Urges Congress to Support the Massie-Khanna and Kaine resolutions Instead
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on members of the U.S. House of Representatives to oppose War Powers resolution introduced by Representatives Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Adam Smith (D-WA), and Jim Himes (D-CT) that could inadvertently give President Trump open-ended authority to attack Iran in the future based on the false pretense of preventing an “imminent attack” on American allies.
CAIR encourages members of the House to instead support the original bipartisan war powers resolution introduced by Rep. Massie and Rep. Khanna.
In a statement, CAIR Action Executive Director Basim Elkarra said:
“We support efforts to limit unchecked presidential war powers, but the resolution introduced by Reps. Gregory Meeks, Adam Smith, and Jim Himes falls short. Rather than meaningfully constraining President Trump’s ability to unilaterally escalate conflict with Iran, this resolution dangerously expands it — offering vague justifications that could be exploited to authorize war under the pretense of defending unnamed allies from undefined ‘imminent threats.'”
In a statement, CAIR National Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“Although we welcome all efforts to rein in President Trump’s authority to launch another unnecessary attack on Iran, the version of the War Powers resolution introduced by Rep. Meeks, Rep. Smith, and Rep. Himes is a misguided bill that would actually give President Trump open-ended authority to go to war with Iran under dishonest pretenses.
“By inserting vague language that gives President Trump the authority to attack Iran in order to protect unnamed allies from an ‘imminent attack,’ the bill would give the president the pre-approval to attack Iran at any time if he claims he was trying to prevent a supposedly imminent attack. This bill is a recipe for war, not peace.
“Members of Congress should reject this bill and instead continue supporting the original bipartisan War Powers resolution introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie.”
CAIR noted that the Trump administration has repeatedly misrepresented classified intelligence to manufacture false pretexts for war, and that giving the administration broad discretion to launch a so-called preemptive attack Iran again would only increase the risk of another unjustified and catastrophic conflict. CAIR urged the sponsors to reconsider and instead support the original, bipartisan resolutions led by Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie.
CAIR is also urging all Americans to take action by using its official action alert to email their members of Congress in support of two critical measures:
- In the House, the bipartisan War Powers Resolution introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), which would prohibit U.S. armed forces from engaging in hostilities against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization.
- In the Senate, Senator Tim Kaine’s resolution (S.J.Res.59), which affirms that any military action against Iran must be authorized by Congress through a declaration of war or a specific AUMF.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com