Dakota Beacon

In the aftermath of the successful drone strike that took out two major terrorists in Iraq, there are the expected complaints from the left as well as from a more unexpected source.  Yesterday, an infuriated Senator Mike Lee, UT, joined by Senator Rand Paul, KY, expressed outrage that Congress was not fully briefed on the attack before it took place. Lee was insulted that the Defense Department people and the military came to Capitol Hill to explain that they were invoking authorization which dated back to the hunt for Saddam Hussein and was presumed to be a dead letter along with the dead Saddam.  

Granted, this was just silly.  Why not just assert that Trump and the military had intelligence that Soleimani, already known as a top terror expert with blood on his hands from many assorted terrorist attacks, would be out of Iran in defiance of UN orders that he not leave Iran, and was meeting with other regional terrorist heads in the immediate wake of the attack on our embassy?  That surely would have been enough. Instead these emissaries came in with drivel about expired “war powers resolutions” authorizing an attack.  

Firstly, this was not an “attack” on a foreign power.  If we are going to take it in this way, we have been at war with not only Iran, but Mexico, North Korea and other countries which have abused American citizens, thrown them into jail or worse.  The drone strike which took out Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, a veteran terrorist responsible for hundreds of American deaths, and a leader of Hezbollah and was immediately responsible for orchestrating the attack on our embassy which could have ended worse than it did, hit only the intended targets.  Oh, the humanity of it!  

With all due respect, Senator Lee, I agree that undeclared wars are unconstitutional, that they are a very bad idea and that if we are to go to war Congress should be the entity to declare it and the President and Congress should be mutually supportive if we are to commit American troops to battle.  But this is not an invasion, Senator. This was a precision strike which did not harm any innocent personnel or property. It was an action taken against someone with a long and bloody resume, known to one and all for what he was - one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists.  Where would be your outrage if this man had gone merrily on his way to his terrorist summit where he planned the next attack on innocent Americans or valiant American soldiers or sailors?  Where are your loyalties? I should never have thought I would be asking this of you, of all people, but here we are. Yes, you should be annoyed and maybe insulted and called the Defense Department out on a shoddy presentation.  That’s fair enough. They have no right to be condescending with our elected representatives. That is beyond the fence. But you need to maintain your perspective.

It is fine to fire back at the Defense Department and the military spokesmen who came to you with an absurd excuse.  But reprimand them, assure them that they will have to do better next time and then unite with other loyal and patriotic Americans behind a necessary action taken by this president.  I do not speak as a Trump fan. I am anything but. However, it is a principle with me and many others, that when someone we don’t usually approve of does something right that is successful we congratulate him, we don’t take him to task or threaten to pull the rug out from under him publicly over the niceties of procedures.  

After all, Trump has made many mistakes, as many of us might have expected, during his term. His failure to protect our Mexican border, to cut spending, in his error in surrounding himself with certain of his advisors and in many other things.  He spends too much time tweeting. He has not gotten rid of a single department of government. This is why I supported Senator Cruz (in fact my “dream ticket” would have been Cruz/Lee). It is unfortunate that with all of this, we have heard of nothing but investigation and groundless impeachment proceedings for the past two years.  One thing we should not select for criticism I should think, would be his decisive and successful action in taking two terrorists out.  

No one complained when Navy Seals actually went into Pakistan to take Osama bin Laden out.  No one cried over taking out Qaddafi - who was actually an asset to us in the region, or Saddam Hussein, who, as it turned out, was more an asset alive than dead, inasmuch as he was replaced by utter chaos and ISIS in Iraq.  Hussein at least was somewhat stabilizing within Iraq. Did you, Senator Lee, express objection to the bin Laden and friends caravan out of the U.S. following the September 11 attack? The only airplane to be allowed to take off after that horrific event?  America hunted bin Laden, al Baghdadi and Saddam Hussein like dogs. No one complained. Everyone cheered. None of these targets was an imminent threat. Soleimani definitely was.  

I am all in favor of a careful observance of every phrase of our Constitution.  You are right to demand a better presentation in order to secure your support. But to react so violently to the sloppy, inadequate and inappropriate report of the Defense Department when there is so much of great magnitude to consider, both domestically and abroad, seems inappropriate in itself.

As it appears, this was a one-time opportunity to get rid of a dangerous terrorist who was in Iraq meeting with another terrorist.  Their only reason to meet, given their common interest, was to plot and coordinate their terror campaigns. We need to support this, with perhaps a caveat that the military and Defense Department need to do better next time in terms of making their case.  As to the Constitution, I’m all for obeying its provisions with particularity. But how long has it been since we saw the Senate or Congress or the President worry themselves over the multitude of breaches every single day. Senator Lee, why not undertake to abolish the Department of Education? That is unconstitutional.  Why not abolish the EPA? And maybe other executive departments? There is a lot that is unconstitutional. Take that on. Don’t support an effort to undermine the President at this juncture.  

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Today we have reached the Third Amendment.  We don’t hear much about it these days because it was specific to the time of its passage.

Amendment III:

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

This perhaps sounds a bit arcane.  Quartering of soldiers in private homes was commonplace during the colonial period and it was this abuse of property and privacy of citizens which prompted the Founders to specifically outlaw this practice.  While it is unlikely that we will encounter this issue any time soon, we continue to be surprised by events elsewhere. At the very least it does set a precedent for respecting boundaries with respect to our homes, property and privacy.  The same principle should be applied in other situations, such as eminent domain. It stands as a reminder of this climate of private property and citizens’ rights.

Comments:  (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)