Even as he continues to ramp up the attacks on President Barack Obamas call for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Islamic State (IS) terrorists in the Middle East, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., continues to climb the Democratic leadership ladder in Washington.
Grayson, who has thrown his name out as a possible contender for the U.S. Senate in 2016, has been a strident opponent of Obamas call for action against the IS and he shows no signs of backing down against his own partys president. Last week, Grayson appeared on liberal Thom Hartmanns TV show and made his case against Obama.
The president claims authority as commander in chief, which is generally interpreted as defensive -- and also very short-term, Grayson told Hartmann. And the president has also made it clear that he thinks he has the authority [to attack IS], even today, under the 2001 authorization to use military force. Thats counterintuitive, because IS didnt even exist in 2001, or in 2005, or in 2010. But that, in fact, is what the president is claiming as a legal basis. A lot of people like me are skeptical.
This AUMF is a recipe for perpetual war, Grayson continued. But I think the problems actually go deeper than that. When I look at something like this, I say to myself, Im not just voting for a bunch of words here. If I vote for an AUMF, Im voting for war. And there are far deeper questions that we need to address, that seem to have no good answers in this circumstance. The first question is: Is there actually a threat to U.S. people or U.S. property? Does IS represent a threat, a substantial threat, to U.S. people and U.S. property? We could answer that question well [if we] were talking about the Nazis or Soviet Union. I think the answer with regard to IS is clear: We have the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans that protect us -- our greatest allies, by the way. And the fact is that IS is a very limited force that doesnt even come close to having the military capability of any actual country in that region, even a weak country like Yemen. So there are actually no direct threats, even to U.S. property -- like, for instance, U.S. embassies that are nearby. And the fact that they have been able to pick off four U.S. citizens, who frankly put themselves in a dangerous place, does not mean that they represent a significant threat to U.S. persons or U.S. properties on any major level.
We are going into perpetual war, involving literally thousands and thousands of sorties and air strikes against IS, on the basis, frankly, of their having killed four Americans, Grayson insisted. [They] also committed atrocities, which are unfortunate, and have stunk up our TVs and our Internet access, and its offended us on some deep level. But nevertheless, we have to get past the point that every time we see something on our computer screens that we dont like, we go ahead and bomb it. That is a recipe for national bankruptcy, as well as moral bankruptcy. And the third question that I think needs to be asked is this: If this were actually a threat to the United States, and if our response were proportionate, do we have a path to victory? And the answer, here again, is no. Im sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I listen to a lot of briefings, and I will tell you that I havent heard the administration come up with anything resembling a sensible proposal to remove IS from Syria."
Grayson noted that Obama opposed then-President George W. Bushs call for military force in Iraq when he served in the Illinois state Senate -- and insisted Obama was right then on Iraq and is wrong now.
I dont think the administration has a credible war plan to remove IS," Grayson said. So on every conceivable basis, every rational basis, this is what a great state senator 13 years ago referred to as a dumb war, and we should stay out of it.
Grayson can do some damage to Obama on the issue with his seats on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and on the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. But even as Grayson breaks with the White House over the AUMF, he continues to move up the Democratic ranks in Congress.
Earlier this month, Grayson was named as the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Energy Subcommittee which is under the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committees umbrella.
I have held a lifelong interest in the field of energy development, and a particular fascination in commercial applications of energy technology and environmental research, Grayson said when he was named to the new post. I will serve as an ardent advocate for the Department of Energys laboratories, science activities, and energy supply activities, as well as its efforts to pursue solar and renewable energy technologies. I will rebuff any attempts to attack the science of climate change. America cannot afford to see other countries like Germany take the lead in energy research and technology. I want to make sure that the billions of dollars that our government invests each year in energy research are well-spent, and help us make tangible progress toward cheaper and cleaner energy.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
