URGENT! Call Congress TODAY-Vote Against Afghan War Funding! (5-25-11)

Congress is voting today on the war in Afghanistan.

Call Congress today and urge your Representative to vote to cut off funding for the Afghanistan War. Support the Lee amendment as the strongest against the war.

You can call toll-free, 1-888-231-9276, thanks to the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Demand an amendment be adopted striking Section 1034, "Affirmation of Armed
Conflict with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Associated Forces," completely from the bill.

Demand a serious debate about the Afghanistan War and tell your representative
to vote to immediately end funding for the war and occupation.

Excerpts from Brian Beutler’s “Congress Poised to Give President Power to Continue GWOT Indefinitely.”

House progressives are trying to draw attention to language Republicans have included in an annual must-pass defense bill, which they say will dramatically expand Presidential power in the war on terrorism. The pushback comes just over a week after U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and reignites one of the most controversial disputes the country's faced over the past decade. At stake is the question of whether Congress will allow the war on terrorism to continue indefinitely, or let it slowly dissipate as the years since September 11, 2001 pass.

[snip]

With Osama bin Laden dead, McKeon et al want to update the AUMF [Authorization of Use of Military Force], so that it doesn't phase itself out as the connection between existing terrorist groups and the September 11 attacks themselves becomes more and more tenuous over time. That's exactly what some Democrats hope to avoid.

The new language eschews references to September 11, and instead centers the authorization on "armed conflict with al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces," though "associated forces" is not defined. It replaces the authority to target "organizations" and "persons" domestically with the power to target "all entities that continue to pose a threat to the United States and its citizens, both domestically and abroad."

Democrats and advocates highlight these seemingly subtle changes and argue that they will allow the President to initiate military action even more broadly, and without the consent of Congress -- effectively perpetuating the war indefinitely.

"Such authority must not be ceded to the President without careful deliberation from Congress," the Democrats write. Their immediate goal is to have these measures considered separately from the crucial defense bill, so that they receive individual scrutiny, and don't get dragged along for the ride.

"Whatever one thinks of these various proposals in the Detainee Security Act, it is clear that they will have serious consequences and should be examined extensively," the letter reads. "We therefore request that you use your chairmanship to immediately call hearings...so that the American people have an opportunity to consider the serious impacts that this legislation could have on our national security."

The issue has been drowned out by a spate of international and domestic news, and by the fact that there's generally broad bipartisan support in Congress for war on terror efforts. ...

------------