WASHINGTON—CodePink members, plus allies, descended on Congress on November 10-12 to urge lawmakers to shoot down right-wing militarist GOP President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion military authorization bill.
Their closing November 12 press conference showcasing the “taxpayer uprising” against the military turned into a rally. Observers think the peace activists may have a chance of success because of the nature of the military bill.
That’s because the measure, crammed with expensive gadgets for the armed forces, also ties the U.S. and Israeli militaries even closer together, which is the exact outcome CodePink and its allies oppose. And so, apparently, does the U.S. public—of both parties.
“Seventy percent believe the war is genocide,” stated Dr. Mark Brauner of Portland, Ore., one of two MDs who spoke.
The bill, officially the National Defense Authorization Act, approves more U.S. military aid for Israel, despite its murderous invasion and destruction of Gaza, and writes into law closer armaments and intelligence—read “covert operations” and “spying”—ties between the U.S. and Israel. Congress is going to try to OK the NDAA before it quits for the year.
Coordinated with far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump launched the wars on Gaza and on Iran on February 28. Netanyahu also has his military, using bombs and ammo it buys from U.S. defense contractors, blasting Southern Lebanon, too.
Some 90% of Gazan buildings have been damaged or destroyed, the civilian death toll is nearing six figures, including 20,000 children, and the remaining two million Gazans are effectively homeless with winter coming on.
As a result, the mounting U.S. aggression in the Middle East has drawn anger across the political spectrum, at least among the voters. Lawmakers’ views are another matter.
CodePink and speakers at the press conference oppose the military aid to Israel and say the money should be spent here at home on better education, combating climate change, improving health care and other domestic priorities.
The rally and press conference capped three days of congressional visits, demanding lawmakers end funding for the military and particularly for the Trump-plus-Israel Gaza War.
Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, didn’t let lawmakers off the hook, regardless of their political party.
Voters “want houses they can afford, health care they can afford, food for their kids” and spending “to battle climate change,” said Benjamin. “But we’ve been told” by politicians, “‘We’re so sorry, but the country’s broke and can’t even offer day care.’”
“And then Trump can find another $500 billion”—the difference between last year’s defense bill and the current one—“and provide it for the Department of War.”
While CodePink and other progressive groups hate the aid to Israel, Trump’s MAGA forces hate the war because their god broke his promise of “no more endless wars,” especially in the Middle East.
Left unsaid during the press conference was another U.S. objective: Control of vital Middle Eastern oil supplies, a boon to capitalists. Speakers called the war imperialist.
Voters on November 3 “sent a clear message: Not in our name,” declared Abdelhalim Abdelrahman of Dearborn, Mich., center of the U.S. Palestinian-American community. “Many Americans are sick and tired of watching their tax dollars go for war,” added Abdelrahman, representing the American Muslims for Palestine.
Dr. Brauner described the conditions in Gazan hospitals, where every day all beds in pediatric wards are filled by children injured by bullets and bombs from the Israeli military—bullets and bombs the U.S. supplies. He said 20% of the people “murdered in Gaza” are children. In other conflicts, “usually 1%” of civilian casualties are children.
Legislators, with a few exceptions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., have campaigned for years against military aid to Israel. In the next Congress, he’ll gain more allies, notably incoming Sen. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, D-Mich., the first-ever Muslim-American U.S. senator and an outspoken supporter of Palestinian freedom and an end to the war and U.S. military aid to Israel.
But in the meantime, “What’s going on in that building is a sacrilege,” said Benjamin, gesturing at the U.S. Capitol. CodePink concluded its announcement of the press conference with another statement opposing the NDAA: “The current proposal is a red line this country cannot afford to cross.”
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