A Recipe for Perpetual Global Bar

Stephen Miles / Win Without War

 (December 30, 2020) — In November, an ex-special forces member working as a contractor for the CIA died following a terrorist attack in Mogadishu. What were they doing in Somalia? Classified.

Right now, there are close to 30 US military bases operating across Africa. One of them: a sprawling $110 million US drone base in Agadez, Niger. The missions? Classified.

There are dozens and dozens of secret US wars around the world, and administration after administration has continued the path of disastrous overseas adventurism — and I’m sorry to say we’re likely to see the same under a Biden administration.

Congress is how we stop this. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution makes it crystal clear that Congress has the SOLE authority to declare war — but for decades, Congress has acquiesced that job to the Presidency.

2021 Could Change Everything

There’s a critical mass of bipartisan congressional support for the first time to stop this disastrous cycle, and we’re getting ready to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity and push them hard and fast — are you with us?

When Biden takes office, he’ll inherit Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan and Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria. There are thousands of US troops currently patrolling Africa — including in Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan. Not to mention dozens of US planes and drones filling countless classified skies that have already been documented killing thousands in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

It’s a war-footing in almost every continent. Still, President-elect Biden has suggested that he wants to merely replace — not revoke — one of the key congressional authorizations for all these endless wars: the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force.

What Biden’s saying is he wants renewed, albeit more limited, congressional authority to conduct drone operations, Special Forces raids, and rely on foreign ‘partner’ forces to fight these wars.

That’s not ending endless war; that’s *a recipe for perpetual global war* — but it’s not up to him. It is up to Congress, and Congress alone to decide.

And the good news is, the Win Without War team has never seen as much bipartisan momentum on the Hill to rein in rubberstamp authorizations for endless war. So, we’re gearing up for the campaign of a generation — and we’re building a movement to support this urgent work.

Six years ago, we named our goal to build a progressive foreign policy focused on justice, safety, equity, and peace in a visionary campaign: END ENDLESS WAR. The debate about our nation’s post-9/11 wars has never been the same, and now we are SO close to achieving this incredible milestone — if we get LOUDER than ever in 2021.

Add your name to join us and make 2021 the year we End Endless War.

THE LETTER
To members of the US Congress:
The United States has war-footing on almost every continent, and President-elect Biden has already suggested that he would merely replace — not revoke — one of the key congressional authorizations for the wars being conducted all over the world: the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force. 2021 has to be the year we end endless war. Congress must take the reins and repeal the 2001 AUMF.

Thank you for working for peace,
Stephen and the Win Without War team