Sen. Bernie Sanders Opposing Obama’s AUMF: ISIS Fight a ‘Battle for the Soul of Islam’

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from Bridget Johnson at PJ Media:


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he’s opposing President Obama’s request for an authorization to use military force against ISIS because it’s a “battle for the soul of Islam” that needs to be fought by Muslim nations.

“I remember the war in Afghanistan, which was supposed to last a few months. The war in Iraq was going to be very easy. We were in those countries for over 10 years. We have lost close to 7,000 brave men and women. The country has spent trillions of dollars,” Sanders told CNN.

“At the end of the day, if ISIS is going to be defeated — and this is a brutal, horrible organization that needs to be defeated — it is going to have to be defeated by the Muslim nations in the region,” he added. “Saudi Arabia has the fourth largest defense budget in the world. You’ve got billionaire families in Qatar, in the UAE. They have got to be increasingly involved in providing security in their region. The U.S. can be supportive. Western Europe can be supportive. But they’re going to have to do the hard work.”

After months of needling from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Obama submitted his AUMF plan to Congress yesterday. It includes an exception that “does not authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces in enduring offensive ground combat operations.”

“Look, I think the president is doing everything that he can in trying to defeat ISIS. But when I hear words like ‘enduring conflict,’ it makes me very, very nervous. I think it opens the door wider than it should be. I think we’ve got to continue airstrikes. I think we’ve got to use Special Operations Forces when we can,” Sanders argued. “But I do not want to see a never-ending quagmire in the Middle East where our troops die, come back with terrible illnesses and we end up spending trillions of dollars.”

“Once again, this war is a battle for the soul of Islam. And it’s going to have to be the Muslim countries who are stepping up. These are billionaire families all over that region. They’ve got to get their hands dirty. They’ve got to get their troops on the ground. They’ve got to win that war with our support. We cannot be leading the effort.”

read: http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/02/12/sanders-opposing-obamas-aumf-isis-fight-a-battle-for-the-soul-of-islam/

related:

full text of the resolution proposed by President Obama: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/02/11/obamas-request-for-congressional-authorization-to-fight-the-islamic-state-full-text/

Full text of President Obama’s letter to lawmakers accompanying draft war powers resolution: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-sends-congress-draft-war-authorization-article-1.2110734

[merrily]

1. WOT - A never ending Vietnam era, but sans activist opposition and plus oil

What's not to love?

[bigtree]

2. new nemesis

...conflated with the old one for the purposes of a continuous narrative and plot.

Quagmire: The Sequel

[merrily]

4. Well, at least we have a clear objective here:

Rout out Isis. Who happen to look a lot like everyone else in the region, so that should be no problem.



I wonder: What will be the name of the group that springs up in reaction to what we are about to do in the name of getting Isis?

[bullwinkle428]

3. Thank you, Sen. Sanders, for saying what needs to be said.

K&R.

Permission to include Charlie Pierce's words as well?

"We will be making war in a place. Innocents will die. Disease will spread, killing even more people. Hunger will spread, killing even more people. Thirst will spread, killing more people. War will spread, killing more people. The families of all those dead people will not care how carefully our politicians over here drew up the plan that resulted in their fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, and children now being dead. They will not care how smart our bombs are. They simply will hate us for it. If we are going to decide to make war in a place, we at least should be honest about what will happen to that place when we do, and make that the only issue in the debate over whether or not we will make war in that place."

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a33087/war-games-the-president-promises-to-make-war-better/

[bigtree]

5. love reading CP

...he's right on, here.

"They will not care how smart our bombs are. They simply will hate us for it."

[KoKo]

6. Double Recommend...Big Tree Post and Charlie Pierce in "Esquire"...

[BrotherIvan]

7. Senator Sanders is absolutely correct

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8. »

[jwirr]

9. I absolutely hate what ISIS is doing but I also agree that we cannot take up where we left off.

I do not understand why the ME countries do not step in where they are needed. At least in Africa it is African nations that are acting. If I could say anything to the ME nations I would say "Get with it and get this settled NOW - we want out."

[Fred Sanders]

10. Sanders wants ISIS defeated by the nation's nearby, use their massive armies and deal with the local problem, makes too much sense.

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11. »

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12. »

[woo me with science]

13. K&R

[mother earth]

14. K & R

[bigwillq]

15. K and R