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Ed Case on War & PeaceFormer Democratic Representative (HI-2, until 2007) |
CASE: First, a government in Iraq that can govern, and a police & a military that can provide security. The government is in place. The police and military, according to the leaders of Iraq, are within 6 to 9 months of being in place. At that point, it would seem to me that our way forward to disengage was there. But we cannot withdraw unilaterally, unconditionally, & on a firm timetable, and expect that there are not going to be negative consequences.
AKAKA: In Oct. 2002, I was one of 23 Senators who opposed the authorization of force in Iraq. Because I felt that Bush’s proposal did not have correct information. I was on a committee that was studying it for two years, and we did not find any Weapons of Mass Destruction there. I was looking for a post-war strategy. It wasn’t there. Now I’m calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by July 2007. We must put pressure on the Iraqi government to take responsibility for its own security.
AKAKA: [We need] a recruitment program that would interest our young people. We do have a recruitment program that has been able to meet the needs of our troops. We also need to have a program to attract these young people to the military and to retain them. I’ve been working on a program to recruit, retain, and also to have a retirement program for the military that might interest young people in looking at their lives and the lives of their family. So with all of this, I feel that we’ll be able to attract the young people we need without resorting to a draft.
CASE: In some of the Armed Services the recruiting is okay, in some it is more of a problem, and that is the reality of what we face. Let me be real clear, we don’t need a draft today. I don’t support a draft today. We don’t have to enter into a discussion of the draft. But we do have to confront the reality of an all-volunteer military, which has been incredibly stretched by our engagements oversees.
Project Vote Smart inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'National Security: Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?' PVS self-description: "The Political Courage Test provides voters with positions on key issues. Historically, candidates have failed to complete our test due to the advice they receive from their advisors and out of fear of negative attack ads."
Axios.com summary: The House passed a symbolic war powers resolution directing President Trump to halt the use of military force against Iran unless he obtains approval from Congress.
The big picture: A classified briefing on the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani [by the US military] left Democrats and even some Republicans deeply skeptical, with many claiming that officials did not provide evidence that there was an "imminent" threat from Iran. Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) said they will vote in favor of a similar resolution in the Senate [S J Res 68].
What opponents are saying: Former national security adviser and notorious Iran hawk John Bolton tweeted: "The 1973 War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Constitution allocated foreign affairs authority between the President and Congress. The Resolution should be repealed." Pres. Trump quote tweeted Bolton and added: "Smart analysis, I fully agree!"
What supporters are saying: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was one of the few Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution, stating on the House floor: "Killing Soleimani was the right decision, but engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced legislation that would block funding for offensive military force against Iran without congressional authorization. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) is also seeking to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which has been used repeatedly to justify war in the Middle East in the wake of 9/11. Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the AUMF in 2001, criticizing it as a "blank check."
Legislative outcome: H Con Res 83 Passed House 224-194-13 on 1/9/20; S J Res 68 passed Senate 55-45-0 on 2/13/20. Vetoed 5/6; Senate veto override failed 5/7/20.
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2017-18 Governor, House and Senate candidates on War & Peace: | Ed Case on other issues: | |||
HI Gubernatorial: Andria Tupola Bob McDermott Colleen Hanabusa David Ige Duke Aiona John Carroll Neil Abercrombie Tulsi Gabbard HI Senatorial: Brian Schatz Cam Cavasso Eddie Pirkowski John Carroll Linda Lingle Mazie Hirono Ron Curtis Freshman class of 2019: "Freshman class" means "not in Congress in January 2017", with exceptions: * Special election, so sworn in other than Jan. 2019 ** Served in Congress in a previous term *** Lost recount or general election |
Freshman class of January 2019 (Republicans):
AZ-8*:Lesko CA-39***:Kim FL-6:Waltz ; FL-15:Spano ; FL-17:Steube GA-7:Woodall ID-1**:Fulcher IN-4:Baird IN-6:Pence KS-2:Watkins MN-1:Hagedorn ; MN-8:Stauber MS-3:Guest MT-0*:Gianforte NC-9***:Harris ND-a:Armstrong NM-2***:Herrell OH-12*:Balderson ; OH-16:Gonzalez OK-1:Hern PA-9:Meuser ; PA-11**:Smucker ; PA-12*:Keller ; PA-13:Joyce ; PA-14:Reschenthaler SC-4:Timmons SD-0:Johnson TN-2:Burchett ; TN-6:Rose ; TN-7:Green TX-2:Crenshaw ; TX-3:Taylor ; TX-5:Gooden ; TX-6:Wright ; TX-21:Roy ; TX-27*:Cloud VA-5:Riggleman ; VA-6:Cline WI-1:Steil WV-3:Miller |
Freshman class of January 2019 (Democrats):
AZ-2**:Kirkpatrick ; AZ-9:Stanton CA-49:Levin ; CA-10:Harder ; CA-21:Cox ; CA-25:Hill ; CA-39:Cisneros ; CA-45:Porter ; CA-48:Rouda CO-2:Neguse ; CO-6:Crow CT-5:Hayes FL-26:Mucarsel-Powell ; FL-27:Shalala GA-6:McBath HI-1**:Case IA-1:Finkenauer ; IA-3:Axne IL-4:Garcia ; IL-6:Casten ; IL-14:Underwood KS-3:Davids KY-6***:McGrath MA-3:Trahan ; MA-7:Pressley MD-6:Trone ME-2:Golden MI-8:Slotkin ; MI-9:Levin ; MI-13:Tlaib ; MI-13*:Jones ; MI-11:Stevens MN-2:Craig ; MN-3:Phillips ; MN-5:Omar NC-9***:McCready NH-1:Pappas NJ-2:Van Drew ; NJ-3:Kim ; NJ-7:Malinowski ; NJ-11:Sherrill NM-1:Haaland ; NM-2:Torres Small NV-3:Lee ; NV-4**:Horsford NY-14:Ocasio-Cortez ; NY-11:Rose ; NY-19:Delgado ; NY-22:Brindisi ; NY-25:Morelle OK-5:Horn PA-4:Dean ; PA-5:Scanlon ; PA-6:Houlahan ; PA-7:Wild ; PA-17*:Lamb SC-1:Cunningham TX-7:Fletcher ; TX-16:Escobar ; TX-29:Garcia ; TX-32:Allred UT-4:McAdams VA-2:Luria ; VA-7:Spanberger ; VA-10:Wexton WA-8:Schrier |
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