Detroit activists march through downtown against the ongoing wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now Libya. Solidarity with Palestine was also a theme. (Photo: Abayomi Azikiwe), a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Sign petition demanding Congress use War Powers Act to end illegal Libya War
International Action Center - iacenter.org.
TIME TO ACT TO END THE ATTACKS ON LIBYA
Congressional opposition to the president regarding the authorization of U.S. military attacks against Libya has opened up a path for a more popular participation in the struggle to end U.S. aggression in North Africa.
An IAC petition opened a light on this issue: violation of the War Powers Act. The mass unhappiness with the war on Libya -- 70 percent of the population opposing that war in polls -- is reflected in the act of Congress challenging the administration, whatever the motivation of the individuals.
This mass displeasure is also reflected in the actions of political figures like Cynthia McKinney in traveling to Libya to bring back the truth.
10 U.S. reps sue Obama over Libya strikes
The U.S. has now intervened militarily in Libya for almost 90 days. As we wrote last month (see petition), this is a violation of the War Powers Act. For the first time, the Congress has challenged the president regarding the War Powers Act. First the House voted to raise the question with President Barack Obama at the 60-day limit since the March 19 initial bombing raids. Then Republican Rep. John Boehner sent a message warning President Obama that he would have to justify the intervention.
Then, on June 14, a group of 10 House members, both Democrats and Republicans, announced they would file a brief the next day suing the president for taking military action against Libya without war authorization from Congress. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio initiated the brief.
The 10 say that Obama violated the Constitution because he bypassed Congress and used international organizations like NATO and the United Nations to validate the use of military force. They are asking a judge to issue an order that would halt military operations without congressional approval.
The plaintiffs are Kucinich, John Conyers of Michigan and Michael Capuano of Massachusetts and Republican Reps. Walter Jones and Howard Coble of North Carolina, Tim Johnson and Dan Burton of Indiana, Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland and Ron Paul of Texas. The following is a link to the text of the brief:
www.iacenter.org/africa/libyawarpowersbrief
Former House member and 2008 presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney visited Tripoli, Libya, in June on a fact-finding mission and to show solidarity with the embattled people of that North African country. Below we print one of her messages following her return from Libya along with a link to her other reports and photographs.
June 14 Message from Cynthia McKinney
Al Fateh University (Arabic: جامعة الفاتح) is the largest and most important institute of higher education in Libya, providing undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels of study. It is located in the capital Tripoli. The university was founded as an independent university in 1973 as the University of Tripoli when the University of Libya was divided up. It is home to more than 45,000 students with a faculty of more than 2,500. TUITION IS FREE.
On June 14, NATO bombed this civilian university, damaging the library and disrupting the end term preparations for final exams.
Several buildings suffered serious structural damage, and much of the library's stock was ruined. Students and university staff pitched in to do a major cleanup of black dust and smoke damage. If it weren't for a last-minute scheduling change, two of the damaged buildings would have been packed with students, and hundreds, if not thousands, would have been killed. Fortunately, no one was killed.
Link to all of Cynthia McKinney's updates from Libya, including pictures:
lists.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/pipermail/updates-allthingscynthiamckinney.com/2011-June/date.html
IAC PETITION ON WAR POWERS ACT
The IAC has promoted a petition since before May 19 demanding that Congress use the War Powers Act to stop bombing Libya! Already tens of thousands of messages have been sent to senators, representatives, administration officials and the media supporting these demands.
To sign the leaflet, go to:
http://www.iacenter.org/africa/libyawarpowersact
International Action Center
c/o Solidarity Center
55 W 17th St Suite 5C
New York, NY 10011
212-633-6646
iacenter@iacenter.org
www.iacenter.org
No comments:
Post a Comment