Norton Does Not Support ISIL War Resolution But Will Seek a Vote for D.C. on Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the following statement following President Obama's request to Congress today to formally authorize military operations against Islamic State militants:
"I cannot support the Joint Resolution, which authorizes District of Columbia residents to go to war, yet again, in the Middle East without a vote on whether to go to war. It should be noted that this resolution would commit D.C. residents to a war by stating that ISIL ‘poses a serious threat,' but does not say that the threat is to the United States, instead relying on wide-open language about our ‘inherent and collective self-defense.' I am particularly concerned that the resolution is framed with the United States in the lead of another Middle East war, and merely ‘calls on' those actually under siege by ISIL to ‘participate in the anti-ISIL coalition.' A lesson we should already have learned is that a war in the Middle East led by the West, especially the United States, instead of by those under direct threat, incites resentment and recruits extremists that could put D.C. residents at risk, although they have no vote on the Joint Resolution.
"This past Sunday, I honored the D.C. Army National Guard's 1946th Support Detachment as it returned home from Qatar and Afghanistan. I have spoken at numerous events that deployed and welcomed home D.C. National Guard troops, who have served as regular Army personnel, since the Gulf War, without a vote on their deployment. This Joint Resolution asks our citizens to follow a pattern D.C. residents have faced as they have served in every American war since the Revolutionary War. The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have taken the lives of four D.C. residents. The major wars of the 20th Century disproportionately took the lives of D.C. residents: Vietnam War: 243 D.C. causalities, more than 10 states; Korean War: 547 D.C. casualties, more than 8 states; World War II: 3,575 casualties, more than 4 states; and World War I: 635 D.C. casualties, more than 3 states.
"The most serious consequence of unequal treatment for D.C. residents is participation in the armed services and going to war without the reciprocal vote afforded other Americans as a matter of right. Therefore, when this resolution goes to the House Floor, I will seek a privileged motion to force a debate to give the District of Columbia a vote on the final passage of the authorization of military force."