Politics
Multiple House Democrats Ask Biden to Relinquish Sole Authority to Launch Nuclear Weapons
As an alternative to a possible nuclear attack order scenario, House Democrats rolled out a suggestion to require other officials, such as the speaker of the house and the vice president – currently Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris, respectively – to approve the order.
The president of the United States has the sole authority to launch nuclear weapons at any time and for any reason. While the order must be confirmed by the Defense Secretary, that position has no veto power and is bound to comply, as the confirmation simply serves to verify that the order comes from the president.
Some three dozen House Democrats have signed a letter requesting US President Joe Biden relinquish sole authority to launch nuclear weapons, according to a Wednesday Politico report.
The initiative was rolled out by Representative Jimmy Panetta, who said he is calling on Biden to “install checks & balances in our nuclear command-and-control structure.”
“…Vesting one person with this authority entails real risks,” Panetta’s letter states, cited by Politico. “Past presidents have threatened to attack other countries with nuclear weapons or exhibited behavior that caused other officials to express concern about the president’s judgment.“
Panetta outlines that, even though it is assumed that a president would consult with advisers before ordering a nuclear attack, there are no “requirements” that oblige him to do so. He notes that “the military is obligated to carry out the order if they assess it is legal under the laws of war”, referring to the obligation of US Defense Secretary to verify such order.
“Under the current posture of US nuclear forces, that attack would happen in minutes”, the letter notes.
As an alternative to a possible nuclear attack order scenario, House Democrats rolled out a suggestion to require other officials, such as the speaker of the house and the vice president – currently Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris, respectively – to approve the order.
Democrats outlined that neither of the two top officials “can be removed by the president if they disagree.”
Currently, the president is capable of unilaterally launching a nuclear attack. Despite that an order would have to be verified by the defense secretary, the latter has no power to veto. Traditionally, US presidents have passed down a briefcase containing all necessary materials to dial up a nuclear attack, a so-called “nuclear football”.
When the briefcase was at the disposal of the previous US president, Donald Trump, Democrats voiced concerns regarding his access to the weapons. Particularly, House Speaker Pelosi claimed that an “unhinged” president could start a nuclear war and questioned about “available precautions” that could prevent him from ordering a launch.
Biden, who inherited the “nuclear football” from Trump after taking office on 20 January, is a vocal advocate for nuclear non-proliferation and arms control. He proposed a nuclear declaratory formulation for the United States, known as “sole purpose”, suggesting that the sole purpose of US nuclear weapons should be to deter nuclear use against it or its allies.
Sole Purpose or No-First-Use Pledge?
The sole purpose policy, as some observers argue, is not the same as a “no-first-use” pledge, a stance of not using nuclear weapons as a means of warfare unless an adversary attacks first.
Ankit Panda and Vipin Narang, in their commentary for War on the Rocks, outline that “sole purpose” and “no-first-use” are different, despite some arguing to the contrary.
“[…] It comes close, but is not the same thing. No first use is a statement about when the United States would (and would not) use nuclear weapons. It is an explicit employment constraint: It commits a state to not use nuclear weapons except in retaliation for nuclear attacks. Sole purpose, in contrast, is as its name implies a statement about why the United States possesses the nuclear arsenal that it does, not how it will use it”, the authors highlight in the article.
As heated debate unfolds between advocates for both approaches, Tom Z. Collina, director of policy at the Ploughshares Fund – a public foundation supporting initiatives to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons – weighed in with his opinion that the Biden administration should relinquish the sole authority to launch nuclear strikes and implement the no-first-use policy.
“Ploughshares is asking President Biden to announce that he will end the policy of sole authority in two reinforcing ways: 1) The United States would never start a nuclear war and would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in response to a confirmed nuclear attack (aka, No First Use); 2) An order to use nuclear weapons first must be approved by both the executive and legislative branches of government”, Collina offered, in his alternatives to current nuclear launch scenarios.
Bonnie Jenkins, nominated by Biden to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, voiced her support toward the “no-first-use” policy, while also criticising the previous administration that increased funding for US nuclear weapons.
“We are trying to say, ‘we are not going to attack you with a nuclear weapon unless you attack us with a nuclear weapon,” she explained in a House of Dilemma podcast on January. “That’s kind of the direction it was going. However, in 2018 we kind of took some steps back on that. We have added all these conditions where we can actually use a nuclear weapon. We have gone backwards.”
Since after taking office, Biden has extended the New START arms control treaty with Moscow and voiced his intention to resurrect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran – a nuclear deal that envisaged the Islamic republic scaling down its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, which Trump unilaterally exited in 2018.
