The Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on U.S. Senators to support the bipartisan War Powers Resolution on Venezuela expected to occur on Thursday. The measure, filed by Senators Tim Kaine, Rand Paul, Charles Schumer, and Adam Schiff, would block the Trump Administration from using further military force against Venezuela without explicit congressional authorization.
SEE: Senate to vote on war powers measure following Maduro ouster
In statement, CAIR said:
“No government has the right to unilaterally invade another country, slaughter dozens of its citizens, including an 80-year-old woman, and demand control of its oil resources, all without any legal or moral justification. Our nation learned this lesson the hard way during the invasion of Iraq. We must stop repeating the same mistakes under pressure from the same warmongering, neoconservative bad actors who led us into disaster after disaster across the Middle East.
“The bombing of Venezuela without congressional authorization and the ongoing demands to dictate the country’s future under threat of violence flouts the laws of our own nation and international law. The people of Venezuela should be able to freely choose their own leadership without internal oppression or foreign interference.
“It is long past time for both the Republican and Democratic parties to reject the neoconservative movement, which should have died out after its regime change wars in the Middle East caused the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and over one million civilians in Iraq and other nations.
“We call on the Senate to reassert its authority over declarations of war by blocking further acts of war against Venezuela without congressional approval and we call on our nation to peacefully support human rights and freedom for all people around the world. If our government is truly concerned about authoritarians, it would stop funding, coddling and praising such oppressive leaders, starting with the likes of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
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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