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Related: About this forumRep. Tulsi Gabbard Discusses Her Bill to Stop Arming Terrorists- 12/9/16 (Interview)
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msongs
(67,395 posts)think
(11,641 posts)
elleng
(130,871 posts)
oasis
(49,379 posts)
think
(11,641 posts)December 8, 2016 Press Release
Washington, DC—Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act today. The legislation would prohibit the U.S. government from using American taxpayer dollars to provide funding, weapons, training, and intelligence support to groups like the Levant Front, Fursan al Ha and other allies of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, al-Qaeda and ISIS, or to countries who are providing direct or indirect support to those same groups.
The legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT-AL), Barbara Lee (D-CA-13), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-48), and Thomas Massie (R-KY-04), and supported by the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and the U.S. Peace Council.
" target="_blank">Video of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s speech on the House floor is available here
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said, “Under U.S. law it is illegal for any American to provide money or assistance to al-Qaeda, ISIS or other terrorist groups. If you or I gave money, weapons or support to al-Qaeda or ISIS, we would be thrown in jail. Yet the U.S. government has been violating this law for years, quietly supporting allies and partners of al-Qaeda, ISIL, Jabhat Fateh al Sham and other terrorist groups with money, weapons, and intelligence support, in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government.
“The CIA has also been funneling weapons and money through Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and others who provide direct and indirect support to groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda. This support has allowed al-Qaeda and their fellow terrorist organizations to establish strongholds throughout Syria, including in Aleppo.
“A recent New York Times article confirmed that ‘rebel groups’ supported by the U.S. ‘have entered into battlefield alliances with the affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria, formerly known as al Nusra.’ This alliance has rendered the phrase ‘moderate rebels’ meaningless. Reports confirm that ‘every armed anti-Assad organization unit in those provinces [of Idlib and Aleppo] is engaged in a military structure controlled by [al-Qaeda’s] Nusra militants.’
“A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that many rebel groups are ‘doubling down on their alliance’ with al Nusra. Some rebel groups are renewing their alliance, while others, like Nour al-Din al-Zinki, a former CIA-backed group and one of the largest factions in Aleppo are joining for the first time. “The Syria Conquest Front—formerly known as the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front—is deeply intermingled with armed opposition groups of all stripes across Syria’s battlefields.”
“The CIA has long been supporting a group called Fursan al Haqq, providing them with salaries, weapons and support, including surface to air missiles. This group is cooperating with and fighting alongside an al-Qaeda affiliated group trying to overthrow the Syrian government. The Levant Front is another so-called moderate umbrella group of Syrian opposition fighters. Over the past year, the United States has been working with Turkey to give this group intelligence support and other forms of military assistance. This group has joined forces with al-Qaeda’s offshoot group in Syria.
“This madness must end. We must stop arming terrorists. The Government must end this hypocrisy and abide by the same laws that apply to its’ citizens.
“That is why I’ve introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists bill—legislation based on congressional action during the Iran-Contra affair to stop the CIA’s illegal arming of rebels in Nicaragua. It will prohibit any Federal agency from using taxpayer dollars to provide weapons, cash, intelligence, or any support to al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups, and it will prohibit the government from funneling money and weapons through other countries who are directly or indirectly supporting terrorists,” concluded Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Stephen Kinzer, a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, and award-winning author and journalist said, “The proposal to stop sending weapons to insurgents in Syria is based on the principle that pouring arms into a war zone only intensifies suffering and makes peace more difficult to achieve. Congress made a decision like this about the Nicaraguan contras during the 1980s. Aid to the contras was cut off by the Boland Amendment. The result was a peace process that finally brought an end to wars not only in Nicaragua, but also in El Salvador and Guatemala. This is the example we should be following. Cutting off arms shipments forces belligerents to negotiate. That is what we achieved in Nicaragua. It should be our goal in Syria as well.”
Donna Smith, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America said, "Progressive Democrats of America believes that it is fundamentally wrong for the United States to fund those groups or individuals aligned with al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, ISIS, or other terrorist/extremist organizations. The 'Stop Arming Terrorists' bill authored by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, of Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District, would help bring an end to the human tragedy unfolding in Syria where the haunting eyes of the innocent children of Aleppo call on us all to stop supporting those who threaten and kill them with ferocious intention. War is war, and terrorism is terrorism whether waged by the state or from external forces. PDA supports this measure."
