From Peace Action (http://www.peace-action.org/):
On Monday, 18 Senators sent a letter to the White House informing President Trump that he does not have legal authority to launch a military strike on North Korea.[1] This is a great sign that Congress is finally finding its spine to stand up to Trump’s bellicose threats of war, and reclaiming its legal authority to debate and authorize military force.
As the Olympic games in South Korea begin, there is no better time for Congress to take the next step and pass legislation barring any funding for a preventive war with North Korea. There are currently bills in both the Senate and the House that would do just that, and your help is needed to urge your Members of Congress to support them today at http://org.salsalabs.com/o/161/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=22724&&okay=true.
Alarming reports are coming out of the White House that Trump is planning a targeted, preventive strike on North Korea designed to give it a “bloody nose.” It calls for a sharp, violent response to some North Korean provocation.[2] Evidence is piling in that this is becoming more and more likely.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) recently declared that if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, there’s a 70% likelihood of a U.S. military attack in response.[3] In returning from a recent trip to South Korea, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) observed that “Americans simply are not in touch with just how close we are to war on the Korean peninsula.”[4]
Most troubling of all, last week Victor Cha, an Asian strategist and professor at Georgetown, had his appointment to serve as U.S. ambassador to South Korea withdrawn. The withdrawal came weeks after he’d been heavily vetted and even approved by the South Korean government. The move came after he told the White House and National Security Council that he thought a “bloody nose” strike against Pyongyang was a terrible idea.[5]
We can’t allow Congress to sit on the sidelines while Trump considers launching a preventive war against North Korea. Please, write your Members of Congress today and demand they support legislation to block any preventive military attack against North Korea.
Thank you for taking this critical action for peace on the Korean peninsula today.
Sources
[1]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/02/05/democratic-senators-trump-lacks-legal-authority-for-preemptive-bloody-nose-strike-on-north-korea/?utm_term=.04d4a4b70e8c[2]https://www.wsj.com/articles/amid-signs-of-a-thaw-in-north-korea-tensions-bubble-up-1515427541
[3]https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/12/lindsey-graham-war-north-korea-trump/548381/
[4]https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/duckworth-trump-north-korea/551381/
[5]https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-trumps-north-korea-options-could-lead-to-nuclear-war-w516365
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