By Denis Korkodinov
The US Democratic Party opposes the war with Iran without Congress approval. However, opponents of the American “hawks” do not harbor any special illusions about their chances to influence the administration of the White House. The main reason is opposition from the Senate, which is almost entirely composed of representatives of the Republican Party.
Not so long ago, the Democrats attempted to consider the bill, according to which the Permission to Use Military Force (AUMF) on the initiative of the US President would be subject to cancellation. Meanwhile, the Senate rejected the bill, putting pressure on the leader of the Democratic initiative group, Mitch McConnell.
As counterargument, the senators agreed that the regional security system in the Middle East is extremely fragile, and therefore the US president should have the right to freely and quickly use his right to use military force in order to prevent a global conflict.
Senators proposed their own package of amendments to the bill. The amendments were sponsored by Tom Udall (New Mexico), Rand Paul (Kentucky) and Mike Lee (Utah). In the new edition, the bill assumed that Donald Trump would have broad authority to conduct military operations against Iran. Nevertheless, such an initiative met with resistance from the democratic faction led by Mitch McConnell, who officially stated that the Udal’s amendments could become a provocation for the start of a global war.
Republicans did not agree with the arguments of the Democrats, believing that they reacted to the proposed amendments “superficially”, without understanding the essence of the problem under discussion. As a result of the pressure, McConnell was forced to give in, recognizing his arguments as valid.
With the recognition of the republican version of the bill, the conflict between the White House administration and Congress has not exhausted itself, but, most likely, has become hidden. Democrats continue to show dissatisfaction with Donald Trump’s intention to launch a military conflict with Iran.
As the American Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, the adoption of the amendment empowering the US president with unprecedented powers to use military force could create the basis for Donald Trump’s virtually unlimited power on the eve of the 2020 presidential election, which may later cast doubt on the vote of American voters. And in order for this not to happen, the Democrats intend to boycott the military initiatives of the head of the White House.
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).
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