Kucinich To Invoke War Powers Act

Former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich promised at an anti-war rally last week to introduce bills to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich promised at an anti-war rally last week to introduce bills to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

“I will soon introduce two bills invoking the War Powers Act, which will force votes on withdrawal from Afghanistan. The decision to go to war is not the president’s alone to make” said the Ohio representative before the hundreds of protesters outside the White House.

Kucinich noted, however, that Congress would vote that week on continuing to fund the conflict the military occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq by $ 130 billion dollars.

The demonstration came as President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

Earlier in the month Obama announced that the U.S. would send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Kucinich is seeking congressional support for invoking the War Powers Act of 1973, which he says in a letter still places the burden of declaring war in the hands of Congress.

“Despite the president’s assertion that previous congressional action gives him the authority to respond to the attacks of September 11, 2001, a careful reading of the Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) makes cleat that the AUMF did not supersede ‘any requirement of the War Powers Resolution’ and therefore did not undermine Congress’ ability to revisit the constitutional question of war powers at a later date,” said the letter.