Alfred Marder, President of the U.S. Peace Council said, “The U.S. Peace Council is honored to endorse and support the ‘Stop Arming Terrorists Bill’ as a major contribution to peace. This legislation will serve to galvanize the anti-war movement and the opposition to regime change policies that characterize our present foreign policy.”
Background: The Stop Arming Terrorists bill prohibits U.S. government funds from being used to support al-Qaeda, ISIS or other terrorist groups. In the same way that Congress passed the Boland Amendment to prohibit the funding and support to CIA backed-Nicaraguan Contras during the 1980’s, this bill would stop CIA or other Federal government activities in places like Syria by ensuring U.S. funds are not used to support al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, ISIS, or other terrorist groups working with them. It would also prohibit the Federal government from funding assistance to countries that are directly or indirectly supporting those terrorist groups. The bill achieves this by:
Making it illegal for any U.S. Federal government funds to be used to provide assistance covered in this bill to terrorists. The assistance covered includes weapons, munitions, weapons platforms, intelligence, logistics, training, and cash.
Making it illegal for the U.S. government to provide assistance covered in the bill to any nation that has given or continues to give such assistance to terrorists.
Requiring the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to determine the individual and groups that should be considered terrorists, for the purposes of this bill, by determining: (a) the individuals and groups that are associated with, affiliated with, adherents to or cooperating with al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, or ISIS; (b) the countries that are providing assistance covered in this bill to those individuals or groups.
Requiring the DNI to review and update the list of countries and groups to which assistance is prohibited every six months, in consultation with the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, as well as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Requiring the DNI to brief Congress on the determinations.
Source:
https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/video-rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-legislation-stop-arming-terrorists
oasis
(49,379 posts)if she really wants to bring the issue to the forefront? 
If you're going to go maverick, go all the way maverick.
think
(11,641 posts)oasis
(49,379 posts)in Aleppo. If she did, I missed it.
think
(11,641 posts)Are she and her cosponsors wrong for wanting to end this practice?
oasis
(49,379 posts)is what I'm calling into question.
think
(11,641 posts)oasis
(49,379 posts)from the rooftops, not buried on CSPAN. Is Gabbard worried about getting in The face of the Obama Administration.
think
(11,641 posts)anyone has made in congress and it at least is getting some coverage and discussion.
I'm thankful Reps. Welch & Lee are co-sponsors and taking the lead in putting forth this legislation.
I'm also very thankful the Progressive Democrats of America are behind this as well. The more people learn about this hopefully the more EVERYONE will speak out about this.
BainsBane
(53,031 posts)Her proposal is to stop arming Syrian rebel groups so that Assad and Russia have a clear path to take over the country. Terrorist is, as should be obvious, a term people use to discredit groups they oppose. The US does not arm ISIS, but they have started to arm Syrian rebel groups. That is what Gabbard's legislation seeks to stop. Her justification is that some of those arms wind up in the hands of groups the US considers terrorists, but the result of her policy is to clear the way for Assad to bomb his people to kingdom come with no ability for them to resist.
This is Fox News and Steve Bannon's favorite Democrat. She became a Democrat because Republicans can't win in her area. There is a reason Trump invited her for an interview for a job in his administration, and he did so based on the advice of Bannon.
I know the fact she endorsed Bernie makes you a fan, but who knows what her motivations were in doing so. I think it highly unlikely that she actually wanted him to be president.
think
(11,641 posts)The Progressive Democrats of America also support this bill. Are they and the other Democratic Representatives also helping Assad bomb his people?
The intent of the legislation is clear. The effort is to make sure ISIS and al Quaeda don't get U.S. weapons. It is NOT some effort to aid Assad as you imply.
The bill takes aim at countries in the region that continue to fund ISIS and al Quaeda. It's a huge problem.
Here is Vice President Joe Biden spilling the beans:
By Adam Taylor October 6, 2014
~snip~
To understand why, it helps to take a look at exactly what Biden allegedly said. When asked by a student whether the United States should have acted earlier in Syria, Biden first explains that there was "no moderate middle" in the Syrian civil war, before changing the topic to talk about America's allies:
"Our allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria. The Turks were great friends, and I have a great relationship with Erdogan, [who] I just spent a lot of time with, [and] the Saudis, the Emirates, etcetera.
