So much for the Squad and any other pretend progressives, aside from 3
Democrats.
Miriam
Glenn Greenwald
July 2 2020, 12:38 p.m.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, right, gestures as he speaks with his
daughter Liz Cheney during the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce annual
meeting held U.S. MILITARY HAS BEEN fighting in Afghanistan for almost
nineteen years. House Democrats, working in tandem with key pro-war GOP
lawmakers such as Rep. Liz Cheney, are ensuring that continues.
Last night, the House Armed Services Committee voted overwhelmingly in favor
of an amendment - jointly sponsored by Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of
Colorado and Congresswoman Cheney of Wyoming - prohibiting the expenditure
of monies to reduce the number of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan below
8,000 without a series of conditions first being met.
The imposed conditions are by no means trivial: for these troop reductions
from Afghanistan to be allowed, the Defense Department must be able to
certify, among other things, that leaving Afghanistan "will not increase the
risk for the expansion of existing or formation of new terrorist safe havens
inside Afghanistan" and "will not compromise or otherwise negatively affect
the ongoing United States counter terrorism mission against the Islamic
State, al Qaeda, and associated forces."
The Crow/Cheney amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
last night passed by a vote of 45-11. The NDAA was then unanimously approved
by the Committee by a vote of 56-0. It authorizes $740.5 billion in military
spending - roughly three times more than the world's second-highest spender,
China.
President Trump throughout the year has insisted that the Pentagon present
plans for withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan prior to the end of 2020.
Last week, reports indicated that "the Trump administration is close to
finalizing a decision to withdraw more than 4,000 troops from Afghanistan by
the fall." Trump's plan "would reduce the number of troops from 8,600 to
4,500 and would be the lowest number since the very earliest days of the war
in Afghanistan, which began in 2001." In February, Trump announced an
agreement with the Taliban to end the war completely.
Shortly after those White House withdrawal plans were reported, anonymous
intelligence officials leaked a series of claims to the New York Times
regarding "bounties" allegedly being paid by Russia to Taliban fighters to
kill U.S. troops. Those leaks emboldened opposition to troop withdrawal from
Afghanistan on the ground that it would be capitulating to Russian
treachery. It was that New York Times leak that Liz Cheney, along with GOP
Congressman Mac Thornberry, cited in a joint statement on Monday to suggest
troop withdrawal would be precipitous:
"After today's briefing with senior White House officials, we remain
concerned about Russian activity in Afghanistan, including reports that they
have targeted U.S. forces. It has been clear for some time that Russia does
not wish us well in Afghanistan. We believe it is important to vigorously
pursue any information related to Russia or any other country targeting our
forces. Congress has no more important obligation than providing for the
security of our nation and ensuring our forces have the resources they need.
We anticipate further briefings on this issue in the coming days."
The Crow/Cheney amendment impeding Trump's withdrawal plan asserted that "a
rapid military drawdown and a lack of United States commitment to the
security and stability of Afghanistan would undermine diplomatic efforts for
peace" (only the U.S. could malign a troop withdrawal plan after a 19
year-old war as "rapid"). Their amendment also claims that "the current
agreement between the United States and the Taliban does not provide for the
appropriate protections for vulnerable populations, does not create
conditions for the rejection of violence and prevention of terrorist safe
havens, and does not represent a realistic diplomatic solution, based on
verifiable facts and conditions on the ground, that provides for long-term
stability"
The NDAA that was approved last night by the Committee also imposed
restrictions on Trump's plan to withdraw troops from Germany. Trump's plan
called for the removal of roughly 9,500 troops from German soil, reducing
the number of U.S. troops in this extremely prosperous and rich European
nation from 34,500 to 25,000. But by an overwhelming vote of 49-7, the Armed
Service Committee approved an amendment to the NDAA that "bans the
administration from lowering troop levels below current levels until 180
days after Pentagon leaders present a plan to Congress and certify it will
not harm U.S. or allied interests."
Just as she did with Afghanistan, Congresswoman Cheney, to oppose this troop
removal from Germany, cited - along with her Democratic Committee colleagues
- the threat of Russia, now the all-purpose rationale for continuing
endless U.S. imperialism and war, just as it was during the first Cold War:
Meanwhile, the leading Democrat who joined Cheney to oppose troop withdrawal
from Germany, Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona, also cited "increasing
Russian aggression" to argue that "it is more important than ever that our
NATO allies and partners remain confident about the United States'
commitment." For decades, the perceived threat from Moscow was the leading
instrument used to justify endless U.S. imperialism, and even now that
Russia is little more than what journalist Vincent Bevins today called "a
minor power in Eastern Europe," it still somehow occupies this same crucial
role in the U.S. imagination and militaristic discourse.
Opposition to troop withdrawal in both Afghanistan and Germany was not
unanimous. There were elements of the progressive left and the pro-Trump
right who supported these withdrawals. Yesterday on Twitter, Democratic Rep.
Ro Khanna, the former co-chair of the Sanders campaign, and GOP Rep. Matt
Gaetz, traded mutual support and vows to work together to defeat the
Crow/Cheney amendment:
But this left-right anti-war coalition is no match for the war machine
composed of the establishment wings of both parties and the military and
intelligence community that continue to use selective, illegal leaks to
sabotage any plans to reduce the U.S. military presence around the world.
That the Democrats have spent a full decade desperately recruiting former
military and intelligence officials to serve as their Congressional
candidates (both Congressman Crow, Liz Cheney's co-sponsor on the
Afghanistan amendment, and the anti-German-troop-withdrawal Congressman
Gallego, are both Iraq War veterans) has only made the party even more
militaristic.
Combined with the fact that Democrats are increasingly merging with and
being led by the Bush-era neocons and other Bush/Cheney operatives in
creating such jingoistic and militaristic messaging campaigns as the
beloved-by-liberals Lincoln Project, and that Biden is clearly trying to run
to Trump's right on foreign policy with ads accusing him of being too soft
on China and linking him to Castro and Chavez, the picture is clear. It
should come as absolutely no surprise that House Democrats are finding
common cause with Liz Cheney and other GOP warmongers to block any efforts
to reduce even moderately the footprint of the U.S. military in the world or
its decades-long posture of endless war.
Updated: Friday, July 2, 4:02 p.m. PDT
The roll call vote on the Crow/Cheney amendment to prevent Trump's
withdrawal plan from Afghanistan is now available. Of the 11 members voting
"no," eight were Republicans (Mo Brooks, Bradley Burne, Austin Scott, Scott
DesJarlais, Ralph Abraham, Trent Kelly, Matt Gaetz, Jim Banks) and three
were Democrats (Tulsi Gabbard, Anthony Brown, Ro Khanna). That means that
the "yes" votes - to impede troop withdrawal from Afghanistan - came from a
signifiant majority of Democratic votes. The roll call vote can be seen on
the videos below:
