Afghanistan Remembered

Regarding the part I put in red ...

Nor has Congress had any desire to carry out its constitutional duty. There is no more consequential decision than the decision to go to war, and Congress is not anxious to make decisions like this because there is political risk to big decisions. So, Congress is happy to simply pass off to the president. In that way, Congress may snipe at the President about war decisions while not taking any responsibility for them. Honestly, Congress would like the public to forget what the Constitution says so that they cannot be held responsible. This behavior by Congress is a deliberate desertion of their duty, in my opinion.

For better or worse, 3 presidents have conducted war in Afghanistan since 9/11. But if we are on the cusp of ending our involvement with this war, then Congress should be a big part in making that decision. Congress authorized this war against Al Qaeda and the taliban government of Afghanistan. And so, if Congress wants to change course, Congress should say so and make the decision. If I were Trump, that's what I would be saying to Congress and the public. And whatever course is authorized by Congress would be the way we go - together.

Knowing Trump, he will not do what I have suggested, but that's what I would do if I were him.

 

Congress authorized the war by a vote back in 2001 after 9/11. See my response above. Post #26

 

In other words, congress has not said get out, stay in or anything else of value. That is why the president is commander in chief.

 

By the words and intent of the Constitution, Congress decides if we go to war or not. If so, the President conducts the war as the CIC. But the decision to go to war belongs to the Congress, not the president.

 

So. What is your point/ We are in a war authorized by congress and continued on through three presidents before Trump became president.

 

I’ve made my point in this thread. My point is that Trump ought to ask Congress to debate our future in Afghanistan and then vote.

 

Could not agree more about Obama's surge in Afghanistan. It was useless and achieved nothing. Which makes sense because Obama and Trump never served, so they may not understand war like those of us that have.

 

I agree that Trump should get us out of Afghanistan. And Syria and any other nation where we havnt been invited by the legitimate authorities.

 

It would take forever for congress to make a decision. Wars and withdraws are performed real time. Not after congress debates it for months or years. We need to get out of foreign wars. I am glad to see Trump trying to do just that.

 

Just because a war can't be won doesn't mean it shouldn't be fought.

 

So am I

 

Please note historically once Congress authorized a war its job is done. Congress had almost zero in put in treaties ending wars other than ratifying or refusing to ratify subsequent treaties.

 

Trump's repeated, strident years of insistence that the US should abandon the fiasco in Afghanistan, specifically, has been followed by his feeble impotence in honoring his word since January 20, 2017 when a throng estimated at between seventeen and twenty-two people witnesses his apotheosis on the Mall.

 

We are at the lowest level of deaths since 2001. You can minimize that all you want, but the facts remain, very few are getting killed in Afghanistan. Personally I don't think Afghanistan is worth a single American life, but it is a hell of lot better than it was during Obama's administration.

 

I would expand a bit on that.

The term "advice and consent of Congress" is mentioned at least once in the Constitution, maybe more.

If, for example, an emergency regarding the defense of this country arose while Congress was not in session, it would be the duty of POTUS to respond appropriately.

At some point in time, he would be obligated to report to Congress about this event, and seek their advice and consent.

That is essentially the purpose of the War Powers Act which Congress passed back in the 70's. No surprise, Congress abandoned that law, and does not obey it.

Congress always finds ways to get around its own rules and laws.

 

I agree. The War Powers Act specifically authorizes the President to act in the case of an emergency. My remark that you quoted has more to do with the less emergent, more deliberate decision to take the country to war. This power is given to the Congress in the Constitution, not the President.

 

Would you support Trump ordering a full withdraw today, regardless any protest from Congress and military officials?

 

Only Congress can declare a war but traditionally a president decides when a war ends. Of course the practice of "declared wars" is a historical anachronism anyway. There have been only two worldwide since World War Two.

 

Yes.

Fake Don has been blowing gas about getting out of Afghanistan for years and, as with his vowing to "immediately" repeal 'ObamaCare' and replace it with "something terrific!" that covers "everybody!" at "less cost!" (Under Trumpery, at least 2 million more Americans have lost coverage as the highest cost of any nation on earth continue to soar.) he's still glued to his Afghan pot.

‘My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts, but all of my life I heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office,’ Trump said in 2017 when announcing an increase in troops, reminiscent of but smaller than Obama’s Afghan surge. ‘After many meetings, over many months, we held our final meeting last Friday at Camp David, with my Cabinet and generals, to complete our strategy,’ he declared in a seeming about-face from his solidarity with Americans ‘weary of war without victory’. In that same speech, Trump complained of a failed ‘foreign policy that has spent too much time, energy, money and, most importantly, lives trying to rebuild countries in our own image."

https://spectator.us/trumps-afghanistan-policy-match-rhetoric/
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The exposure of the Pentagon's pattern of lying about Afghanistan provides Fake Don with a legitimate pretext for finally doing what he repeatedly vowed to do.

 

I agree. However, its worth noting the response (mostly by the left and the neocon establishmentarianists) when he tried to pull us out of Syria...

 

Syria is a disparate matter, where a small US contingent, incurring very few casualties, constituted a vital logistical presence for democratic allies.

Do not expect Putin to extend Russian influence by occupying abandoned US bases in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Trump will now have a difficult time if he persists in failing to honor his repeatedly-expressed resolve to end the fiasco in Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan Papers
A trove of documents revealed that U.S. presidents, commanders, and diplomats knowingly misled the public about the war.