HR 198 – the Bill that ends the War on Terror
March 19, 2013. Washington. Could it be true? Could the War on Terror finally be over? If a bipartisan team of US Congressmen and women have their way, the answer is yes. Sponsored by one of the few Representatives that stood against the war back in 2001, the Bill currently has nine co-sponsors and stands little chance of passing. But grassroots groups from the left, right and center are mobilizing their forces nationwide to support the legislation and end the killing.
Image courtesy of ObamaNonNews.com
HR 198: Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force
Sponsored by the fierce anti-war Representative from California, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), HR 198 was proposed on January 4, 2013 by five US Representatives. Currently, the House Bill has nine co-sponsors including eight Democrats and one Republican:
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD)
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. James Moran (D-VA)
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC)
The Bill is short and to the point. The first of three sections is one-sentence long and merely names the Bill, ‘Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force’. Section three is also only one sentence and requires the law to take effect 180 days after its passage. Section two, the portion with the details reads:
‘Congress finds that the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), signed into law on September 18, 2001, has been used to justify a broad and open-ended authorization for the use of military force and such an interpretation is inconsistent with the authority of Congress to declare war and make all laws for executing powers vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United States.’
Read the full text of HR 198.
The long road to repeal
Supporters of the Bill to repeal Congress’ authorization for unlimited and unspecified military force are excited about this legislation. They’re fired-up not just because it would finally end the decade-old War on Terror, but also because other unprecedented and freedom-threatening laws like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Patriot Act, and others are dependent on it for their self-proclaimed legality.
NDAA officially declared the continental United States as a war zone. Shockingly, it gave the US military absolute power over local authorities, courts, the US Constitution and everything and everyone short of the US President. NDAA also authorized the kidnapping of US citizens, their indefinite imprisonment, enhanced interrogation and even execution, all without charge, trial, conviction or even disclosure by the government.
“For those of you who believe democracy still exists in these United States, a groundswell of grassroots activism leading to the passage and signing of ‘HR 198: Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force’ with its wording intact may very well be your last chance to prove it,” says IronBoltBruce of LDR Long Distance Rider, a long-time critic of the war and a staunch defender of Constitutional rights, “Fail to do so, and you can rest assured that history WILL repeat itself.”
Joining the effort to end the war
Even though Rep. Lee’s Bill was proposed over two months ago, as word spreads throughout America’s grassroots movements, support is growing. Groups and websites like RiseUp.net and ObamaNonNews.com have also added their voices to the chorus of Americans, from all wings of the political spectrum, demanding an end to the war.
An email from RiseUp.net to supporters encourages them to support the Bill, “We invite you to join the leaderless and loose-knit bipartisan/nonpartisan coalition of Democratic, Republican, third-party and independent American citizens rallying behind ‘HR 198: Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force’, a bill now before the United States Congress which will hobble the Imperial Presidency.”
The website ObamaNonNews.com also joins the chorus, giving readers a custom 16-step action plan to pass HR 198 and end the War on Terror. The first step asks grassroots activists to call Rep. Barbara Lee, the sponsor of the Bill, and thank her for standing against the original legislation in 2001 that gave the US President unlimited and uninhibited authorization to wage war against anyone and everyone, including the American people. One of the few members of Congress that opposed the war authorization then, she’s again leading the fight for its repeal.
Showing the bi-partisan support for the war’s end, the group’s second action step instructs readers and supporters to reach out to GOP US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY). After his public filibuster on the floor of Congress in defense of Americans’ Constitutional rights recently, many look to the popular libertarian Senator to lead the fight for repeal from the right, and more importantly, in the US Senate.
One of the accompanying slides that is paired with the group’s action-step plan humorously sums up the sentiment of many grassroots activists, ‘Repeal the Military Force Law NOW: Pass HR 198 to take war powers out of the hands of the corporate puppet politicians in the White House and restore them to the corporate puppet politicians in Congress.’
For more information or to follow the progress of the Bill, visit GovTrack.us.
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