I think every part of this is unconstitutional, stupid and crazy, but that’s the nature of voting, politics and lobbying in this U.S. government. Everyone who voted “Yes” on this should be voted out of office. The House of Representatives passed an amendment (315 to 108) to the National Defense Authorization Act that says
“It is the policy of the United States to take all necessary steps to ensure that Israel possesses and maintains an independent capability to remove existential threats to its security and defend its vital national interests.”
If this passes the Senate and Obama signs it, does it mean that the executive branch will set up a bureaucracy or agency that monitors Israel, decides what is meant by existential threats, decides what is included in its security, decides what Israel’s vital national interests are, and decides whether or not Israel has an independent capability to remove (not even defend against or check but remove (!)) such threats. What are these necessary steps? How can any agency know what to do based on any of this language? Lawmaking has reached a new low with this one.
The Congress has the power to admit new states into the Union. This amendment provides Israel with important benefits that the 50 states get, but without paying any of the costs.
Why support Israel in this or any other way in the first place? This is one of those expansionist commitments that the U.S. never should have undertaken to begin with.
4:29 pm on June 18, 2013