What were they doing? They were so determined to take down Assad, and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad – except that the people who were being supplied, [they] were al-Nusra, and al-Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis who were coming from other parts of the world.
Now, you think I'm exaggerating? Take a look. Where did all of this go? So now that's happening, all of a sudden, everybody is awakened because this outfit called ISIL, which was al-Qaeda in Iraq, when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space and territory in [eastern] Syria, [and they] work with al-Nusra, who we declared a terrorist group early on. And we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them.
Read more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/10/06/behind-bidens-gaffe-some-legitimate-concerns-about-americas-middle-east-allies/?utm_term=.444c1833d13a
And the bill itself is fairly straight forward in what is hoped will be accomplished:
In the same way that Congress passed the Boland Amendment to prohibit the funding and support to CIA backed-Nicaraguan Contras during the 1980’s, this bill would stop CIA or other Federal government activities in places like Syria by ensuring U.S. funds are not used to support al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, ISIS, or other terrorist groups working with them. It would also prohibit the Federal government from funding assistance to countries that are directly or indirectly supporting those terrorist groups. The bill achieves this by:
Making it illegal for any U.S. Federal government funds to be used to provide assistance covered in this bill to terrorists. The assistance covered includes weapons, munitions, weapons platforms, intelligence, logistics, training, and cash.
Making it illegal for the U.S. government to provide assistance covered in the bill to any nation that has given or continues to give such assistance to terrorists.
Requiring the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to determine the individual and groups that should be considered terrorists, for the purposes of this bill, by determining: (a) the individuals and groups that are associated with, affiliated with, adherents to or cooperating with al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, or ISIS; (b) the countries that are providing assistance covered in this bill to those individuals or groups.
Requiring the DNI to review and update the list of countries and groups to which assistance is prohibited every six months, in consultation with the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, as well as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Requiring the DNI to brief Congress on the determinations.
https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/video-rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-legislation-stop-arming-terrorists
shadowmayor
(1,325 posts)ISIS is just al qaeda 3.0. Al qaeda in Iraq (2.0) did not exist until we broke that country apart. Syria, Egypt, and Libya were countries where we sent captured people to be tortured (the rendition program). Funny how each of these countries is now in turmoil. The media didn't give two shits about torture, and didn't care that we were fed-exing people to these countries to have their testicles crushed, to be raped, to be water-boarded, and other "dark side" measures. Assad was our boy until he decided to go with an Iranian (Shiite Persian) pipe line, rather than a Saudi (Sunni Arab) version. The ISIS assholes in Mosul are aligned with the same assholes in Syria and yet; somehow, the American people have been led to believe that there are "moderate" groups we can back who "sometimes" fight along side ISIS and their allies. Que WTF are we doing and what the hell is going on??? For any of us to believe anything the Pentagon says about the middle east at this point is ridiculous. The long list of incompetent Generals spewing their bullshit and the psyops programs they run on our own press is staggering.
Sadly, to condemn our policies in that part of the world is to open the door to a line of criticisms about being "pro-Putin" and more. Is Assad a dirtbag? Of course. So was Saddam. But guess what folks, Iraq was a helluva lot better off with Saddam than with Uncle Sam. Ask the million or so dead, the untold number of maimed and the millions displaced if you don't believe me.
I spent OIF3 in Abu Ghraib prison with my fellow reservists and I couldn't believe the rah-rah, we're the good guys, Christ is on our side, fuck 'em, they're just Iraqis bullshit. For our press to act like they have a clue as to what is actually going on in Aleppo is a joke. A really sad, really pathetic joke.
think
(11,641 posts)
David__77
(23,372 posts)The US should not be supporting the allies of al Qaeda.
notdeplorable
(36 posts)But now the rebels may get missiles
http://news.antiwar.com/2016/12/15/ndaa-would-allow-us-to-send-anti-aircraft-weapons-to-syrian-rebels/
And Trump, despite her NYC visit, has called for "safe zones"
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/us/politics/syria-safe-zones-donald-trump.html
think
(11,641 posts)we've heard the last from Rep. Gabbard & others on this subject..
