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================================================== All brasscheck.com dispatches on the US-led attack on Yugoslavia are available, complete with index, at http://www.brasscheck.com/yugoslavia Please inform your friends, colleagues, and others who you think might care. ================================================== March 26, 1999 As of today, President Clinton is now in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the one created to prevent another Vietnam War. He is, in essence, now using the US military to pursue a purely personal agenda without the Constitutionally required approval of Congress. He is the first president to overtly violate this law since its passage. 26 members of Congress have filed a lawsuit in federal court today to have the law enforced and the military assault ended. The 60 day period a president has to use the military without Congressional approval ended last night at midnight. (More on this at end of dispatch.) This should have been front page news in every newspaper in the US and the lead story of every news broadcast. Was it even reported? The AP ignored it. So did Reuters. Instead they reported "record bombing" by NATO. ========================================================== >From Keep Faith http://www.keepfaith.com "Over 10,000 bombs fell on Yugoslavia. NATO admits to only 9 mistakes. Congratulations. I don't know if this is interesting enough for you to publish, but it's our current situation." "Prianovici, near Pozega in Serbia, is mentioned in almost every bombing report. No one knows why they are getting bombed as much as they do. There's only some 200 families living in this farming village, trying to farm between the bombings - the only thing standing between all of us and starvation come winter. "We don't really know how many were exterminated, as the smoking ruins of the homes, hospitals and businesses are still being sifted for the victims. We might never know, as the new, exciting weapons NATO experiments with have a tendency to destroy human bodies in such untidy ways (except, God help us, the thermal bombs that are self-contained crematoriums) that it's sometimes impossible to sort the shreds of bone and flesh enough for a countdown." Madame Ivanka Besevic, 74, retired journalist reporting daily from Belgrade http://www.keepfaith.com ========================================================== President Clinton is now using the military in direct violation of all US law http://www.house.gov/paul/press/press99/pr052699.htm FOR RELEASE: May 26, 1999 Clinton in violation of law Had 60 days to pull-out of Kosovo or get approval -- neither has happened WASHINGTON, DC -- As of 12:01 am Wednesday, May 26, President Clinton will be in clear violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. This is the first time a president has violated the resolution since its enactment. "President Clinton has nothing left to claim: he is in complete violation of the Wars Powers Resolution, there is simply no other interpretation," said US Rep. Ron Paul (R, TX). Rep. Paul is one of 26 Members of Congress who have filed a lawsuit in federal court against President Clinton in regards to his violation of the War Powers Resolution and the US Constitution. "No one can argue that a president must, when there is a direct, clear and present danger to American lives, take defensive actions to protect our national interest. However, 60 days ago this president decided to take aggressive action against a sovereign nation; and has since had congressional authorization rejected by a vote of 427 to 2," said Rep. Paul. Under the War Powers Resolution, a president may engage in hostilities for 60 days without congressional approval. At the end of the 60-day period, however, the president must have either received a Declaration of War, received authorization to continue the action for another set period of time, or begin withdrawing the troops. Since the bombing of Yugoslavia began, the president has been denied a declaration of war and authorization. "Once again, though, President Clinton is demonstrating his utter disregard for the Constitution and laws of this nation. He apparently views himself as a king, rather than the president of a constitutional republic; he must believe that his will is the law, rather than the Constitution and acts of Congress," said Rep. Paul. "To say this president is anything but dangerous and reckless would be a gross understatement." Rep. Paul said that while many presidents have violated, with the unspoken consent of Congress, the constitutional responsibility for the initiation of war, President Clinton has done so more frequently and brazenly than any other this century. "While I am hopeful this president will change his course, recent history has shown this president holds no more respect for court orders than he does for the Constitution or the War Powers Resolution. If he shows the same contempt as in the past, our nation faces serious trouble." Directory of Dispatches || Sources || Index of Topics || Home Copyright notice: any information on this page may be freely distributed as long as it is accompanied by the URL (web address) of this site which is http://www.brasscheck.com/yugoslavia |