Tag Archives: War Powers Resolution

Coalition Demands End to US Military Support for Saudi-Led War on Yemen

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“Congress must help prevent backsliding by Saudi Arabia,” said one activist, “by passing the Yemen War Powers Resolution and blocking U.S. military support for any renewed hostilities.”

By Jessica Corbett  Pubished 4-20-2022 by Common Dreams

Photo: Felton Davis/flickr/CC

More than five dozen advocacy groups on Wednesday pressured Congress to cut off U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war and blockade on Yemen, highlighting that it “has helped cause the deaths of nearly half a million people and pushed millions more to the edge of starvation.”

The groups’ letter to Congress—led by Churches for Middle East Peace, Demand Progress, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), MoveOn, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation—comes in the midst of a two-month truce. Continue reading →

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US Reportedly Bombs Iran-Backed Militias Just as House Passes Resolution to Prevent Unauthorized War

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“Yet again, U.S. and Iranian-backed forces appear to be exchanging fire in Iraq, despite the American people’s desires to avoid yet another war of choice in the Middle East.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-12-2020

A protester holds a sign calling for ”No War With Iran” at a rally organized by MoveOn.org and other groups on January 9, 2020.. Photo: Pinterest

The United States on Wednesday reportedly launched deadly airstrikes against Iran-backed militias on the border of Syria and Iraq just after the House of Representatives passed a War Powers Resolution aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from launching an unauthorized war with Iran.

Reports of U.S. airstrikes came after two Americans and one British soldier were killed Wednesday in a rocket attack on Camp Taji, an Iraqi base north of Baghdad that houses U.S. troops. Continue reading →

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Could Congress reverse Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria?

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U.S. forces are still in Syria, but their role has changed substantially in recent weeks. AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad

Sarah Burns, Rochester Institute of Technology

The political and humanitarian outcry condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria came soon after he made the announcement.

Trump’s actions paved the way for Turkish troops to attack U.S.-allied Kurdish forces that had been fighting the Islamic State group. In reaction, on Oct. 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution opposing his move, with strong bipartisan support. Continue reading →

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Despite ‘War Crimes’ Concerns in Yemen, Raytheon Nabs $1.6 Billion Arms Deal With UAE

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Announcement comes as resolution to end U.S. complicity in Yemen war edges toward Senate vote

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-18-2019

Destroyed house in Sanaa. Photo: brahem Qasim [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) just inked billions in deals to secure new weapons from top Pentagon contractor Raytheon a week after an Amnesty International investigation further implicated the Gulf nation in war crimes for transferring Western weapons to unaccountable militia groups, thereby deepening the humanitarian crisis and fueling carnage in war-ravaged Yemen.

“The ongoing carnage against civilians in Yemen—including at the hands of the Saudi Arabia and UAE-led coalition and the militias it backs—should give serious pause to all states supplying arms,” said Patrick Wilcken, arms control and human rights researcher at Amnesty International. “Emirati forces receive billions of dollars’ worth of arms from Western states and others, only to siphon them off to militias in Yemen that answer to no-one and are known to be committing war crimes.” Continue reading →

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‘What a Despicable Sham’: MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Denounces Five House Democrats as ‘Cowards’ for Helping GOP to Block Yemen Vote

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“What the hell is the point of Congress? Why are we starving children?” asked the outraged cable news anchor. “Someone make some affirmative argument for the policy, if you think it’s so important to continue killing children. But to kill the possibility of a vote in the rules committee? Cowards.”

By Jon Queally, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 12-12-2018


As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made the moral case  on Wednesday against the U.S.-backed war in Yemen and pushed for passage of a War Powers resolution to end support for the Saudi-led assault on its poverty-stricken neighbor, five Democrats in the House were busy coordinating with Republicans to kill the companion version of the resolution. (Photo: @SenSanders)

While a vote in the U.S. Senate to push forward a War Powers Resolution on Wednesday resulted in applause from peace advocates and critics of the U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led assault on Yemen, five Democrats in the U.S. House stirred outrage as they helped Republicans in the chamber pass a rule—attached to massive Farm Bill legislation—that effectively killed the hopes of voting on its version of the resolution for the remainder of the congressional session.

The procedural vote in the Senate, said resolution co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), will help send a message to the world that the chamber will soon end its support for “this brutal, horrific war in Yemen led by an undemocratic, despotic regime.”

Continue reading →

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In Attempt to Dodge Suit, White House Argues Funding War Makes War Legal

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U.S. Army captain sued President Obama over legality of sprawling ISIS conflict

By Nika Knight, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-13-2016

"To honor my oath, I am asking the court to tell the president that he must get proper authority from Congress, under the War Powers Resolution, to wage the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria," Captain Nathan Michael Smith wrote in his lawsuit. (Photo: The White House/Pete Souza)

“To honor my oath, I am asking the court to tell the president that he must get proper authority from Congress, under the War Powers Resolution, to wage the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Captain Nathan Michael Smith wrote in his lawsuit. (Photo: The White House/Pete Souza)

A lawsuit filed earlier this year charging President Barack Obama with waging an illegal war against the Islamic State (or ISIS) was met on Tuesday with a motion from the Obama administration asking the court to dismiss it.

In its motion to dismiss (pdf), the administration argues that Congressional funding for the war amounts to Congressional approval for it. Continue reading →

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