Is the U.S. at War with the United Arab Emirates?
By Bob Fertik
Created 2006-02-21 17:51
Is the U.S. at war with the United Arab Emirates?
This is not an abstract question. In fact, it goes to the heart of Bush's "war on terror." And if we are at war with UAE, is Bush committing treason by helping its government run U.S. ports?
On September 18, 2001, Bush asked Congress for a virtual declaration of war on terror, called the "Authorization for the Use of Military Force."
That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.
AUMF is a critical document in post-911 history, as it provided the legal basis for the invasion of Afghanistan. It also provided the legal basis for the entirely new category of "enemy combatants," which allows Bush to lock up whoever he wants in prisons around the world, including military brigs in the U.S.
Bush also claims AUMF authorizes him to use the NSA to spy on Americans without a warrant, a topic which is under close scrutiny in Congress.
Bush's lawyers wrote the AUMF as broadly as possible, to include not just the 9/11 hijackers and Al Qaeda, but anyone remotely connected to them. Taken together, they are our enemy in the "war on terror," which according to Bush will never end.
So is the United Arab Emirates covered under AUMF?
http://www.democrats.com/war-with-uae