Kucinich Says White House Abused Its Power, Wants Forces Out of Pakistan

by: Deb Weinstein, t r u t h o u t | Report

The five hundred million dollars in aid the US pledged to Pakistan this week  is not the only backing the United States is providing the country considered an ally against terrorist elements. According to a statement by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the White House has increased its military commitment to Pakistan without Congressional oversight or approval. The White House's abuse of its authority, Kucinich says in his statement, "must stop." On Thursday evening, he and fellow House member Ron Paul (R-Texas) introduced a privileged resolution to pull US forces from the country. If Speaker Nancy Pelosi gives the nod, the Kucinich-Paul resolution will jump the line of items before the House next week, right before Congress breaks for its August recess.

Although American military support in Pakistan is not new, nor unreported, Kucinich's Friday statement bristles on two points - Kucinich claims that he and his peers learned about the troop upgrade via an article in The Wall Street Journal, and that the deployment is illegal according to the 1973 War Powers Resolution. The resolution Kucinich cites gives the Oval Office the right to send members of the military into "hostilities or imminent hostilities," but it is a power that comes with requirements. Among them: that the president consults Congress about such deployments "in every possible instance."

Kucinich also opposes the deployment on strategic grounds. "This increasing US military activity has little to do with protecting the United States and in fact is creating more enemies than it is defeating," he says, noting that the uptick comes "at a time when there are, according to the CIA, very few al-Qaeda members in that country."

Kucinich's objection to US troops in Pakistan is not without precedent, nor is his use of the privilege resolution. In December, he promised to introduce bills to remove forces from both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kucinich introduced privilege resolutions to impeach then-President George W. Bush in 2008, and one in 2007 to impeach Vice President Cheney.

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Deb Weinstein is an intern at Truthout.


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The realignment of American

The realignment of American politics.



War President II. Anyone

War President II. Anyone here still pretending that O is any less of a War Monger than the previous administration? The War Machine and the Wall Street Banks and the Fed are who always seem to get taken care of, no matter which party is in power. We have a one party system.



I have heard people ridicule

I have heard people ridicule Dennis Kucinich because he is of short stature, but he is the only man in Congress that actually has a pair. Would that many others could grow some- the gentle ladies could go in search of their ovaries- and emphatically join him.



Bill O'Rights, true dat.

Bill O'Rights, true dat.



Kucinich and Paul have it

Kucinich and Paul have it right. This is no longer about the security of the American people, it is about stability for the global political class. If I were Pakistani, I would resist this deployment, intended to prop up an corrupt and unpopular regime. If Pakistani terrorists strike us here in America, we the people cannot claim innocence! We have not done our job to stop the rampant militarism of our criminal government (Bush and Obama). Down with the CFR and their corporate foreign policy!



Uppity Woman - Paul 'has a

Uppity Woman - Paul 'has a pair' - he's led the criticism of this action along with Kucinich and for many years has also called for the elimination of most of the 700 US military installations around the Globe. Paul has been a rare advocate for peace for decades and has done so with almost zero support from Democrats or 'Progressives'. It is time to reject the false Left/Right paradigm and support those who challenge the banks and the War Machine - Kucinich and Paul, alike (although Kucinich backed down on auditing the Fed, for some inexplicable reason).



Yeah, Kucinich has "a pair"

Yeah, Kucinich has "a pair" when it comes to symbolic moves that will never pass but seems to be a bit lacking when the vote really counts--like holding the Obama administration to a public option on health care with his "pledge" that he folded on. He remains in the Democratic party. Need one say more?



Dennis Kucinich is

Dennis Kucinich is absolutely right. We need to STOP flushing American lives and dollars down the toilet and bring our troops HOME where they might be able to do some good in repairing our infra-structure and get us back on the road to peace, prosperity and Moral recovery.



