McCain calls for war powers debate after Niger attack

[mystery-ak]

 McCain calls for war powers debate after Niger attack

And Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford promised to ‘double my efforts’ to get Congress more information on the ambush.

By ELANA SCHOR and CONNOR O’BRIEN

10/23/2017 07:37 PM EDT

Updated 10/23/2017 10:00 PM EDT

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday seized on the deadly ambush in Niger to call for a new congressional authorization for U.S. military operations overseas.

McCain told reporters Monday that he and the Armed Services panel’s top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, are working on a proposal to update the broad war powers Congress gave the commander in chief after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The deaths of four U.S. soldiers in Niger earlier this month have stoked fresh interest in a new war powers vote, which the Trump administration has indicated it would not oppose — although it says it has all the legal authority it needs to conduct anti-terrorism operations under the existing 2001 authorization.

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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/23/mccain-war-powers-niger-attack-244085?lo=ap_f1

[skeeter]

What good will that do if Congress is just gonna forget who they deployed and where?

[Frank Cannon]

These idiots give away more and more power to the executive so they don't have to make hard decisions and then when they get called out on it they panic and pretend to want it back. Give me a break.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Someone needs to have the brass to turn off McCain's microphone.  He's not creating the legacy he thinks he is.

[ABX]

The question does need to be asked why we have troops in Nigeria engaging in military action there. Nigeria was not part of the original authorization of force for the WOT and I don't recall Obama going to Congress for permission to initially send troops there.

[ABX]

Someone needs to have the brass to turn off McCain's microphone.  He's not creating the legacy he thinks he is.

So you are fine that Obama sent troops to Nigeria for military action without Congressional approval and even though it was not part of the WOT authorization?

[Right_in_Virginia]

So you are fine that Obama sent troops to Nigeria for military action without Congressional approval and even though it was not part of the WOT authorization?

Each president sends troops around the world ... some to train, some for a presence, some to pass out supplies and food, others to fight.  Deployment of fighting forces (ie: Iraq, Afghanistan) should go before McCain for this nutjob's approval or denial.

Otherwise it is the prerogative of the CIC.

[ABX]

Each president sends troops around the world ... some to train, some for a presence, some to pass out supplies and food, others to fight.  Deployment of fighting forces (ie: Iraq, Afghanistan) should go before McCain for this nutjob's approval or denial.

Otherwise it is the prerogative of the CIC.

It isn't the prerogative of the CIC. The war powers act gives the CIC limited deployment options for emergency situations but he still has to go to Congress. The Constitution gives 3 ways military force can be used, all part of Article 1, Section 8 (Congressional authority). Declaration of war, quelling insurections and rebellions, and stopping piracy or offenses against the laws of nations. Our system does not give absolute power to the President.

We should not let Obama's misdeeds go ignored just because we don't like that it is McCain who is calling this error out.

[TomSea]

So you are fine that Obama sent troops to Nigeria for military action without Congressional approval and even though it was not part of the WOT authorization?

Niger, not Nigeria and some article was posted about the technical terms.  It's not for me, to expertly say but it is succinct enough to say we have our apparent "1000" troops in Niger.



South of the red and with a coast is Nigeria, the most populated African nation.

[Cyber Liberty]

Congressbroad Frederica Wilson:  "I am NOT making political hay out of the death of Sgt. Johnson!"

Senator John McCain:  "Hold muh beer."

[TomSea]

It isn't the prerogative of the CIC. The war powers act gives the CIC limited deployment options for emergency situations but he still has to go to Congress. The Constitution gives 3 ways military force can be used, all part of Article 1, Section 8 (Congressional authority). Declaration of war, quelling insurections and rebellions, and stopping piracy or offenses against the laws of nations. Our system does not give absolute power to the President.

We should not let Obama's misdeeds go ignored just because we don't like that it is McCain who is calling this error out.

Correct.

Rand Paul and others have remarked on our support of Saudi Arabia in Yemen may well be using war powers.  While generally, we are not directly in Yemen fighting, we may give Saudi Arabia some assistance with locations to bomb or things like that and that is besides providing them weaponry that they are using. Same for Canada and UK, they are providing weapons the Saudis are using. Some in congress ask if this crosses the line.

We also raided that Al Qaeda locale in Yemen. What we are doing in Niger, seems to be fighting terrorists. If we send advisors, I'm probably generally okay with that.

And look at Syria, there has never been any official act by congress that I know of to go in there, but we are mainly bombing ISIS and helping the forces we back which is okay with a lot of people.

Maybe it comes under some sort of umbrella "war on terror", WOT.

[ABX]

Niger, not Nigeria and some article was posted about the technical terms.  It's not for me, to expertly say but it is succinct enough to say we have our apparent "1000" troops in Niger.



South of the red and with a coast is Nigeria, the most populated African nation.

Yep, my bad.. I think I've done that 10 times today knowing full well I was wrong. 

[Ghost Bear]

So you are fine that Obama sent troops to Nigeria for military action without Congressional approval and even though it was not part of the WOT authorization?

I replied with this on another thread, but I'm posting it here as well since this thread seems to be getting more traffic.

Congress was repeatedly informed that US Forces were in Niger

From the article:

Additionally, the White House sent a letter to Congress in June saying 645 U.S. service members were in Niger and 300 were in Cameroon, and Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of Africa Command testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March there were “approximately 1,000 personnel conducting 12 named operations across a nine-nation region.”

...

In  March, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing where Graham was present along with other members of the committee, when all were informed that U.S. forces were deployed in Benin, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.

Congress was informed, apparently multiple times, about what the military was doing in that region.  They're lying now, about not knowing.

[Cyber Liberty]

I replied with this on another thread, but I'm posting it here as well since this thread seems to be getting more traffic.

Congress was repeatedly informed that US Forces were in Niger

From the article:

Congress was informed, apparently multiple times, about what the military was doing in that region.  They're lying now, about not knowing.

Here's a little something to refresh their memories about why troops were sent to Niger (despite the lack of American interests), and why they OK'ed it:



They've always been suckers for hashtag campaigns.

[TomSea]

Here's a little something to refresh their memories about why troops were sent to Niger (despite the lack of American interests), and why they OK'ed it:



They've always been suckers for hashtag campaigns.

That's for the Chibok girls in Nigeria. That's not Niger.

I thought I read an article that was explaining why we are not officially in Nigeria though, I thought I read we had advisors there in Nigeria, most populated country in Africa.

[TomSea]

If we the US, have 320 million, something like that, I think there are predictions that Nigeria's population, even with all of the problems over there will really explode. At the least, Africa is suppose to be the place with a huge population growth in this century.