Today on Dave Thompson’s radio show on KTLK, Thompson was interviewing Congressman John Kline from Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District. While Kline doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a warmonger, like most of his Republican colleagues, it was surprising to hear just how candid he was in expressing his desire to get the US involved in another conflict.
It was not surprising to hear Kline excoriate the Obama administration-well deserved no doubt-while letting Obama’s predecessor completely off the hook. Very few Republicans are willing to go off the reservation and criticize one of their own, even if it’s well deserved. Considering the Bush Administration is mostly responsible for the creation of ISIS, hopefully more Republicans will begin to see their party for what it is and hold their neocon counterparts responsible for the atrocities they’ve committed.
Thompson, to his credit, put forward the forgotten concept of a congressional declaration of war before starting another conflict abroad. He got a tepid acknowledgement from Kline who quickly moved on. The Republicans certainly don’t want The Executive to be hampered by procedure when it comes to starting a new war.
The White House is seemingly confused and conflicted about who we need to bomb next. ISIS or the Assad regime? It sounds like it could be both, kind of an even day/odd day affair according to David Stockman. According to this AP article, “In an effort to avoid unintentionally strengthening the Syrian government, the White House could seek to balance strikes against the Islamic State with attacks on Assad regime targets.” This is the most schizophrenic brand of foreign policy we’ve seen in some time. Considering most of the politicians in Washington are psychopaths, I guess that stands to reason.
Will you be fooled again?
