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Ethicalego (Kenneth Brooks) discusses current events from a critical thinking perspective rarely expressed elsewhere

Congress must not agree to military strike against Syria

By Kenneth Brooks

9/4/13

President Obama said, “This attack is an assault on human dignity. It also presents a serious danger to our national security. It risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons. It endangers our friends and our partners along Syria’s borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq. It could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons, or their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm.”

Obama managed to fit many appeals to emotion in his statement and few of reason. He makes the slippery-slope type argument–if we allow this event without a reaction then a chain of evils will follow. Previous presidents used this argument to justify the Vietnam War, the War on drugs, and the invasion of Iraq. I agree that some enforcement authority must act against nations that stockpile and use chemical weapons. However, international organizations like the United Nations and OPCW should exercise that authority and not the President of the United States by an act of war.

Obama also said, “Make no mistake -- this has implications beyond chemical warfare. If we won't enforce accountability in the face of this heinous act, what does it say about our resolve to stand up to others who flout fundamental international rules? To governments who would choose to build nuclear arms? To terrorist who would spread biological weapons? To armies who carry out genocide?”

Obama's statement about the chemical weapons crisis shows why he and the United States lack credibility in this crisis. Dishonestly, he refers to Israel as a nation threatened by the misuse of chemical weapons as if it were among the nations supporting the prohibition against chemical weapons. However, only 189 of 196 nations were party to the CWC on June 2013. Israel was not one of them. Israel and Myanmar are two nations that signed the agreement in 1993, but never ratified the convention. They remain outside the convention with Angola, Egypt, North Korea, South Sudan, and Syria. The United States also signed the agreement in 1993 and ratified the convention in 1997. Therefore, President Obama misleads Americans when he fails to list all nations that provide themselves the alternative of using chemical weapons.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon more honestly sets out the status of nations in the chemical weapon’s crisis. Recently, he appealed to Israel, Syria and all nations outside the CWC to ratify their membership. Until they do, all of them preserve the equally loathsome alternative to create, store and use chemical weapons against their citizens or against people of other nations. Unlike President Obama, the Secretary-General held all nations accountability that refuse to support the international prohibitions of chemical weapons. Even some nations in the CWC have failed to meet their schedule to destroy all chemical weapons.

Obama’s statement suggests the world is the domain of the United States of America and the U.S. President is its emperor with authority and duty to hold other nations accountable for violating international rules. He said, “Yet, while I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course, and our actions will be even more effective.” Americans and Congress should pay close attention to those remarks that suggests an imperial presidency free of restrains of Congress or the people.

I read the Constitution many times. I have not found the place in Article II that gives the president authority as Commander in chief of American Armed Forces authority to attack another nation without the consent of Congress. It does not name the President the Commander of the International Police Force.

The fast developing imperial presidency the past forty years threatens freedom and the American republic more than foreign forces do. Commonsense should warn any free people the threat to freedom of concentrating power in the presidency during crisis or war. 
This is a critical period for American freedom. The president already has extraordinary powers bestowed on the Executive Branch by a panicked Congress after the 9/11 attacks on the homeland. Now, Obama asks Congress to grant him the authority to attack another nation based only on its loathsome domestic conduct and its violation of an international rule that does not directly threaten the United States. A “yes” vote by Congress will complete the imperial presidency with monarchical war-making powers.

This approval by Congress would be an abandonment of duty for no good reason given Obama's admission, “And the American people have the good sense to know we cannot resolve the underlying conflict in Syria with our military. In that part of the world, there are ancient sectarian differences, and the hopes of the Arab Spring have unleashed forces of change that are going to take many years to resolve. And that's why we’re not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else’s war.”

Paradoxically, Obama who plans a military strike against Syria for breaking an international rule fails to cite the international law that authorizes this unilateral action by the United States or by any nation. He appears to make the argument that power is its own authority for action. Congress must dispute this assertion by telling President Obama, “No, we do not agree to a military strike against Syria.”

Copyright © 2008-2013 Ethicalego.com Reproduction and distribution that include the Ethicalego copyright and address is permitted.

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rocketman   |September.08.2013 One position on the issue of Syria is that Muslims are apparently killing Muslims, which is to say future terrorists. Why should we care? The more the merrier and the fewer terrorists we'll have to deal with 15 or 20 years from now, when we'll still be dealing with them.

Anonymous   |September.06.2013 Here's another link. Check it out. No wonder Russia's Putin is clearly livid at Obama "administration". Why is the MSM and DC politicians lying and threatening to start WW3 for Israeli interests? Love the info in the article on how "potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride" is found in Walmart and other US retail outlets and easily purchased by you and me. http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_09_05/Syrias-chemical-weapon-regularly-dumped-in-US-municipal-water-supply-system-4243/

Anonymous   |September.05.2013 Any of the politicians that vote in favor of this beginning of World War III should be mandated to send their kids overseas first.

