agreed to vote for McCarthy on the grounds that he agree to operate under "constitutional" and "transparent rules."
In one Tweet, Gosar called Milley a sell-out to China in reference to Bob Woodward's new book Peril, in which it is revealed that "General Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs chairman, told China in a secret call that he would give advance warning if the US was ever going to attack."
With Republicans now in control of the House and Pelosi out as Speaker, Milley's protection is dwindling. Gosar did not give a timeframe for the investigation, only the assurance that one would occur.
AFP reached out to Congressman Don Bacon's office for a comment on why he sees the need to 'work with Democrats' in the Speaker race currently ongoing in the House of Representatives.
Nebraska residents should demand to know why Congressman Bacon is willing to work with Marxists who are bent on destroying the republic.
As of writing this article, we have not heard back from the Congressman's office regarding our request for a quote.
When anchor Jake Tapper on Thursday, on CNN’s “The Lead” asked about former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) saying ‘That he worked in counter-terrorism and you can’t negotiate with terrorists,’ Bacon “I feel that way," reported Breitbart.
He continued, “We were talking about that today. Hostage takers at least have a goal, and they have demands. We met those demands, and still, they can’t get to yes. They refuse to get to yes. They’ve been offered everything but one demand that we’ve not gone to. So this is more like terrorism, and you’re right.”
Bacon sees them as terrorists. The American people see them as patriots standing up to the destruction of the nation.
How did Bacon lose his honor?
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On Wednesday, Congress decided to increase the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by $45 billion more than what President Biden requested. The increased amount was agreed on by both the House and Senate Armed Services committees, but the final details of the NDAA have not been finalized yet. After the increase, the total NDAA will be $847 billion. With the addition of programs outside of what the committees have jurisdiction over, the final NDAA will come to $858 billion.
This is not the first time that Congress has thought that Biden's military budget was sub-par. Last year Biden requested $753 billion, but the finalized NDAA came to roughly $778 billion.
The 2023 NDAA has been agreed to by chairs of both committees and sent to congressional leadership before hopefully going to the House floor for a vote next week. Once approved there, it would go before the Senate before being passed to Biden for signing.
As concerns grow surrounding China's involvement with Taiwan, lawmakers have been trying to add amendments to the NDAA that would allow Taiwan to receive unparalleled military aid, but which amendments have made it into the spending bill is still unclear.
According to The Washington Post, one plan would provide $3 billion to Taiwan annually for a minimum of 5 years. The White House does not have to ensure that any aid for Taiwan is included in the military budget as it can request at a later date that Congress authorize the aid as emergency funds which is how all of the aid spending packages for Ukraine have been approved.
The military’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement could end if Republican senators succeed in amending the National Defense Authorization Act that’s expected to pass in the coming weeks, Grace reports.
The Senate bill will likely come to the floor soon, and the GOP will try to amend it. The House passed its version of the defense bill in July, leaving the mandate intact. A conference committee must reconcile them before final enactment.
Bills sponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, could form the basis for amendments. Recruiting shortfalls: Blackburn wants to lift the mandate when the military isn’t meeting its “end strength” target — the number of troops in the force — which is the case right now.
The Army missed its recruitment goal by almost 10,000 soldiers for fiscal 2022, and defense officials aren’t optimistic about 2023. The vaccine mandate isn’t helping. The armed services have discharged 8,000 active-duty troops since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin first directed service members to get vaccinated in August 2021.
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Hosts Dan O'Shea and L Todd Wood talk with Congressional Candidate and former special operator with SEAL Team 3, on his race in AZ-2.
A week after the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill on U.S. policy toward Taiwan, the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee introduced its own version.
Analysts say it will take time to consolidate the two versions of the Taiwan Policy Act 2022 amid concerns that it would not clear the U.S. Congress before the end of the current term in Jan. 2023.
The House’s version of the Taiwan Policy Act was introduced on Wednesday by the Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican and Chairman of its China Task Force, Michael McCaul, in order to “strengthen Taiwan’s defense and deter the aggression of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP].”
To Read More Visit Radio Free Asia
WASHINGTON, DC – Just hours after the Azerbaijani government launched a heavy artillery attack on Armenian military and civilian sites, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and leaders of the Congressional Armenian Caucus issued powerful rebukes against President Aliyev’s aggression and demanded an end to US military aid to the brutal dictator, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“The rapid Congressional condemnation of Azerbaijan’s attack on Armenia needs to be followed by the immediate cessation of all U.S. arms and aid to oil-rich Azerbaijan’s corrupt and violent Aliyev regime,” stated ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “Today – more than ever – it’s clear that Azerbaijan deserves the harshest of sanctions, and not another U.S. tax dollar.”
The ANCA has issued a nationwide call to action for President Biden and Congress to: 1) condemn Azerbaijan’s latest attack against Armenia; 2) zero-out all appropriations or authorizations of U.S. aid to Azerbaijan; 3) enact statutory restrictions on U.S. military aid to Baku; and 4) strike or significantly tighten the waiver provision of Section 907. Similar efforts have been launched by the network of ANC offices worldwide. The Hellenic American Leadership Council immediately posted a statement of solidarity with the ANCA against Azerbaijani aggression.
Read more at The Armenian Weekly.
WASHINGTON ― Several U.S. senators on Tuesday asked for additional briefings and reports on President Joe Biden’s new $13.7 billion funding request for Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
The White House budget office last week announced the latest Ukraine aid request, which includes $11.7 billion for security and economic assistance through December. It also seeks an additional $2 billion to reduce domestic energy costs driven up in part by the war.
Defense spending panel chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., told Defense News he wants Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin or Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks to provide more information on the request...
To read more visit Defense News.
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