David Swanson discusses the new congressional and presidential war powers legislation that’s been proposed by Senators Murphy, Lee and Sanders. Swanson describes his initial fears about the bill, given how bad previous attempts to modify congressional war powers and AUMFs have been in recent years. And yet this bill is surprisingly good: it addresses issues like cutting off funding for unauthorized wars, shortening the time that a president can wage such a war before seeking congressional approval and ensuring that the U.S. has a specific enemy any time it wants to start some new conflict. The legislation still leaves room for some of the loopholes and ambiguities we’ve come to expect, but in general, Swanson is pleased with the effort and optimistic about its future.
Discussed on the show:
- “War Powers Reform Bill Far Better Than Feared” (Scoop News)
- Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know
- “The Singing Revolution (2006)” (IMDb)
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, radio host, and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. He is the author of War is a Lie, When the World Outlawed War and Leaving World War II Behind. Find him on Twitter @davidcnswanson.
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.
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