Viracocha
02-22-2008, 07:47 PM
I've been reading posts at several different forums regarding RP and his support of an incursion into Afghanistan but not into Iraq. I've also seen confusion over why he supported one but not the other, and I'd like to clarify the motives for his decision so that supporters won't get tongue tied when asked about the contradiction. Please feel free to correct me if my history is a little fuzzy.
Simply put, there was no contradiction in his decisions. He followed the rules.
Afghanistan: In 1998 UNOCAL held meetings with a congressional subcommittee regarding a natural gas pipeline project from in the Caspian Sea region all the way to the Pakistan coast, with a significant portion of it going through Afghanistan. The obstacle to the project was that there wasn't an officially-recognized government in Afghanistan to approve the deal. The closest thing to it was the Taliban. As late as August 2000, the US government was willing to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate governing authority so that plans could proceed. The Taliban changed its mind about the project, which basically meant that if they wouldn't approve of the pipeline going through their lands, they would not be considered the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Ron was aware of this, so when time came to approve military action following the WTC attacks (based on the refusal of the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden), he could do it without violating the sovereignty of another nation, and thus avoid violating the principles of our Constitution.
Iraq: Putting aside the facts that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 nor had any viable WMD, another reason Ron did not approve allowing BushCo to send troops to Iraq because it was still a sovereign nation, with its own constitution, thus sending troops would require a formal Declaration of War, as our own Constitution states. Ron was the ONLY congressman to initiate proceedings for this declaration. Nobody lined up behind him. Was this his fault? Of course not. The others weren't willing to politically commit themselves to this, and instead (through intense pressure from Cheney & Co), voted to give President Bush expanded military powers that were vague at best, thus violating the US Constitution and subsequently the War Powers Resolution as well.
Simply put, there was no contradiction in his decisions. He followed the rules.
Afghanistan: In 1998 UNOCAL held meetings with a congressional subcommittee regarding a natural gas pipeline project from in the Caspian Sea region all the way to the Pakistan coast, with a significant portion of it going through Afghanistan. The obstacle to the project was that there wasn't an officially-recognized government in Afghanistan to approve the deal. The closest thing to it was the Taliban. As late as August 2000, the US government was willing to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate governing authority so that plans could proceed. The Taliban changed its mind about the project, which basically meant that if they wouldn't approve of the pipeline going through their lands, they would not be considered the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Ron was aware of this, so when time came to approve military action following the WTC attacks (based on the refusal of the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden), he could do it without violating the sovereignty of another nation, and thus avoid violating the principles of our Constitution.
Iraq: Putting aside the facts that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 nor had any viable WMD, another reason Ron did not approve allowing BushCo to send troops to Iraq because it was still a sovereign nation, with its own constitution, thus sending troops would require a formal Declaration of War, as our own Constitution states. Ron was the ONLY congressman to initiate proceedings for this declaration. Nobody lined up behind him. Was this his fault? Of course not. The others weren't willing to politically commit themselves to this, and instead (through intense pressure from Cheney & Co), voted to give President Bush expanded military powers that were vague at best, thus violating the US Constitution and subsequently the War Powers Resolution as well.