In his work opposing United States wars overseas, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), before his death Sunday, put much effort into seeking a repeal of the 2001 authorization for use of military force (AUMF) that has been used by successive presidents as a basis for intervention and war across the world in the name of fighting terrorism. In the week before Jones’ death, Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) introduced the Walter B. Jones Restoring Power to Congress Act (HR 966), with Jones as the original cosponsor, that would repeal that AUMF and thus eliminate a reason used for presidents to intervene overseas without particular congressional approval.
Garamendi spoke fondly of Jones in Garamendi’s press release announcing the introduction of the bill,:
‘Congress has a Constitutional responsibility to debate and declare war, and we have abdicated that responsibility for far too long,’ Garamendi stated. ‘That is why I am introducing this legislation to repeal the 2001 AUMF within one year of enactment, which would provide ample time to debate this important issue in Congress. I am also grateful to recognize the leadership of my dear friend, Walter Jones, who is currently in hospice care. Walter has championed this cause for years, I have worked with him closely on this issue in Congress. I am grateful for his wisdom, passion, and advocacy.’
In March of 2017, Jones and Garamendi spoke in-depth in a C-SPAN interview about their effort to end funding for the US government’s war in Afghanistan. You can read about and watch that interview here.
In that interview, Jones said the 2001 AUMF has helped lead to a situation where “Congress is letting the president determine what is going to be done with our military when we have a constitutional duty to declare whether we want to send our men and women to die for this country or not.”
On Monday, Ron Paul spoke at his Ron Paul Liberty Report about Jones, Paul’s friend and US House of Representatives colleague who was a member of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity’s advisory board. You can watch Paul’s discussion of Jones here.
Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.
And by the time they are done with the billl, teary eyed proclaiming victory, AUMF gates will open wider then ever, allowing Congress to restrict any foolish president and electorate to even dream of ending ANY wars. We can only ADD them. And as we add them — this time in our own hamisphere, the real fringe benefit to globalists will be the millions of desparate refugees coming up to our borders. And not too far into the future, the insanity of Brazil’s new president will send another batch of millions to our borders and shores. With watery graves being the fate of many, as is today Mediterranean. Sounding far fetched? Europe thought so, as Ghaddafi warned them. Now with MILLIONS of immigrants, people who escaped hell West created in their countries with wars or IMF robbery, Europe cannot cope with both their disappointed hopes, and its own population shock of having to deal with crimes and financial burdens.
Think of money spent on interventionist big business. It is not just on the military side of wars, but the virual army of hundreds of thousands lobbyists , “non-governmental” agitators world wide, think-tanks, global institutes, paid foreign politicians, judges, “civil” society, paid foreign militaries, private
armies, “humanitarian aid”, “credits” propping up vasals, our federal machinery supporting all of the above, from policy people, middle managers and procurement clerks. Globalism is big business, and to keep it going the machinery of “private” sector politically active corporations contribute their profits, staff, and programs aimed at supporting the edifice.
And supporting it all the money spider web of globalist financial cartels, controlling Fed, Bank of England, EU Central Bank, Bank of Japan, etc. in this collosal web we are merely flies.
Now the deception has been raised to a new level — manipulation of system and its institutions by the globalist profiteers, using shameless media and Federal, State and even many local bureaucracies to rule. “Populism” will be controlled and people can vote all they want — same result.
Those politiians that defy the edifice will be warned, constrained — and if required pulled down mercilessly by accusations of foreign conspiracy, sexual crimes and misdemeanors, racism, bigotism, toxic masculinity, Islamism, anti-Semitism, name it.
To quote Mark Twain: “it is much easier to fool people then to convince them they were fooled.”
If history provides any guidance, this bill will never pass with enough teeth to accomplish anything. Neoliberalism and globalism rule through the use of force. Nothing will change that. They’re just too powerful.
If the bill is adopted, the Executive will discover that that it never needed an AUMF to wage endless war. The machinery is in motion now.
Walter B. Jone’s sudden illness and passing seems a little convenient. Really, its just difficult not to be a little paranoid.
All the assassinated and those dying in sketchy circumstances always seem to be of the nonmarshal mindset…
What, like John McCain?