Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment to delete section 1034. Section 1034 is the equivalent of a new declaration of war, but it contains no clear objective. No longer would we be seeking out those responsible for the attacks of September 11. In fact, all references to September 11 are removed. Instead, it merely affirms that the United States is at war. But it doesn't say why. It doesn't say what we are trying to achieve. It doesn't even mention an identifiable whom, with whom we are at war. Unlike the 2001 AUMF, it does not contain any description of harm that has occurred or that we are seeking to prevent. How will anyone be able to declare success when the objective itself is so amorphous? How will we know when we have won the war? Section 1034 expands the targets of military action from those responsible for the September 11 attacks to all members of al Qaeda, the Taliban and ``associated forces'' and those who ``directly support associated forces.'' But ``associated forces'' is undefined and so is ``directly support.'' Does it mean providing a meal to a person who later becomes a suicide bomber, even though they are not affiliated with al Qaeda or the Taliban, and you had no means of knowing that they were a suicide bomber in the future? Does the President have unfettered discretion to take this country to war against any country or any group he deems associated with the Taliban? Under this section, it would seem so. Mr.…”