An bill attempting to annul the “Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)” law, which allowed George W. Bush to pursue a 2002 military intervention in Iraq, is currently on the U.S. Congress’ agenda.
The bill prepared by Democrats was accepted on Thursday in the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee. Only two Republicans on the committee endorsed the bill. It is expected that it will be signed into force during a voting held by the General Committee, which is controlled by the Democrats will a small margin. Furthermore, a similar initiative is on the Senate’s agenda. In 2019, a bill stipulating the cancellation of the “2002 Law” passed through the House of Representatives, however it was hindered because it could not garner enough votes in the then Republican-controlled Senate.
Ever since 2002, American presidents have been abusing the Authorization for Use of Military Force law to legitimize their military interventions in the Middle East. The real power to authorize a war lies with the U.S. Congress. It temporarily handed over this authority to U.S. presidents. In other words, Congress abdicated from the political responsibility of military interventions. Hence, for 20 years now, this law has been used as a cover-up for U.S. presidents’ war entertainment. The Saddam regime, which was presented as a justifcation for the law, collaped, and Iraq is America’s so-called ally. Even though the justifications had disappeared, the law remained very much intact.
The wings of the Democratic Party that insist that the U.S. should get out of the Middle East’s "endless wars," are pressuring the Biden administration to clamp down on the law. However, as it stands, U.S. presidents can launch wars on other justifications as well. For example, Joe Biden argued that he had sanctioned airstrikes on pro-Iranian militia in eastern Syria based on the U.S. presidents’ authority to protect American personnel.
American interventionisn lies at the very core of the U.S. deep state. Naturally, the interests of the American Military Industrial Complex are closely related to the continuation of interventionism. The super geo-politic power struggle between Washington and Beijing is also linked to geo-economic rivalry. The military power rivalry serves efforts to conceal the "geo-economy" link. Emphasis on the "Chinese threat" not only functions to keep U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific and Africa in place, but also to further beef them up.
Donald Trump had ordered for the 700 American soldiers stationed in Somalia to be withdrawn. These soldiers had been deployed to Djibouti and Kenya. However the U.S. continued to launch operations in Somalia. Christopher Maier, Deputy Undersecretary of the Defense Ministry, who recently briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee, pointed out that the withdrawal from Somalia had negative consequences. It can be ascertained from these comments that the growing "Chinese influence" in Africa is highly effective.
In a statement he made at the Senate Armed Services Committee last Tuesday, Admiral John Aquilino, who has been nominated for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, claimed that the possibility of China occuping Taiwan is a much more likely threat than previously thought. Aquilino stated that the 27-billion-dollar plan suggested to beef up U.S. defense in the region should be urgently implemented.
The Taiwan issue is a significant breaking point within the context of short-term U.S.-China relations. Twenty Chinese warplanes entering Taiwan's airspace over the Bashi Channel on Friday further fueled tensions. Analysts point out that China’s military exercises using a fleet with four planes that are equipped with nuclear attack capabilities is Beijing’s answer to American warships. The timing of the drills is extremely telling. The Chinese administration passed a law allowing Coast Guard forces to fire at foreign ships. According to information in U.S. media, the Biden and Taiwan administrations signed an agreement on Friday to establish a coast guard working group.
Even though they don’t have formal diplomatic ties, let us not forget that the U.S. is Taiwan’s main weapons supplier. These developments in Taiwan, which has always been a soft spot of China’s, are harbingers that the new Cold War between the U.S. and China is going to flare up soon.
