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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 10/18/16

Critical Foreign Policy Questions For an Overdue Reset

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e. How does this play against a large contingent of House members signing on to a letter to block Saudi arms sales and the recent overwhelming override of the President's veto to potentially hold Saudis accountable for 9-11?

f. The US has just bombed Yemen directly (although, like Libya, virtually no one is talking about it) with a US navy ship firing on three sites. This action "has the potential to drag the US straight into a protracted and escalating conflict. And, as everyone knows, America has an uncanny ability to enter protracted and escalating military conflict," according to the Guardian article. What is your response?

9. Afghanistan

a. It's just over a year after US troops bombed the Kunduz hospital in Afghanistan, killing 22 and injuring 37, in a protracted attack on a facility who had repeatedly provided coordinates. The story changed four times. Will you support an independent and impartial investigation (which none of the existing are), under the Geneva Conventions, as has been called for by the director of Doctors Without Borders? Do you support criminal prosecution of those involved? Will you support investigation under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (which is not possible without US consent because countries were forced to sign "bilateral immunity agreements" to keep foreign aid)?

b. The longest war in American history that has now entered its 15th year and with opium a key economic pillar and the Taliban controlling extensive territory. It has spent $800 billion, including $115 billion on reconstruction. The New York Times has called for a "top to bottom review" which would include whether to fight there, given the Taliban's ambitions are limited to the region, and address whether the US can even end the conflict. What is your plan for Afghanistan?

10. Libya

a. The weekend after the Democratic National Convention President Obama began a new campaign of bombing Libya which received little attention. The UK has recently released a scathing report documenting the failed intelligence and transformation from a "no fly zone" into a regime change approach and President Obama has referred to the intervention as a "sh*t show". Explain your view on what is happening in Libya and how you will proceed.

11. Israel

a. Several studies point to the dire straits Gaza is in after the Israeli offensive of 2014, with two United Nations-commissioned studies finding Gaza is projected to be rebuilt in either 20 years and never, and another study predicting it could be uninhabitable by 2020. What will you do to promote the reconstruction of occupied Gaza?

b. Will you do anything to halt the almost $4 billion in US military aid, most on arms sales, given serious concerns about ongoing human rights violations?

c. What will you do to promote peace in that part of the Middle East?

12. War authorization

a. The Authorization for Military Force which passed three days after 9-11 addresses action against those responsible for the attacks of that day, yet has been used to justify attacks on many countries (at least seven this year,) many on groups that did not even exist at that time. How will you address our inapplicable and invalid war authorization?

13. Military spending and bases

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Veena Trehan is a DC-based journalist and activist. She has written for NPR, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and local papers.
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