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timosman
06-13-2018, 05:11 PM
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/392081-dem-senators-move-to-halt-potential-us-troop-withdrawal-from-s-korea


BY ELLEN MITCHELL - 06/13/18

A pair of Democratic senators on Wednesday introduced an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would stop President Trump from withdrawing U.S. forces from South Korea without the Pentagon’s input.

The amendment “would help prevent the President from making a rash decision about troop reductions on the Korean Peninsula that negatively impacts our national security,” Sens. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.) said in a joint statement.

Introduced for the Fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the provision would stop a withdraw “unless the U.S. Secretary of Defense certifies it is in our national security interest and would not significantly undermine the security of our allies in the region.”

The amendment was introduced following Trump’s announcement Tuesday that the U.S. would cease its joint military drills with South Korea as long as talks with North Korea are ongoing. The halted exercises seem to be a concession to Pyongyang, which has repeatedly claimed that the drills are practice for a strike against North Korea.

Trump on Wednesday continued to tout his decision to suspend the military exercises as he returned from meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

"We save a fortune by not doing war games, as long as we are negotiating in good faith – which both sides are!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

While a reduction in U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula was not on the table in discussions with Kim, Trump did say that “at some point” he wants “to get our soldiers out.”

Defense Secretary James Mattis on Monday said the U.S. will not pull any of its 28,500 troops from the Korean peninsula.

“We’re not engaged in any reduction of U.S. forces talks, and I think we all wait until after this settles and we go forward,” Mattis said of the talks between Trump and Kim.

Duckworth said any discussion of withdrawing U.S. forces from the Korean peninsula must be tied to concrete and verifiable changes in North Korea’s behavior “and it must be done in close consultation with our allies.”

Murphy, meanwhile, said in the statement that he’s “freaked out that the president will order troops out of South Korea only for North Korea to, once again, break their word.”

“I’m all for bringing troops home when North Korea no longer poses an existential threat to our friends, but that day is a long time from now – and Congress needs to have a say,” Murphy added.

spudea
06-13-2018, 05:40 PM
Can congress really do that? Like if Ron Paul was president and he wanted to bring all troops home, congress would stop him....wtf?

Swordsmyth
06-13-2018, 05:49 PM
Can congress really do that? Like if Ron Paul was president and he wanted to bring all troops home, congress would stop him....wtf?

I would say they can't, POTUS is CINCUS and can move the troops home if he wants, the Demoncrats will do their best to violate the Constitution and try to usurp power from any position they hold as usual.

oyarde
06-13-2018, 10:27 PM
Thanks illinois . The douchebag state .

Brian4Liberty
06-13-2018, 11:38 PM
Duckworth, from military to MIC operative. Bill Kristol may have a new friend.

Aratus
06-14-2018, 12:39 AM
To get Japan in a very happy mood, or even all the good folks on Okinawa,
we could EASILY pull out of four or five of the bases we have on that island.

angelatc
06-14-2018, 06:49 AM
These people think the President can just single-handedly use our troops to start wars, but he can't end an occupation without their consent?

I HATE tax-cheat Tammy Duckworth and Lindsay Graham.


https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senators-move-block-trump-removing-us-troops-south/story?id=55866351




A pair of Senate Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent President Donald Trump from unilaterally drawing down the American troop presence on the Korean peninsula – not necessarily because he’s said he will, but because they don’t want to rely on his word that he won’t.

Other measures that also tie the president’s hands, but don’t go as far, are already closer to being passed as part of an essential military policy bill.

The new legislation, from Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., would prevent Trump from withdrawing troops from South Korea unless the secretary of defense says it’s in the interest of national security and that it would not undermine the security of allies in the region.

“U.S. troops are not bargaining chips to be offered up in an off-handed manner,” Duckworth said in a statement.

During his summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Trump announced the U.S. would be ending large-scale annual military exercises conducted with South Korea but insisted that the status of the 28,500 American soldiers on the peninsula is not up for negotiation.

“They are going to stay. We didn’t even discuss that, that wasn’t discussed,” Trump said in an interview with Voice of America.

But he also said, during a press conference, that he still wants to draw down troops in Korea at some point – just not as part of negotiations over the North’s nuclear capability.

“At some point, I have to be honest. I used to say this during my campaign… I want to bring our soldiers back home. We have 32,000 soldiers in South Korea. I would like to be able to bring them back home. That’s not part of the equation. At some point, I hope it would be,” he said.

That type of uncertainty was enough for Murphy to try to establish some new restrictions.

“I don’t think it’s smart policy for Congress to rely on the word of the president,” the Connecticut Democrat told ABC. “This time he gave away exercises for nothing, what’s to stop him from giving away troops for nothing?”

The two Democrats want their amendment added to the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets military policy for the next fiscal year. The House’s version already has a similar provision, which would limit funds that can be used to reduce troop levels in South Korea, and the Senate includes a “sense of the Senate” provision stipulating that “the significant removal of the United States military forces from the Korean Peninsula is a non-negotiable item” as it relates to North Korea’s denuclearization.

Once each chamber passes its respective NDAA, the two must be merged in what is known as a conference committee.

So while Murphy would obviously like to see his bill passed, he acknowledged that this year’s NDAA will be making some sort of a statement warning the president not to try to reduce troop levels in South Korea unless there is a national security imperative.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who wrote the sense of the Senate resolution, said he is concerned Trump might try to limit troop numbers on the Korean peninsula, which he warned would play right into China’s desires to have an unchallenged presence in the region.

“The Chinese have probably been coaching Kim Jong Un to seek that as part of the nuclear negotiation goals,” he told ABC.

Last month, Trump ordered the Pentagon to issue options for reducing the American presence in South Korea, despite his administration’s assurances that they were not a bargaining chip in the Kim talks.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said those kinds of comments indicate that it might be time to consider tying the president’s hands when it comes to defense on the peninsula.

“I generally wouldn’t be open to that, but I might be now,” he told ABC, although he added that the Senate should hold a hearing on the Murphy/Duckworth proposition before any votes are contemplated.



Mark Sanford wasn't a problem. These people are.

timosman
06-14-2018, 07:09 AM
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?523190-Dem-senators-move-to-halt-potential-US-troop-withdrawal-from-S-Korea

oyarde
06-14-2018, 08:02 AM
How did duckworth slip through the cracks ? In the good old days stupid white people burned witches now they elect them .

shakey1
06-14-2018, 08:44 AM
Graham is worthless.

Brian4Liberty
06-14-2018, 09:47 AM
How did duckworth slip through the cracks ?

She was born in Thailand, grew up in Asia. Her perspective is probably different than your average American.

angelatc
06-14-2018, 09:54 AM
How did duckworth slip through the cracks ? In the good old days stupid white people burned witches now they elect them .

She is owned by the military industrial complex. She lost her first two elections. During the Tea Party tide, Joe Walsh took out a moderate Democrat. The Democrats then redistricted, admittedly creating a district where she could win.

And she's untouchable. Nobody screeches "Muh Troops!" better than her.

timosman
06-14-2018, 10:13 AM
She is owned by the military industrial complex. She lost her first two elections. During the Tea Party tide, Joe Walsh took out a moderate Democrat. The Democrats then redistricted, admittedly creating a district where she could win.

And she's untouchable. Nobody screeches "Muh Troops!" better than her.

Not even Lindsey?