Prepare for war. Where? Syria, Iraq, Russia, Iran, China, anywhere and
everywhere.
Warmonger in chief, senator John McCain wants troops in Syria, arms for
Ukraine, an examination of "China’s continued encroachment in the south
China Sea", and an investigation into warming relations with Iran.
McCain is set to take over as head of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Expect the other party of war, the Democrats, to cooperate. On Wednesday, Obama Asked Congress to Authorize Islamic State War.
After insisting for months that he has all the authority
he needs to launch the airstrikes already under way against the radical Sunni
group, Obama reversed course and called for a new authorization for the use
of military force a day after his party lost control of the Senate.
“The world needs to know we are united behind this effort and the men and
women of our military deserve our clear and unified support,” Obama said
yesterday at a White House news conference.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold hearings on the U.S. role in
Iraq and Syria beginning next week, Senator Robert Menendez, the panel’s
chairman, said in a statement.
The New Jersey Democrat has said a congressional authorization should be “appropriate
in scope and duration to meet the threat and sustain the fight” without
having an “indefinite duration.”
Obama has approved airstrikes against the extremists who have seized swaths
of Iraq and Syria, and he’s deployed U.S. military teams to assess and advise
the Iraqi military.
The administration has said it’s carrying out the offensive under the
use-of-force authorization Congress approved after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks, as well as under his constitutional powers as commander in
chief.
Bill to Authorize Perpetual War
President Obama previously said that he does not need authorization to strike
ISIS because of his "constitutional powers as commander in chief".
Excuse me for asking but what powers are those? Since when does the president
get to declare war?
I guess it's time to formalize the transfer the power to declare war from
Congress to the president.
Menendez wants a bill “appropriate in scope and duration to meet the threat
and sustain the fight” without having an “indefinite duration.”
Translation: Menendez wants an indefinite duration, an open ended agenda, and
no cost limits. McCain will surely see the bill gets revised that way.
No president would ever refuse to sign such a bill. And when it happens, the
power to declare war will formally be handed over from Congress to the
president. Not that it matters in the least. Presidents do what they want,
when they want.
Republican Hawks Have War Plan Prepared
The American public surely does not war, and we cannot afford more wars
either. But who gives a damn about that?
Multiple wars are now baked in the cake as Republican Hawks Already Have a War Plan for ISIS, Ukraine,
and Obama.
The Republican victory in the 2014 midterms is less than
24 hours old. But already, the hawkish wing of the GOP is planning an
ambitious battle plan to revamp American foreign policy: everything from
arming Ukraine’s military to reviewing the ISIS war to investigating the U.S.
intelligence community’s role in warming relations with Iran.
In an interview Wednesday, Sen. John McCain, the incoming chairman of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, said he has already discussed a new national
security agenda with fellow Republicans Bob Corker and Richard Burr, the
likely incoming chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Burr and Corker and I will be working closely together on everything,”
McCain said. “For example, arms for Ukraine’s [government], examination of
our strategy in the Middle East, our assets with regard to [Russian President
Vladimir] Putin in the region, China’s continued encroachment in the south
China Sea.”
McCain said his first order of business as chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee will be to end the budget rule known as sequestration,
which requires the U.S. military to cut its budget across the board. “I want
to start an examination of our policies in the world and then find out
whether we have the capability to meet these expectations,” McCain said.
Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican likely to replace Rep. Mike Rogers as the
next chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told The Daily Beast
Wednesday that he would like to begin digging into the administration’s Iran
talks—in particular, the role played in those talks by the U.S. intelligence
community. “There is going to be real scrutiny from the House and Senate in
what’s taken place on the entire Obama administration’s tenure dealing with
the Iranians,” Nunes said.
On Wednesday Obama said he would ask Congress to vote on the new war against
ISIS during the lame duck session of Congress that starts in December.
“I think it’s time for an AUMF [Authorization for the Use of Military Force],
I do,” McCain said. “The one passed after 9-11 specifically talks about the
perpetrators of the 9-11 attacks and ISIS has exceeded that definition.”
Budget-hypocrite McCain never says how he is going to pay
for these wars. McCain even voted for sequestration.
To be fair, he called that his worst vote ever. But also to be fair, he
should say how we pay for all this.
McCain Prefer Hillary Over Rand Paul?
Curiously, in a 2013 New Republic interview, McCain said "Tough Choice" Between Hillary Clinton
and Rand Paul should those be the two nominees.
McCain answered "tough choice", when asked who he would
support in 2016 should it come down to Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul.
Senior editor Isaac Chotiner who conducted the interview stated "in a
way he seemed to be joking a little bit, but he didn't correct it at
all."
Here's the video with Chotiner's explanation.
Clinton-McCain Axis
Said McCain of Hillary when asked about her performance as Secretary of State
"I think she did a fine job. She’s a rock star. She has, maybe not
glamour, but certainly the aura of someone widely regarded throughout the
world."
Distancing herself from president Obama, Hillary has since recommended nearly
the same strategy as McCain when it comes to dealing with Syria and ISIS.
Clinton-McCain 2016 Anyone?
So which is the party of war? They both are.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
