Today the US House passed
what I consider to be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever. H. Res. 758
was billed as a resolution “strongly condemning the actions of the Russian
Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of
aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic
domination.”
In fact,
the bill was 16 pages of war propaganda that should have made even neocons
blush, if they were capable of such a thing.
These are the kinds of resolutions I have always watched closely
in Congress, as what are billed as “harmless” statements of opinion often lead
to sanctions and war. I remember in 1998 arguing strongly against the Iraq
Liberation Act because, as I said at the time, I knew it would lead to war. I
did not oppose the Act because I was an admirer of Saddam Hussein – just as now
I am not an admirer of Putin or any foreign political leader – but rather
because I knew then that another war against Iraq would not solve the problems
and would probably make things worse. We all know what happened next.
That is why I can hardly believe they are getting away with it
again, and this time with even higher stakes: provoking a war with Russia that
could result in total destruction!
The
resolution (paragraph 3) accuses Russia of an invasion of Ukraine and condemns
Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. The statement is offered without
any proof of such a thing. Surely with our sophisticated satellites that can
read a license plate from space we should have video and pictures of this
Russian invasion. None have been offered. As to Russia’s violation of Ukrainian
sovereignty, why isn’t it a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty for the US to
participate in the overthrow of that country’s elected government as it did in
February? We have all heard the tapes of State Department officials plotting
with the US Ambassador in Ukraine to overthrow the government. We heard US
Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland bragging that the US spent $5
billion on regime change in Ukraine. Why is that OK?
The resolution (paragraph 11) accuses the people in east Ukraine
of holding “fraudulent and illegal elections” in November. Why is it
that every time elections do not produce the results desired by the US
government they are called “illegal” and “fraudulent”? Aren’t the people of
eastern Ukraine allowed self-determination? Isn’t that a basic human right?
The resolution (paragraph 13) demands a withdrawal of Russia
forces from Ukraine even though the US government has provided no evidence the
Russian army was ever in Ukraine. This paragraph also urges the government in
Kiev to resume military operations against the eastern regions seeking
independence.
The resolution (paragraph 14) states with certainty that the
Malaysia Airlines flight 17 that crashed in Ukraine was brought down by a
missile “fired by Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.” This is
simply incorrect, as the final report on the investigation of this tragedy will
not even be released until next year and the preliminary report did not state
that a missile brought down the plane. Neither did the preliminary report –
conducted with the participation of all countries involved – assign blame to
any side.
Paragraph
16 of the resolution condemns Russia for selling arms to the Assad government in
Syria. It does not mention, of course, that those weapons are going to fight
ISIS – which we claim is the enemy — while the US weapons supplied to the
rebels in Syria have actually found their way into the hands of ISIS!
Paragraph 17 of the resolution condemns Russia for what the US
claims are economic sanctions (“coercive economic measures”) against Ukraine.
This even though the US has repeatedly hit Russia with economic sanctions and
is considering even more!
The resolution (paragraph 22)
states that Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia in 2008. This is simply
untrue. Even the European Union – no friend of Russia – concluded in
its investigation of the events in 2008 that it was Georgia that “started an
unjustified war” against Russia not the other way around! How does Congress get
away with such blatant falsehoods? Do Members not even bother to read these
resolutions before voting?
In
paragraph 34 the resolution begins to even become comical, condemning the
Russians for what it claims are attacks on computer networks of the United
States and “illicitly acquiring information” about the US government. In the
aftermath of the Snowden revelations about the level of US spying on the rest
of the world, how can the US claim the moral authority to condemn such actions
in others?
Chillingly, the resolution singles out Russian state-funded
media outlets for attack, claiming that they “distort public opinion.” The US
government, of course, spends billions of dollars worldwide to finance and
sponsor media outlets including Voice of America and RFE/RL, as well as to
subsidize “independent” media in countless counties overseas. How long before
alternative information sources like RT are banned in the United States? This
legislation brings us closer to that unhappy day when the government decides
the kind of programming we can and cannot consume – and calls such a violation
“freedom.”
The resolution
gives the green light (paragraph 45) to Ukrainian President Poroshenko to
re-start his military assault on the independence-seeking eastern provinces,
urging the “disarming of separatist and paramilitary forces in eastern
Ukraine.” Such a move will mean many more thousands of dead civilians.
To that end, the resolution directly involves the US government
in the conflict by calling on the US president to “provide the government of
Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal defense articles, services, and training
required to effectively defend its territory and sovereignty.” This means US
weapons in the hands of US-trained military forces engaged in a hot war on the
border with Russia. Does that sound at all like a good idea?
There are
too many more ridiculous and horrific statements in this legislation to
completely discuss. Probably the single most troubling part of this resolution,
however, is the statement that “military intervention” by the Russian
Federation in Ukraine “poses a threat to international peace and security.”
Such terminology is not an accident: this phrase is the poison pill planted in
this legislation from which future, more aggressive resolutions will follow.
After all, if we accept that Russia is posing a “threat” to international peace
how can such a thing be ignored? These are the slippery slopes that lead to
war.
This dangerous legislation passed today, December 4, with only
ten (!) votes against! Only ten legislators are concerned over the use of
blatant propaganda and falsehoods to push such reckless saber-rattling toward
Russia.
Here are the Members who voted “NO” on this legislation. If you
do not see your own Representative on this list call and ask why they are
voting to bring us closer to war with Russia! If you do see your Representative
on the below list, call and thank him or her for standing up to the warmongers.
Voting “NO” on
H. Res. 758:
1) Justin Amash (R-MI)
2) John Duncan (R-TN)
3) Alan Grayson, (D-FL)
4) Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
5) Walter Jones (R-NC)
6) Thomas Massie (R-KY)
7) Jim McDermott (D-WA)
8) George Miller (D-CA)
9) Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)
10) Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
