Congratulations and URGENT suggestion
01/07/2007
Congratulations and URGENT suggestion to correct war mistakes of the past six years and six decadesOn Dec 17, 2006, at 10:23 PM, Tim Walz wrote:
Congressman-elect Timothy J. & Mrs. Gwen Walz
invite you to an open house and
viewing of the inauguration
of the 110th Congress
Thursday, the 4th of January
Two-thousand and seven
...
RSVP to chris@timwalz.org
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Dear Congressman Walz,
It feels great to be able to address you now as "Congressman Walz." I
wish I could have been in DC this week to see you and Senator Amy
Klobuchar take your Minnesota seats. I am cc-ing her and two
Massachusetts colleagues, Congressman Barney Frank and Senator John
Kerry, to describe to you all one approach to resolving one of the most
important issues during my lifetime (realizing I'm a bit older than you
four).
This approach may be no better than actions you have in mind taking
next week, but what I am outlining below might be more comprehensive
than some approaches that might leave us to repeat mistakes that have
been made by most Congresses and most Presidents that have served us
over the past 60 years, since WWII -- mistakes of the Cold War and the
new Terror War and mistakes of unwinnable hot wars in Vietnam, Iraq,
etc.
WWII, our last winnable war, was the last war DECLARED by Congress as
intended in our US Constitution. If President Bush is allowed to
escalate the Iraq War this new year, Congress might be permanently
crippled. As Congressman Frank has observed, Bush can move funds to
pay for his surge of more troops -- but NOT if:
A) For the SHORT-term, meaning immediately before
any surge or escalation could be implemented:
i) Congress holds immediate hearings on
a bill to limit troop levels in Irag.
ii) Congress agrees to increase spending to
better protect whatever troops stay in Iraq.
iii) Congress offsets such "support our troops"
expenditures (due to point ii) as follows:
a) require that we withdraw enough troops
NOW so as to not increase spending; and
b) agrees not to allow any more tax cuts
until we are totally out of Iraq.
B) For the MID-term, Congress declares the US
will not maintain permanent bases in Iraq:
i) Congress passes a resolution now saying:
a) no funds will be allocated in 2008
for military operations then in Iraq;
b) that decisions now will be reviewed
quarterly in April, July and October;
c) during 2007, US troops in Iraq would be
be redeployed to close US bases by 2008
ii) Congress invites Iran and Syria to testify
about terms for peace with and within Iraq.
iii) Congress in effect "un-declares" the Iraq War
through the above actions and takes actions
below to avoid wars not declared by Congress.
C) For the LONG-term, begin Congressional hearings
immediately on how to restore Congress' powers
to declare and, in this case, undeclare, not
only hot wars, as in Vietnam and Iraq, but also
overarching fictional or longer-term "wars"
as the last century's Cold War and this new
century's Terror War. (C reinforces B and A.)
Even if only one of the above initiatives succeeds, all three should be
begun within what is being called the "first hundred" hours of y/our
new Congress. Please give my regards to my Massachusetts colleagues of
three decades ago and work with them in this urgent effort to correct
six decades and six years of errors.
Tim, you are well equipped to be a great leader not only in Minnesota
but also nationally and globally. Congratulations again, and please
let me know of any ways that we can help achieve our shared goals. Is
there any chance you'll be co-sponsoring legislation to correct such
mistakes about military actions?
-harry
Chandler Harrison Stevens,Ph.D.
203 20th St SW, Austin MN 55912
507/437-2974, cell:507/219-7252
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saveourdemocracy/
CHStevens@smig.net http://co.net/friends1#HS