\u201cCongress must make it clear that the United States will not be dragged into Netanyahu\u2019s war of choice,\u201d Sanders said.<\/b>
\nU.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders late Monday led the introduction of a bill that would prevent the Trump administration from using federal funds for a military attack on Iran without explicit authorization from Congress, as Israel\u2019s unlawful assault on the country continued for the fifth consecutive day.
\u201cNetanyahu\u2019s reckless and illegal attacks violate international law and risk igniting a regional war,\u201d Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement. \u201cCongress must make it clear that the United States will not be dragged into Netanyahu\u2019s war of choice.\u201d
\u201cOur Founding Fathers entrusted the power of war and peace exclusively to the people\u2019s elected representatives in Congress,\u201d the senator added, \u201cand it is imperative that we make clear that the president has no authority to embark on another costly war without explicit authorization by Congress.\u201d
Seven Democratic senators \u2014 Peter Welch (Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), and Tina Smith (Minn.) \u2014 joined Sanders in introducing the legislation, which is titled the No War Against Iran Act.
The legislation states that \u201cno federal funds may be obligated or expended for any use of military force in or against Iran\u201d unless Congress declares war or enacts \u201cspecific statutory authorization for such use of military force.\u201d
\u201cAnother war in the Middle East could cost countless lives, waste trillions more dollars, and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, and more displacement,\u201d Sanders said Monday. \u201cI will do everything that I can as a senator to defend the Constitution and prevent the U.S. from being drawn into another war.\u201d
The bill came hours after Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a war powers resolution similarly aimed at preventing the Trump administration from launching an unauthorized attack on Iran. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) announced plans to introduce a companion resolution in the House, a sign of burgeoning congressional opposition to a U.S. war with Iran.
\u201cThis is not our war,\u201d Massie wrote on social media. \u201cBut if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution. I\u2019m introducing a bipartisan war powers resolution tomorrow to prohibit our involvement.\u201d
The legislative efforts kicked off as Israel expanded its aerial attacks on Iran and as Trump \u2014 who has suggested U.S. forces could get more deeply involved in the conflict \u2014 urged residents of the Iranian capital to \u201cimmediately evacuate,\u201d heightening chaos and panic in the densely populated city and fueling concerns of American intervention.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemned Trump\u2019s evacuation call as \u201cboth reckless and disturbing,\u201d noting that \u201cTehran is one of the most populous cities in the world, home to ten million people and many millions more in the surrounding suburbs.\u201d
\u201cWhile many have tried to flee Israel\u2019s campaign of terror, the fact is that many cannot flee \u2014 the elderly, or those who can\u2019t get gas amid war shortages, and those who have nowhere to go,\u201d said NIAC. \u201cWe hope that this does not mean an unauthorized U.S. entry into the war, or that he has knowledge of further depraved attacks from Israel.\u201d
\u201cThere is a choice before Trump: take the pathway of peace by telling Bibi to stop the war, or join with a war criminal and wreak further havoc and endanger U.S. troops in a fight that isn\u2019t ours,\u201d the group added.<\/p>\n