Mr :)   |September.04.2013 Oh Magog! Why End-Times Buffs Are Freaking Out About Syria http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/syria-joel-rosenberg-damascus-countdown-magog It was a nice 6000 years, but it is time to end the earth. Bye Bye.

wharf rat   |September.04.2013 The buzz in the NMSM is that rebels were moving the chemical weapons when an accidental release occurred . If this is true then they do indeed have them, but apparently lack the ability to deploy them without gassing themselves . There has been talk about a British chemical firm selling the chemicals to make them to rebel groups so its possible they are concocting home made chemical weapons equally possible that radical extremist groups also possess them and could deploy them in suicide attacks Remember way back Rumsfeld sold chem and bio weapons to Sadam , he later destroyed them because they were the one thing he couldn't defend against from the numerous coup attempts against him .

drbob   |September.04.2013 There is the possibility that the rebels got possession of nerve gas munitions, through theft from Syrian government stocks, or supplied by Prince Bandar bin Saud. Without proper training in the use of the weapons, they may have accidentally set them off. The UN inspection had a mandate to determine if chemical weapons were used, and explicitly NOT to address the "by whom" question.

Anonymous   |September.04.2013 This whole Syrian "chemical" attack is a hoax. Some perceptive poeple already noted the UK's Indepenent article (see link) with the subhead under the headline saying this: "potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride". Astute internet observer already saying these two "chemicals" can be found at Walmart, for crying out loud -- that's right, the same flouride used for water treatment and toothpaste. No wonder Russia's Putin is livid at the lying that Obama and Kerry is doing. Agree with posters below... this "administration" is the most incompetent probably in US history, and you're the fools for voting for Obama not once but twice. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-government-let-british-company-export-nerve-gas-chemicals-to-syria-8793642

Clarke Johnston   |September.04.2013 The United Nations is, well, pretty worthless. They've earned the "Paper Tiger" moniker that we get tarred and feathered with here in the US. The added insult to injury is that the US, with the UN located oh-so-conveniently in New Yawk Citee, pays most of the cost for maintaining the UN. So the US finds itself in a dilemma. We've taken it upon ourselves to be the world's policeman. Many times, and often with miserable, failing results. See exhibit "A" - Iraq. Or exhibit "B" - Afghanistan. Both complete and utter failures. At incalculable financial cost to Americans and an equally bad cost extracted in the lives of American troops. President Eisenhower was prescient and correct: Beware the government/media complex. It appears now, that the CIA and the NSA are setting military policy, and asking for Congress' approval only as a token gesture, a cursory nod to the constitution and it's stated task on Congress being the body to declare war. Certainly the President, as Commander in Chief, has the ability to utilize the military under special circumstances. Say, for example, responding a sudden event like the North Koreans acting up overnight, or the always ticked-off Yemenis attacking the USS Cole. Under those situations, our leader needs the ability to unleash a quick and appropriate response. (Which Clinton did NOT do with the Cole matter. He just shook his finger and made empty threats) What's happening in Syria is certainly bad, but the hearings yesterday are oh-so similar to the run-up to the Iraq war. Heck: Secretary Kerry didn't even bring a slide-show or Powerpoint presentation to the proceedings yesterday. In fact, during most of the questioning by our Congress-people, Kerry sat noodling on paper, clearly not even really listening to the questions being presented. Clearly for him it was a bother to even be there, and his disrespect was evident with his inattentiveness during the hearing.

Anonymous   |September.04.2013 This is an incompetent administration from top to bottom. The disgraced Hillary Clinton quit the job after she and her team destroyed stability in the middle east. Remember the lefts criticism of Sarah Palin for quiting? What a joke.

tramky   |September.04.2013 Well, apparently this President is confused. This entire situation involving Syria is, in fact, a massive embarrassment to and for the United States. And the most embarrassing thing about it derives from all those who voted for this clearly glib, incompetent fool--not once, but twice. Obama is nothing more than a petty opportunist. He clearly read & identified with Randall Robinson's infamous campaign for reparations payable to blacks. Obama is getting HIS reparations handed to him and his family on a platter, all at taxpayer expense. It is all right in front of our eyes--the golf, the basketball, the expensive vacations, and likely a lot of other things that is not told or reported upon. In 3 years Obama will get a fat Federal pension, which was a key objective for him. As for the Presidency, he clearly would rather not have the responsibility. He hasn't a clue.

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