Statement by Bill French, NSN Policy Analyst Congressional Progressive Caucus Forum on ISIL and the President’s AUMF Proposal March 16, 2015 Distinguished members of Congress, I am honored to join you to discuss the president’s proposed authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL. Over the next few minutes, I would like to outline how a number of key national security issues relate to considering the president’s proposed resolution and what kind of provisions it should – and should not – ultimately include as a result. In particular, I will focus on select aspects of how the U.S. military strategy against ISIL should inform congressional action on a potential AUMF. As I think all of us know, ISIL poses a very real national security threat to the United States. The organization threatens U.S. and partner interests in the region, including: (1) the territoriality of states in the Middle East; (2) human security on a mass scale; (3) and the political stability of American partner-states, especially Iraq. It is precisely the significance of these national security concerns that mean it is important that Congress play its role in helping to institute an effective counter-ISIL strategy that uses all elements of… Read More ›

Republicans Continue Politicizing Iran Negotiations, Offer No Constructive Alternative March 16, 2015 Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) letter, signed by 46 of his Senate Republican colleagues and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA), continued to roil the debate over the Iran nuclear negotiations this weekend. The letter, which was addressed to Iran’s leadership and condescendingly (and inaccurately) described the U.S. system of government, has been condemned as a reckless and juvenile political stunt. It has further politicized the already partisan debate at a critical moment, as P5+1 diplomats resume talks this week with Iranian negotiators in the hopes of reaching a political framework agreement. Sen. Cotton has stated that his goal is to collapse the talks, but even those who have said that they would like to play a more constructive role have offered no realistic alternatives. The legislation proposed by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), and which some members of Congress see as a pragmatic way forward, would in fact subject an agreement to new conditions outside the scope of negotiations, compel a rushed and inconclusive review process, and delay the implementation of any agreement by two months. Congress has a critical role to play in any agreement, and some proposals for congressional… Read More ›

Partisan Republican Actions Damaging U.S. National Security March 11, 2015 The letter on the Iran negotiations by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), signed by 46 of his Senate Republican colleagues, is the latest and most blatant example of what is becoming an emerging pattern of Republican partisanship that expressly works to undermine U.S. foreign policy and national security. More than just an embarrassing political stunt, Sen. Cotton’s unprecedented letter will damage U.S. international credibility and weaken the United States’ ability to conclude a deal that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. This willingness to put short-term political goals ahead of U.S. interests has been on display with other Republican initiatives in recent weeks, particularly Speaker of the House John Boehner’s (R-OH) efforts to circumvent the President and invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refute the Obama Administration’s diplomatic initiative and, even more recently, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and other Republicans’ distortions of Guantanamo recidivism rates to prevent the transfer of detainees necessary to move toward the facility’s closure. Republicans are abandoning efforts for bipartisanship and trying to scuttle negotiations to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Sen. Cotton’s letter is an unabashedly partisan political stunt that is… Read More ›