From xxxxxx <[email protected]>
Subject House Democrats, Restrict Trump’s Planned Withdrawal of Troops From Afghanistan and Germany
Date July 5, 2020 12:05 AM
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[ It should come as absolutely no surprise that House Democrats
are finding common cause with Liz Cheney and other GOP warmongers to
block any efforts to reduce even moderately the footprint of the U.S.
military in the world.] [[link removed]]

HOUSE DEMOCRATS, RESTRICT TRUMP’S PLANNED WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS FROM
AFGHANISTAN AND GERMANY  
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Glenn Greenwald
July 2, 2020
The Intercept
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_ It should come as absolutely no surprise that House Democrats are
finding common cause with Liz Cheney and other GOP warmongers to block
any efforts to reduce even moderately the footprint of the U.S.
military in the world. _

Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney. , Samuel Corum/Getty
Images

 

The U.S. military has been fighting in Afghanistan for almost nineteen
years. House Democrats, working in tandem with key pro-war GOP
lawmakers such as Rep. Liz Cheney, are ensuring that continues.

Last night, the House Armed Services Committee voted overwhelmingly in
favor of an amendment
[[link removed]-]
— jointly sponsored by Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado
and Congresswoman Cheney of Wyoming — prohibiting the expenditure of
monies to reduce the number of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan
below 8,000 without a series of conditions first being met.

The imposed conditions are by no means trivial: for these troop
reductions from Afghanistan to be allowed, the Defense Department must
be able to certify, among other things, that leaving Afghanistan
“will not increase the risk for the expansion of existing or
formation of new terrorist safe havens inside Afghanistan” and
“will not compromise or otherwise negatively affect the ongoing
United States counter terrorism mission against the Islamic State, al
Qaeda, and associated forces.”

The Crow/Cheney amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) last night passed by a vote of 45-11
[[link removed]].
The NDAA was then unanimously approved by the Committee by a vote of
56-0
[[link removed]].
It authorizes $740.5 billion in military spending — roughly three
times more [[link removed]] than
the world’s second-highest spender, China.

President Trump throughout the year has insisted
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that the Pentagon present plans for withdrawing all troops from
Afghanistan prior to the end of 2020. Last week, reports indicated
[[link removed]]
that “the Trump administration is close to finalizing a decision to
withdraw more than 4,000 troops from Afghanistan by the
fall.” Trump’s plan “would reduce the number of troops from
8,600 to 4,500 and would be the lowest number since the very earliest
days of the war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001.” In February,
Trump announced an agreement
[[link removed]] with the Taliban to end
the war completely.

Shortly after those White House withdrawal plans were reported,
anonymous intelligence officials leaked a series of claims
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to the New York Times regarding “bounties” allegedly being paid
by Russia to Taliban fighters to kill U.S. troops. Those leaks
emboldened opposition to troop withdrawal from Afghanistan on the
ground that it would be capitulating to Russian treachery. It was that
New York Times leak that Liz Cheney, along with GOP Congressman Mac
Thornberry, cited in a joint statement
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on Monday to suggest troop withdrawal would be precipitous:

“After today’s briefing with senior White House officials, we
remain concerned about Russian activity in Afghanistan, including
reports that they have targeted U.S. forces. It has been clear for
some time that Russia does not wish us well in Afghanistan. We believe
it is important to vigorously pursue any information related to Russia
or any other country targeting our forces. Congress has no more
important obligation than providing for the security of our nation and
ensuring our forces have the resources they need. We anticipate
further briefings on this issue in the coming days.”

America’s adversaries should never question the will of the United
States government or the American people to defend our interests, to
protect the security of our nation, to protect our Armed Forces, and
to respond when attacked or threatened. pic.twitter.com/czl22H8hrd
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— Rep. Liz Cheney (@RepLizCheney) June 30, 2020
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The Crow/Cheney amendment impeding Trump’s withdrawal plan asserted
that “a rapid military drawdown and a lack of United States
commitment to the security and stability of Afghanistan would
undermine diplomatic efforts for peace” (only the U.S. could
malign a troop withdrawal plan after _a 19 year-old war _as
“rapid”). Their amendment also claims that “the current
agreement between the United States and the Taliban does not provide
for the appropriate protections for vulnerable populations, does not
create conditions for the rejection of violence and prevention of
terrorist safe havens, and does not represent a realistic diplomatic
solution, based on verifiable facts and conditions on the ground, that
provides for long-term stability”