Politics
Biden Wants To Give Separated Illegal Immigrants $450,000 Per Person
The average amount sought through the courts is roughly $3.4 million per family, according to the report.
The Biden administration is mulling a plan to offer immigrant families separated during the Trump administration $450,000 per person in compensation, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.
The payments – part of an inter-agency solution to several lawsuits filed on behalf of separated parents and children claiming lasting psychological trauma could amount to nearly $1 million per family, though ‘the final numbers could shift,’ according to the report.
According to sources, most of the families crossing into the US from Mexico included one parent and one child. Depending on circumstances, many families could get smaller payouts.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents families in one of the lawsuits, has identified about 5,500 children separated at the border over the course of the Trump administration, citing figures provided to it by the government. The number of families eligible under the potential settlement is expected to be smaller, the people said, as government officials aren’t sure how many will come forward. Around 940 claims have so far been filed by the families, the people said. -WSJ
In total, the potential payout could reach $1 billion or more.
Throughout the Trump administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents (and coyotes paid to bring them into the country) after they had crossed illegally into the country from Mexico. The lawsuits allege some of the children suffered various ailments – including malnutrition, heat exhaustion, and were kept in freezing cold rooms with little medical attention. Some claim lasting mental health problems due to the trauma of being without their parents for several months.
The average amount sought through the courts is roughly $3.4 million per family, according to the report.
“President Biden has agreed that the family separation policy is a historic moral stain on our nation that must be fully remedied,” said ACLU deputy director, Lee Gelernt. “That remedy must include not only meaningful monetary compensation, but a pathway to remain in the country.”
Senate Republicans slammed the plan on Thursday afternoon following the WSJ‘s report.
“The Biden administration’s promises of citizenship and entitlement programs have already caused the worst border crisis in history—a huge cash reward will make it even worse,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).
The discussions about the payouts have taken place over the past few months among a group of dozens of private lawyers representing the families and government lawyers. Some government lawyers have viewed the payouts as excessive for people who had violated the law by crossing the border, the people said. One government lawyer threatened to remove his name from the case out of disagreement with the potential settlement offer, the people said. -WSJ
“It is a complicated, complex piece of litigation” – trying to resolve hundreds of separate lawsuits at the same time, and “sometimes even more complex to try the cases” said Margo Schlanger, who ran the civil-rights office during the Obama administration at the Department of Homeland Security and now teaches at the University of Michigan law school.
What will the reparations crowd think of this?
Politics
White House To America: ‘We’re Coming Door To Door…With Shots!’
Will CDC soon recommend a nation-wide re-count of Covid deaths?
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said at the daily press conference yesterday that President Biden’s strategy to get everyone a Covid shot – whether they want it or not – is to start going “door-to-door” to those not yet jabbed. So…they have a list? Also today: bomb-maker Raytheon goes “woke.” Capitol Hill Cops set up shop in California. Will CDC soon recommend a nation-wide re-count of Covid deaths?
Politics
Half A Million Illegals Crossed Since Harris Named Border ‘Czar’
By the time June’s figures are reported in the coming days, the combined number is expected to be over half a million, more than the entire population of Miami, Florida or Cleveland, Ohio.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures, around 500,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border since Kamala Harris was named border ‘czar’.
The Washington Free Beacon reported the findings, noting that only three months has passed since Harris took on the responsibility, and that the half a million figure is just those that have been apprehended.
The CBP says around 180,000 immigrants are being caught per month. In April agents arrested 178,854 illegal immigrants, the highest monthly figure for 21 years. That figure was then surpassed in May as agents apprehended 180,034 illegals.
By the time June’s figures are reported in the coming days, the combined number is expected to be over half a million, more than the entire population of Miami, Florida or Cleveland, Ohio.
Harris only bothered to visit the border when President Trump announced he was making a trip. Even then Harris visited El Paso, some 1000 miles away from where the crisis is taking place.
Previous to this, Harris lied and claimed she had been to the border, telling NBC’s Lester Holt “This whole thing about the border. We’ve been to the border. We’ve been to the border.”
When Holt pushed back and said she had not, Harris snapped “I—and I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t—I don’t understand the point that you’re making,” then again laughed maniacally:
On Tuesday, Republican Senator Ron Johnson argued that Harris’ trip to El Paso was designed to distract the media and keep them away from the real crisis hit areas of the border.
“They took her to a point in the border where she wouldn’t see the crisis and so the press wouldn’t report on the crisis,” Johnson said.
The Senator added, “You just simply can’t understand what this administration is doing. We literally are apprehending now about 6,000 people per day. That’s I mean, that’s a large caravan every day being processed, some of them being returned, others are being dispersed. But this crisis is not going away. It’s just under everybody’s radar because the press isn’t covering it.”
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