Washington, D.C. — On Thursday, House Democratic leadership formally opposed Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) Lebanon war powers resolution. The resolution would limit the Trump administration’s ability to participate in Israel’s war in Lebanon.
The following is a statement from Demand Progress Senior Policy Advisor Cavan Kharrazian:
“Democratic leaders are deliberately giving up an opportunity to rein in Trump and Netanyahu’s disastrous Middle East wars. It makes no sense to whip against today’s Lebanon War Powers Resolution while pointing members towards an alternative that carves out security cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces—despite no indication that such cooperation would be affected by the resolution before the House today, and will not be eligible for a forced vote until at least mid-July.
Lebanon can’t wait. This conflict has killed thousands, displaced over a million people, erased entire villages from the map and remains a major barrier to a diplomatic agreement to end the broader war with Iran.
If Democratic leaders are serious about ending U.S. complicity in Israel’s assault on Lebanon and ending the wider regional war, they should support the resolution before the House today instead of sinking the vote and delaying action for another month or more.”