Salem, Oregon – On Saturday, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon strongly denounced President Donald Trump for what he called an unlawful military operation in Venezuela. He said the decision went around Congress and may drag the U.S. into another expensive foreign war.
Wyden said in a statement over the weekend that the president did not have permission from Congress and that there was no immediate threat to the United States. He said that these kinds of acts are like the international interventions that many Americans have since rejected, because of the human and financial costs of past conflicts and long-running overseas entanglements.
Wyden stressed that the problem is more than just politics or thoughts about who is in charge in Venezuela right now. He said that threats to “run” another country or send U.S. troops to the ground make things unstable and may swiftly lead to a long war.
The senator said such kind of attitude might lead to a lot of losses, waste public money, and weaken international rules that are supposed to stop strong countries from assaulting weaker ones.
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The Oregon Democrat also said that military measures taken without the consent of other countries are a dangerous precedent on the world stage. He argued that these kinds of actions could give authoritarian leaders in other places more power, because they would show that breaching borders by force might not be punished if it is done for reasons other than the law.
Wyden made it clear in his comments that he disagreed with the president’s conduct and said that Congress should respond. He warned that failure by congressional Republicans to assert their constitutional role could encourage further military actions abroad, regardless of the potential harm to U.S. interests.
Wyden ended by saying that the Constitution gives Congress the power to decide when the country goes to war. He said that ignoring that power makes democratic oversight weaker and raises the risk of making incorrect decisions that could get the US involved in another long and costly war abroad.
This is the full statement by Sen. Wyden:
“President Trump’s attack on Venezuela, without congressional authorization or imminent threat to the United States, is exactly the same global interventionism that Americans soundly rejected after decades of failed wars and disastrous meddling in other nations’ affairs. No matter what you think of Maduro, Trump’s threat to ‘run’ the country and put ‘boots on the ground’ invites another quagmire that would come at a massive cost of lives and money, and that emboldens every authoritarian who seeks to attack a neighbor.”
“I strongly oppose these actions. If congressional Republicans fail to check the president’s illegal military actions, Trump will see that as a green light to attack foreign nations, no matter how harmful that is to American interests.”
