Why Rand Paul Wants to Declare War on ISIS

[Brian4Liberty]

Why Rand Paul Wants to Declare War on ISIS
By Dave Nalle - November 24, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC, November 24, 2014 – For more than a dozen years our foreign policy has been dominated by the Authorization of the Use of Military Force issues after 9/11. It has been used as a rubber stamp for actions against individuals and states, many of them violations of US and international law. Senator Rand Paul plans to bring that era of unaccountable warfare to an end.

He is planing to introduce a bill in the Senate which will end the AUMF and also require a vote on whether or not to provide a constitutionally legitimate and strictly defined declaration of war against ISIS. This would satisfy critics who are war weary and want our interventions to end and would also make Senators go on record regarding their position on the war. It would also replace a war which is undeclared and in violation of the spirit of the War Powers Act with one which has appropriate limits on it.

In announcing this planned legislation Senator Paul commented, “Right now this war is illegal until Congress acts pursuant to the Constitution and authorizes it.”
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This proposal is consistent with Senator Paul’s expressed belief that a formal declaration of war is required before troops are deployed and it would hold the Senate to that same standard. It also creates an opportunity for a defining vote on this issue, which may scare some Senators and make them think twice about rubber stamping military action.

Some of Paul’s more non-interventionist supporters may take exception to this action, but it is clearly intended as a measure to bring the warmaking machine to heel and add a desirable level of accountability to the process. It fits with his concept of “conservative realism” modeled after Reagan and Eisenhower, two presidents with reputations as strong warriors who were actually remarkably restrained in their actual use of military force.
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More: http://www.americanbroadside.com/why...e-war-on-isis/

[seapilot]

Its about taking responsibility. That scares a lot of politicos when they have to make a firm decision, especially one as serious as war. A guess is there would have been no Iraq, no Afghanistan, no Vietnam if they had to actually declare war. Holding the politicos to the constitution is a WIN for the people. GO Rand!

[boneyard bill]

Politically, this is a clever move on Rand's part. First of all he can say, "Look, I'm no isolationist. I want to go to war against ISIS." On the other hand he can also say, "But we've got to do it constitutionally." Of course, this won't please the warmongers who want the US military at their beck and call without having to ask their political lackeys to have to take a stand on the issue. They won't be pleased by this, but they will be dis-armed.