Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) attacked President Donald Trump’s proposal to withdraw remaining U.S. troops from Syria, tweeting Tuesday that a pullout could have “catastrophic consequences.”
Trump’s sudden withdrawal from northern Syria & endorsement of Turkey’s actions could have catastrophic consequences & risks laying the ground for immense violence and suffering.
We can pursue a strategy to stop our endless wars without endangering the lives of innocent people. https://t.co/N2YWjEGveX
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 8, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez’s stance is a complete reversal of her earlier position on the war in Syria and other “endless wars” overseas.
She ran in 2018 on a pledge to end the war in Syria and elsewhere: “Alexandria believes that we must end the “forever war” by bringing our troops home, and ending the air strikes that perpetuate the cycle of terrorism throughout the world,” her 2018 campaign website said:
Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States has entangled itself in war and occupation throughout the Middle East and North Africa. As of 2018, we are currently involved in military action in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. Hundreds of thousands of civilians in these countries have been killed either as collateral damage from American strikes or from the instability caused by U.S. interventions. Millions more have fled their broken countries, contributing to the global refugee crisis.
…According to the Constitution, the right to declare war belongs to the legislative body, and yet many of these global acts of aggression have never once been voted on by Congress. In some cases, we’ve even acted unilaterally, without the backing of the United Nations.
America should not be in the business of destabilizing countries. While we may see ourselves as liberators, the world increasingly views us as occupiers and aggressors. Alexandria believes that we must end the “forever war” by bringing our troops home, and ending the air strikes that perpetuate the cycle of terrorism throughout the world.
By bringing our troops home, we can begin to heal the wounds we’re opening by continuing military engagement. We can begin to repair our image. We can reunite military families, separated by repeated deployments. We can become stronger by building stronger diplomatic and economic ties, and by saving our armed forces only for when they’re truly needed.
In addition, Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly used her widely-followed Twitter account to attack U.S. wars in Syria and elsewhere:
Previous gens have used millennials like a credit card: leaving nonstop war, an eroding planet, and education profiteering to fix ourselves.
Now it’s on us. The same officials who got us into this mess aren’t going to get us out.
It’s time to elect a new generation to office. https://t.co/jFthsbFdix
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 9, 2018
The blueprint for war and regime change is right here.
This is dangerous. Bolton championed wars costing thousands of lost lives – both in American soldiers and innocent people abroad.
The US must transition to humanitarian, diplomacy-led, peace-driven foreign policy. https://t.co/q44f4Nvk6U
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 24, 2018
Congress MUST repeal the AUMF.
It is incredibly destabilizing legislation that erodes our government’s system of checks and balances, and a persistent threat to peace worldwide.
War doesn’t bring peace. Alleviating poverty does. Education does. Representative gov does. /2
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 14, 2018
Here is the profound danger of what we just did in Syria:
A ‘mad king’ President, with majority disapproval of Americans, just decided to bomb a nation without the Constitutional requirement of Congressional approval.
Democrats who take war money passed the laws allowing that.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 14, 2018
Sure looks like powerful people are trying to bribe the President into war. https://t.co/e4L4YcrGKp
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 7, 2019
Paul Ryan’s project to “balance the budget” was always a ruse to explode the deficit with corporate tax cuts + endless war.
Ryan continues his abdication of economic + moral responsibility with his war in Yemen, curtailing of Congressional power, & imperiling countless children. https://t.co/kXDoK2e6DQ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 12, 2018
I remember a time when it was “unacceptable” to question the Iraq War.
All of Congress was wrong, including both GOP & Dem Party, and led my generation into a disastrous + wrong war that virtually all would come to regret, except for the one member who stood up: Barbara Lee.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
‘@tedlieu repeatedly asked [Sec. Pompeo’s advisor] if the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. He would not say "yes."
Lieu submitted the Constitution for the record.’
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 19, 2019
This administration needs to put down its saber and pick up a phone.
Diplomacy is what grants us peace and stability – not war. #NoWarOnIran https://t.co/NZtifF3eki
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 21, 2019
Common ground I find with (some) GOP:
– Ending needless war & curbing exploding military spending
– Protecting civil liberties & privacy rights (I believe people shouldn’t be spied on by gov or corporations, incl your phone & habits)
– Holding bad contractors accountable https://t.co/PSde2DWGn4— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 3, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez did not provide an alternative solution for Syria, or for Kurdish security, or relations with Turkey.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.