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View Full Version : Lone opponent of Afghanistan war feels vindicated




Warlord
12-25-2014, 01:46 PM
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) was the lone 'no' vote in Congress against the war in Afghanistan in 2001, voting against an authorization for use of military force (AUMF) shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

At the time, she came under attack for being unpatriotic, even receiving death threats. Today, she feels vindicated.

"When I voted 'no,' I said it was a blank check and would set the stage for perpetual war, and that's what it's done," she said in a recent interview with The Hill. "I think members now understand it was a blank check. No way should we give any president authority to wage a war forever."

The 2001 AUMF has been used more than 30 times to take military action in places including Afghanistan, the Philippines, Georgia, Yemen and Iraq, as well as several African nations. The same legislation is also used as justification for detaining individuals at Guantanamo Bay, according to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report






http://thehill.com/policy/defense/227975-lone-opponent-of-afghan-war-feels-vindicated

Warlord
12-25-2014, 02:14 PM
BTW Ron Paul voted for the 2001 AUMF >>> I'm sure that's his biggest regret but i doubt he could survive in Congress without voting for it.

jmdrake
12-25-2014, 02:17 PM
Good for her! Yes she was right.

Warlord
12-25-2014, 02:18 PM
Good for her! Yes she was right.

Any comments on Ron Paul's vote ? Probably my biggest disappointment.

Danke
12-25-2014, 02:20 PM
BTW Ron Paul voted for the 2001 AUMF >>> I'm sure that's his biggest regret but i doubt he could survive in Congress without voting for it.

A bit of an oversimplification. He was only authorizing going after those responsible for 911. This has been hashed out here a long time ago. Try to keep up.

Christian Liberty
12-25-2014, 02:20 PM
Any comments on Ron Paul's vote ? Probably my biggest disappointment.

Me too. Well, nobody's perfect. He probably voted yes because he thought taking action againt the people who did 9/11 was morally justifiable (which, at a surface level, is true) but I've heard he was struggling with how to vote, probably because he knew it would be abused.

amy31416
12-25-2014, 02:20 PM
As much as I might criticize her for everything else--gotta give her credit for this.

Warlord
12-25-2014, 02:24 PM
A bit of an oversimplification. He was only authorizing going after those responsible for 911. This has been hashed out here a long time ago. Try to keep up.

Sorry if I sound like im trolling... but the AUMF was very broad and it was hard not to see it being abused. Ron seems to get a pass for this.

Christian Liberty
12-25-2014, 02:28 PM
Sorry if I sound like im trolling... but the AUMF was very broad and it was hard not to see it being abused. Ron seems to get a pass for this.

No, you're right. Ron had to have known it would be abused. But, maybe he thought the thing was justified if it was strictly worded.

I still don't really like it. Dealing with crime through military power is a bad idea. Ron was wrong on this one, and he knows it now to.

jmdrake
12-25-2014, 02:29 PM
Any comments on Ron Paul's vote ? Probably my biggest disappointment.

At the time I would have voted for war in Afghanistan too. I hate to sound like the stupid neocons endorsing torture, but it was right after 9/11. The difference between me and them is that I at least now realize I was wrong.

Christian Liberty
12-25-2014, 02:33 PM
At the time I would have voted for war in Afghanistan too. I hate to sound like the stupid neocons endorsing torture, but it was right after 9/11. The difference between me and them is that I at least now realize I was wrong.

Were you generally "awake" in 2001, though? Most of us weren't. But Ron Paul was. Ron Paul has been for awhile.

So, he had to have at least wondered if that was a good idea.

jmdrake
12-25-2014, 03:10 PM
Were you generally "awake" in 2001, though? Most of us weren't. But Ron Paul was. Ron Paul has been for awhile.

So, he had to have at least wondered if that was a good idea.

My "awakening" includes understandings of 9/11 that, if Ron has, he hasn't been willing to come forward about. I'm not sure how I would have spoken out against the AUMF without the benefit of hindsight and without questioning 9/11. Heck, we still have some willing here to at least tacitly support torture under certain circumstances.

willwash
12-25-2014, 04:36 PM
I think one bad vote in 22 years in Congress is forgivable. I know he changed positions on the death penalty too, but when you hear him explain it you can tell it is not political pandering, but a genuine shift based on a new understanding of how it has been applied.

Christian Liberty
12-25-2014, 06:09 PM
My "awakening" includes understandings of 9/11 that, if Ron has, he hasn't been willing to come forward about. I'm not sure how I would have spoken out against the AUMF without the benefit of hindsight and without questioning 9/11. Heck, we still have some willing here to at least tacitly support torture under certain circumstances.

Fair enough.

I'm not trying to bash Ron for this. Nobody's perfect. And its not like Ron's vote was what made the war happen. But a mistake is a mistake.


I think one bad vote in 22 years in Congress is forgivable. I know he changed positions on the death penalty too, but when you hear him explain it you can tell it is not political pandering, but a genuine shift based on a new understanding of how it has been applied.

Agreed. Very forgivable. My commenting on it shouldn't be taken as an indication of anything but that even the best of men make mistakes.

enhanced_deficit
12-25-2014, 09:56 PM
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/227975-lone-opponent-of-afghan-war-feels-vindicated





One lone voice among a many who supported the "good war".

The 12-Year War: 73% of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan Occured on Obama's Watch (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?427493-The-12-Year-War-73-of-U-S-Casualties-in-Afghanistan-on-Obama-s-Watch&p=5221296#post5221296)

Iraq/Afghanistan wars disabled 624,000 US troops , Divorces up 42%, Foreclosures up 217% (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?424803-Iraq-Afghanistan-wars-disabled-624-000-US-troops-Divorces-up-42-Foreclosures-up-217&)

Military surgeon says he amputated genitals of one or two wounded soldiers daily (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?465185-Iraq-war-Military-surgeon-says-he-amputated-genitals-of-one-or-two-wounded-soldiers-daily&)