[H-PAD] H-PAD Notes 1/16/20: Congressional update; links to recent articles of interest

[Jim O'Brien]

*Congressional Update *

*By Carolyn "Rusti" Eisenberg and Prasannan Parthasarathi, H-PAD
Legislative Coorinators*


*House of Representatives*


   - Last week, the *House of Representatives* passed H.Con. Res.83, Iran
   War Powers Resolution by a margin of 224-194. They were flooded by calls
   from constituents urging them to pass this measure.


   - Now pending in the House *are two stronger measures,* both endorsed by
   the Progressive Caucus. *One of these is Barbara Lee’s proposal to
   repeal the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force* (AUMF),
   which has been misused by all three administrations to justify military
   action in several countries.


   - *The second is a resolution introduced by Ro Khanna (D-Calif) to bar
   Pentagon funding for military force against Iran* without Congressional
   authorization. This is matched with Bernie Sanders’ bill in the Senate.

Helpful to call your representatives and ask them to support the Lee and
Khanna Resolutions



*On the Senate side*


   - A companion Iran War Powers Resolution (S.J. Res.68) is pending in the
   Senate. Sponsor Tim Kaine has been modifying the language to attract some
   Republican support.


   - Although not as strong as we would like it to be, it is still
   important to pass this measure with the maximum number of votes. If you
   have not already done so, it is helpful to call your two Senators and urge
   them to vote Yes. Click here for list of co-sponsors
   <https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/68/cosponsors?searchResultViewType=expanded&KWICView=false>:



   - When calling your Senators, be sure to ask that they endorse as well
   an even stronger resolution sponsored by Bernie Sanders, S.3159 *No War
   with Iran Act,* which would block all federal funds to be used in
   military action against Iran. Click here for tt and co-sponsors of the
   Sanders Resolution
   <https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3159/cosponsors?r=4&s=1&searchResultViewType=expanded>:


To reach your Senators and Representatives, call the Capitol Switchboard
202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121



*Links to Recent Articles of Interest*


*"Trump's 'WMD' Scandal: Was the Charge of Imminent Soleimani Attack Just
Made Up?"*
<https://www.juancole.com/2020/01/scandal-imminent-soleimani.html>
*By Juan Cole, *Informed Comment blog, posted January 13
*The author teaches Middle East history at the University of Michigan.*


*"The Colonization of Puerto Rico and the Limits of Impeachment"
<https://activisthistory.com/2020/01/07/the-colonization-of-puerto-rico-and-the-limits-of-impeachment>*
By *DJ Polite, **Activist History Review, *posted January 7
*The author is a PhD candidate at the University of South Carolina
researching race, empire, and citizenship.*

*"Pompeo's Gulf of Tonkin Incident"*
<https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/pompeos-gulf-of-tonkin-incident>
By *Gareth Porter, **The American Conservative, *posted January 9
*"Vietnam may seem like a lifetime ago, but its failures and lies loom."*

*"A Brief History of Iran"*
<https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/iran-history-facts-islam-shiism-religion-persia>
*By Ali M. Ansari, HistoryExtra, posted January 8*
*Background reading for current events. The author teaches history at St.
Andrew's University and has written several books on Iranian history.*

*"Trump's Twitter Threat to Destroy Iran's Cultural Sites Is a Historic
Mistake"*
<https://consortiumnews.com/2020/01/07/trumps-twitter-threat-to-destroy-irans-cultural-sites-is-a-historic-mistake>
By David J. Wasserstein, *Consortium News, *posted January 7
*Gives historical examples of the targeting of cultural sites. The author
teaches history and Jewish studies at Vanderbilt University.*

*"Freedom without Constraint: How the US Squandered Its Cold War Victory"*
<https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/jan/07/freedom-without-constraints-how-the-us-squandered-its-cold-war-victory>
By *Andrew Bacevich, **The Guardian, *posted January 7
*"The US believed that the American Way of Life was humankind's ultimate
destiny. But unrestrained greed has led to an era of injustice and
division." The author is a professor emeritus of history and international
relations at Boston University. This essay is drawn from his just-published
book *The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory

*"Historians Against ICE"*
<https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/01/07/historians-approve-anti-ice-resolution-vote-down-anti-israel-proposals-their-annual>
By *Colleen Flaherty, **Inside Higher Education, *posted January 7
*A detailed report on the American Historical Association's annual business
meeting, in which a resolution calling for an end to university contracts
with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement passed 70-60 and two
resolutions condemning Israeli restrictions on academic freedom were
defeated 80-41 and 61-36.*

*"When White Supremacists Overthrew an Elected Government"*
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/books/review/wilmingtons-lie-david-zucchino.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share>
By *Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., **New York Times, *posted January 7
*Review essay on the new book *Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898
[in Wilmington, NC] and the Rise of White Supremacy *by David Zuccino*.*
Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. teaches African American Studies at Princeton
University. *

*"This Is What the Deep State Actually Looks Like"*
<https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a30363291/jimmy-carter-shah-iran-hostage-crisis-ronald-reagan>
By *Charles P. Pierce, **Esquire, *posted December 30

*"The story of Jimmy Carter's administration and the shah of Iran *
* tells us a whole lot about American meddling overseas and overseas
meddling in America. So does Ronald Reagan's role."*

*"Groupthink Resurgent"*
<https://nationalinterest.org/feature/groupthink-resurgent-106951>
<https://nationalinterest.org/feature/groupthink-resurgent-106951>
By *George Beebe, **The National Interest, *posted December 22
*"As our debacles in Vietnam and Iraq demonstrate, expert consensus is not
always a recipe for success.*Perhaps it should come as no surprise that
American policy toward Ukraine has also been steeped in illusions."

*Thanks to James Swarts, Rusti Eisenberg, and an anonymous reader for
suggesting articles included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to
jimobrien48 at gmail.com <jimobrien48 at gmail.com>.*
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