The NDAA that was approved last night by the Committee also imposed
restrictions
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on Trump’s plan to withdraw troops
[[link removed]] from Germany.
Trump’s plan called for the removal of roughly 9,500 troops from
German soil, reducing the number of U.S. troops in this extremely
prosperous and rich European nation from 34,500 to 25,000. But by an
overwhelming vote of 49-7, the Armed Service Committee approved an
amendment
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to the NDAA that “bans the administration from lowering troop levels
below current levels until 180 days after Pentagon leaders present a
plan to Congress and certify it will not harm U.S. or allied
interests.”

Just as she did with Afghanistan, Congresswoman Cheney, to oppose this
troop removal from Germany, cited
[[link removed]] — along
with her Democratic Committee colleagues —  the threat of Russia,
now the all-purpose rationale for continuing endless U.S. imperialism
and war, just as it was during the first Cold War:

Pulling US troops out of Germany is in Russia’s interest, not
America’s.

Russia welcomes prospect of US troop pullback from Germany
[link removed] [[link removed]]

— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) June 11, 2020
[[link removed]]

Meanwhile, the leading Democrat who joined Cheney to oppose troop
withdrawal from Germany, Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona, also
cited
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“increasing Russian aggression” to argue that “it is more
important than ever that our NATO allies and partners remain confident
about the United States’ commitment.” For decades, the perceived
threat from Moscow was the leading instrument used to justify endless
U.S. imperialism, and even now that Russia is little more than what
journalist Vincent Bevins today called
[[link removed]] “a minor
power in Eastern Europe,” it still somehow occupies this same
crucial role in the U.S. imagination and militaristic discourse.

Opposition to troop withdrawal in both Afghanistan and Germany was
not unanimous. There were elements of the progressive left and the
pro-Trump right who supported these withdrawals. Yesterday on Twitter,
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, the former co-chair of the Sanders
campaign, and GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, traded mutual support and vows to
work together to defeat the Crow/Cheney amendment:

Agree ?

I’m your Huckleberry.

It is past time to end the war in Afghanistan. [link removed]
[[link removed]]

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) July 1, 2020
[[link removed]]

But this left-right anti-war coalition is no match for the war machine
composed of the establishment wings of both parties and the military
and intelligence community that continue to use selective, illegal
leaks to sabotage any plans to reduce the U.S. military presence
around the world. That the Democrats have spent a full decade
desperately recruiting former military and intelligence officials to
serve as their Congressional candidates (both Congressman Crow, Liz
Cheney’s co-sponsor on the Afghanistan amendment, and the
anti-German-troop-withdrawal Congressman Gallego, are both Iraq War
veterans) has only made the party even more militaristic.

Combined with the fact that Democrats are increasingly merging with
and being led by the Bush-era neocons
[[link removed]]
and other Bush/Cheney operatives
[[link removed]] in
creating such jingoistic and militaristic messaging campaigns
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as the beloved-by-liberals Lincoln Project, and that Biden is clearly
trying to run to Trump’s right on foreign policy with ads accusing
him of being too soft on China
[[link removed]]
and linking him to Castro and Chavez
[[link removed]], the
picture is clear. It should come as absolutely no surprise that House
Democrats are finding common cause with Liz Cheney and other GOP
warmongers to block any efforts to reduce even moderately the
footprint of the U.S. military in the world or its decades-long
posture of endless war.

UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 2, 4:02 P.M. PDT
_The roll call vote on the Crow/Cheney amendment to prevent Trump’s
withdrawal plan from Afghanistan is now available. Of the 11 members
voting “no,” eight were Republicans (Mo Brooks, Bradley Burne,
Austin Scott, Scott DesJarlais, Ralph Abraham, Trent Kelly, Matt
Gaetz, Jim Banks) and three were Democrats (Tulsi Gabbard, Anthony
Brown, Ro Khanna). That means that the “yes” votes —
to impede troop withdrawal from Afghanistan — came from a
signifiant majority of Democratic votes. The roll call vote can be
seen on the videos below:_

 

 
 

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