Actual situation is much

Actual situation is much worse. USA seems to be fighting war in Af-Pak sector from both sides.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Reasons-for-Current-Spread-of-Terrorism



I'm sure Barak and Rahm are

I'm sure Barak and Rahm are trembling. Dennis was squashed like a gnat over health care. He'll continue to emit little puffs of wind, but even when he's right, he's now a joke.



Troops in over 130

Troops in over 130 countries, non stop WARS , bombs , bullets , drones , depleted uranium , we are out to bring the downtrodden masses of the 3 rd world countries Democracy , Freedom, Liberty and Justice no matter what the cost , even if we have to destroy their country and murder their innocent men , women and children . The Iraqis must be thankful that we got rid of Saddam and installed another incompetent , corrupt Thug in his place . Under Saddam the country prospered and there was relative peace and quiet.



" I'm sure Barak and Rahm

" I'm sure Barak and Rahm are " ........at least Kucinich has the guts to speak up compared to the whipped dogs , the puppets of the Power Behind the Throne who give our " public servants" their marching orders .



Thanks again, Rep. Kucinich

Thanks again, Rep. Kucinich for representing the majority of Americans who evidently have almost no representation otherwise. Obama is no less culpable than was BushCo as he escalates the occupation of the likely (?) oil transit corridors out of eastern Russia. Obama is a jive turkey stooge playing interference for the real power in this once-great nation-in- decline. His shallow rhetoric was and is an outrage to people whose children have joined the military to keep America safe. His ambitious stepping on and over people who wanted to believe all the talk is more clearly than ever a hollow and deceptive grab at power for himself. All of that is not to say we should elect another Republican (or Tea Partier) to the White House- far from it. Republicans have shown themselves to be the worst public servants imaginable, following an extremist imperial agenda of their own design, American people be damned. We need leadership untethered to the corporate military-industrial complex, and we need it fast.



You are a good man but why

You are a good man but why didn't you tell Obama when he was giving you a ride on our plane that if he wanted that pitiful health care give-away, you wanted his vote to get out of the two trillion dollar a year wars. No wars for one year would pay for health care for everyone for 10 years.



Kucinich for President!

Kucinich for President!



Britain was hones: it was

Britain was hones: it was called THE BRITISH EMPIRE. The US is dishonest: It calls itself a democracy when in fact it is THE AMERICAN EMPIRE.

The Brits marched into the Middle East claiming it was in the interests of their empire to secure its resources.

The Americans say they do the same thing to preserve democracy.

You ain't foolin' anybody.

Somebody gave Obama $700 million to run for President. What did they want in return? Just a nice feeling of doing the right thing.

The truth is simple; it's the lies that don't make sense.



I'm glad there are at least

I'm glad there are at least a few members of Congress, like Kucinich and Grayson, who will still do the right thing, even when it has little chance of success. It's important to show people that our government isn't 100% evil or ignorant. But it's so sad to know that government leaders I can respect are so few. There are very few Republicans who EVER vote the right way on any important issue. And there are just as few Democrats who are willing to stand up to their own party when they are wrong.



I reject the idea that being

I reject the idea that being anti war means that one is against the projection of power through military force in all circumstances. The analogy of the war against Hitler, which has as its principle fault the fact that it was initiated too slowly, is a classic well-beaten dead horse.

The Taliban are an actual enemy that requires our most determined effort to stop. One does not reason with a religious fanatic, or 'share power' with them. They must be eradicated. I often rage against the religious fanatics that are, in my opinion, destroying our country, but there is a line somewhere. Those who react to girls going to school by blowing up the school and the girls in the name of god need to be shot before they have children, and their children obtain nuclear weapons.



Elizabeth for First Lady!

Elizabeth for First Lady!



Dear Anonymous on 7/24 at

Dear Anonymous on 7/24 at 23:48 - Dennis did tell Obama he wanted the war to end . . . but Rahm Emanuel was sitting right there, assuring Dennis that if he didn't compromise RIGHT NOW, nothing at all he does in the House would ever be heard by other Congressional Democrats. Figure out who has the President by the collar; it's not Dennis.