Author: Walt Zlotow

Two weeks from yesterday marks 80 years since the Congress last issued a declaration of war as required by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution: The Congress shall have power to declare war. Invoked to launch or defend against wars 3 times in the 19th and twice in the 20th century, that Constitutional requirement has become as outdated as a dial telephone used to spread the news of the last one, December 8, 1941.

Once established as the world’s supreme superpower, American presidents, beginning with Harry Truman in 1950, decided to abandon the need to ask Congress to declare war. Incredibly, Congress went along with this enormous transfer of the war power to the president. When Truman decided to intervene in the Korean conflict, he simply called it a police action and began a military campaign that took several million Korean lives as well inflicting 128,000 U.S. casualties, of which 36,500 died. That’s some ‘police action’.

In the 71 years since, the US has engaged in dozens of wars, some so secret most Americans are oblivious to their occurrence. But in all that time Congress has never explicitly granted the 13 presidents succeeding Truman the power to unilaterally wage war. Congress pays lip service to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11, occasionally even making efforts to take it back.

Continue reading “Congressional Hawks Seek To Give Prez Blank Check To Declare War on China”

Started 102 years on November 11, Armistice Day was established in the UK to commemorate the armistice which ended WWI a year earlier. In 1926 Congress made it a US remembrance to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations…a day dedicated to the cause of world peace."

What a wise way to turn the most destructive war in history at the time into a lesson for peace. Alas, in 1954 Congress changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day to commemorate military personnel past and present. The raging Cold War with Russia may have inspired the switch from peace to militarism during a dark era of fear and loathing in America.

Since then, ‘perpetuating peace and mutual understanding between nations’ has been left behind. Veterans Day has largely become a commercial to promote American militarism around the world, which today sees over 150,000 soldiers deployed at 750 bases in 80 countries. Almost daily we bomb innocents in at least 7 countries we know of. Crippling U.S. economic sanctions degrade, if not extinguish life for innocents in 19 nations.

Continue reading “Promote Peace This Veterans Day”

Thursday, October 7 marks the 20th anniversary of America’s perpetual wars when we attacked Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks.

Our mission there was to bomb the terrorist camps and get out, not invade and take over the entire country. A further mission was to follow the numerous ties of the terrorist network involved to their source, Saudi Arabia, and hold them accountable.

But instead, we gave Saudi Arabia a complete pass so thorough we suppressed for years 28 pages in the Congressional 911 report that connected the Saudis to the attacks. Relatives of 911 victims suing the Saudis continue to be stonewalled by the U.S. government.

The Bush Administration, in a deadly sleight of hand, pivoted from Saudi Arabia, an ally against perceived enemy Iran, and our best weapons customer, to launching perpetual wars against much of the Middle East and Africa perceived as our enemies. Afghanistan, Iraq, were invaded with hundreds of thousands of troops. Libya, Syria, Pakistan, as well as Yemen and Niger in Africa were subjected to bombing by planes and drones. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria have all been turned into failed states from America’s Day of Infamy.

Continue reading “October 7: Another Day of Infamy?”

Sunday, September 26, could be an historic day for mankind to step back from the brink of nuclear destruction. The UN celebrates it as The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. It stems from the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the worldwide UN treaty that prohibits "the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities." It is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination.

Should a nuclear armed state ratify, it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of it nuclear weapons program.

The UN ratified TPNW 122-1 on July 7, 2017. It required ratification by 50 countries to become effective. That occurred January 22, 2021, 90 days after 50th ratifier Honduras, inked its approval. Six more countries have ratified since. Thirty-six other signatories are awaiting ratification.

Continue reading “TPNW: The Treaty That the US Dare Not Speak Its Name”