Target: John Thune, U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Goal: Enforce Congressional duty to authorize military aggression and war declarations.
In a shocking maneuver that promises widespread ramifications, the United States launched an unprovoked attack against another nation and captured that country’s leader. Following dozens of deadly assaults against Venezuelan boats, the Trump administration marked a dangerous escalation when it began hitting land targets in Venezuela and apprehended its president and his wife in the dead of night. President Trump then dismissed the legitimacy of potential popular successors to the Venezuelan presidency, including the woman who bested him for the Nobel Peace Prize, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Instead, President Trump vowed that America would “run” Venezuela and its vast oil reserves.
The president’s seeming claim of ownership over a sovereign nation is highly troubling in itself. Venezuela’s vice president has already condemned the takeover and tied it directly to American oil interests, which the president himself seemed to confirm despite previous assertions that the attacks against Venezuela were about drugs. But as a former staunch supporter turned critic – Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene – noted, “If prosecuting narco terrorists is a high priority, then why did President Trump pardon the former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez who was convicted and sentenced for 45 years for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into America?”
Representative Greene also criticized President Trump’s broken promise to end “forever wars” and nation-building practices by the United States. The president has already threatened more strikes and “boots on the ground” if Venezuela does not essentially surrender. A prolonged military campaign and occupation would prove not only costly but dangerous to Americans and would harken back to similar disastrous struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan. This conflict would come at a time when many Americans are suffering economically, so the “America First” vows of President Trump appear to be pushed aside.
On a global scale, this campaign sets an incredibly harmful precedent. It could give nations like Russia and China a sense of validation and embolden them to continue or even begin invasions into sovereign regions they wish to control. An unchecked President Trump has already threatened similar tactics in other nations, from Cuba to Greenland.
Now is the time for Congress to take back their power and rein in this dangerous behavior. Sign the petition below to demand Senate leaders support a full return of Congressional authorization before any military action.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Senator Thune,
An attack against a state leader and an occupation of a sovereign nation: both of these events triggered world wars, and both of these actions were just undertaken by the United States of America. Congress was apparently not even notified – let alone gave its approval of – the military assault that took place within Venezuela, much like it has never been notified of the strikes against Venezuelan civilians that have occurred dozens of times. This time, the consequences could cause a rippling disaster.
America could once again be drawn into another “forever war” – and the human and economic sacrifices that will come – in service to oil interests. Aggressors across the world could feel they have a free pass to fulfill their own imperialist ambitions. Venezuelans may find themselves caught in a real-life Animal Farm where the “solution” is worse than the problem. And free nations may actually have cause to fear one-time allies, as unchecked threats and intimidation from the supposed Leader of the Free World rein down almost daily.
You helped make this dire and dangerous time possible by refusing to reclaim your authority under the war powers resolution. You have an opportunity to correct your grave mistake. Take it, and do not let history – old or new — repeat itself.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: The White House
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