Will Fischer / VoteVets.org & Linda Sarsour / MoveOn.org – 2017-03-02 01:01:02
http://action.votevets.org/page/s/yemen-raid?source=em170301-c
Did Steve Bannon Have a Role in Yemen Raid Decision?
Will Fischer / VoteVets.org
(March 1, 2017) — The most solemn obligation for any president is when to send the men and women who wear our uniform into harm’s way.
President Trump did that when he sent Navy SEALs into Yemen for a raid that left Chief Petty Officer Ryan Owens and as many as dozens of civilians dead, including an eight-year-old American girl.
Last night, President Trump used Ryan Owens’ death as a shameful piece of propaganda. He even suggested he was smiling down from above because Congress — a body with a 10 percent approval rating — gave him a two-minute standing ovation. What an absolute disgrace.
But something went horribly wrong that night in Yemen. And a made-for-TV moment shortly after blaming President Obama for a raid he chose not to green-light isn’t going to make it go away.
The American people deserve answers. And if Congress can find the time to hold multiple and repetitive hearings into Benghazi, it can certainly find the time to hold a single hearing on this botched raid.
Tell Congress: Investigate the process used by Donald Trump to authorize the raid in Yemen that left a Navy SEAL and dozens others dead.
The military will always do everything it can to prepare for operations, as much as possible. And the military will take every precaution to prevent the loss of life. Despite all of that, losing lives is often unavoidable.
Those of us who served understand that when we enlist. However, we also realize that sometimes operations should not be approved in the first place.
Did the Commander-in-Chief ultimately make the wrong call, based on bad reasoning, given to him by unqualified people? What role did Steve Bannon play? We know Bannon was at the dinner where Trump gave the order. We know that Bannon, subsequently, was named to the National Security Council.
Bill Owens, the father of our fallen hero, Chief Petty Officer Ryan Owens, deserves to know. America deserves to know. And it’s important that we make our voices heard.
Unlike the internal review done by the military, which cannot examine the decision-making process at the top, Congress must look into how this decision was made. They must investigate right away.
Will Fischer is VoteVets’ Director Government Affairs and an Iraq War Veteran.
Steve Bannon Must Be Stopped
Linda Sarsour / MoveOn.org
(March 1, 2017) — Even in one of the most bigoted and corrupt administrations in recent history, one person manages to stand out: Steve Bannon, the chief strategist at the White House, who as the former editor of Brietbart — the anti-Muslim White Nationalist “news” company — used his platforms to spread vitriolic anti-Muslim hate and conspiracy theories on a daily basis. [1]
Bannon is exceptionally dangerous not only because of his toxic views towards Muslims and other groups, but because of the immense power that he holds in the Trump administration.
Along with crafting the illegal and immoral Muslim ban, Bannon reportedly got Donald Trump to sign an executive order placing himself on the National Security Council (NSC), while removing intelligence professionals — without Trump even being aware that he was handing over this critical position to Bannon. [2]
With a new Muslim ban being signed as early as tomorrow, we need to stop Bannon before he does even more damage to our communities and grabs even more power.
The administration has made one thing clear in their first few weeks in office — they will use every opportunity and resource available to them to target Muslim communities. Whether it’s their disastrous and discriminatory Muslim ban, the hiring and subsequent firing of anti-Muslim General Mike Flynn, or their refusal to disavow the spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes, the Trump administration — guided by chief strategist Steve Bannon — is bent on discriminating against Muslims, Islam, and Muslim communities.
For Bannon, a seat on the NSC is just another power grab in pursuit of his dangerous agenda — what he sees as a global existential war with Muslims and Islam. [3] And with the vast access to information and the national security apparatus that comes with it, it’s one of the most powerful positions in government.
Congress has the power to help stop him. Send a note to your representatives in the House and Senate asking them to support legislation to remove Bannon from the NSC.
In solidarity,
Linda Sarsour and the MPower Change team
Sources:
1. “Trump Campaign CEO Was a Big Promoter of Anti-Muslim Extremists” Mother Jones, Sep 15, 2016.
 http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-muslims-fear-loathing
2. “Trump and Staff Rethink Tactics After Stumbles” The New York Times, Feb 5, 2017. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/us/politics/trump-white-house-aides-strategy.html
3. “What Unearthed Radio Recordings Tell Us About Steve Bannon’s Worldview” ABC News, Feb 1, 2017
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/steve-bannon-fire-past-comments-islam/story
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