Kamala Harris on War & Peace Democratic candidate for President (withdrawn); California Senator

Bring the troops home from post-9-11 wars

EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Beto O`Rourke; Bernard Sanders; Elizabeth Warren.

Many Democratic candidates have called for bringing U.S. troops home from America's post-9/11 wars without delay.

Ok with Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory

• Senator Harris has been vocal about is her unconditional support for Israel. She told an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in 2017, "I will do everything in my power to ensure broad and bipartisan support for Israel's security and right to self-defense." When President Obama allowed the U.S. to join a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine as a "flagrant violation" of international law, Harris, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Amy Klobuchar were among 30 Democratic (and 47 Republican) senators who cosponsored a bill to withhold U.S. dues to the UN over the resolution.
• Harris did join most of the other presidential candidates who chose not to speak at AIPAC's 2019 gathering.
• She also supports rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement.
• Harris has voted for six out of eight military spending bills, but she did cosponsor and vote for Sanders's Yemen War Powers bill.

Opposes US support for Saudi military action in Yemen

Time for a political solution in Afghanistan

• Afghanistan: Wants a "political solution" to end the war, bring troops home.
• After a trip to Afghanistan last month, Harris said she supports a "political solution" to the war that would allow U.S. troops to return home.
• She has not taken a public position on Trump's planned U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Syria.

No military force against Iran without Congress approval.

Axios.com summary: The House passed a symbolic war powers resolution directing President Trump to halt the use of military force against Iran unless he obtains approval from Congress.

The big picture: A classified briefing on the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani [by the US military] left Democrats and even some Republicans deeply skeptical, with many claiming that officials did not provide evidence that there was an "imminent" threat from Iran. Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) said they will vote in favor of a similar resolution in the Senate [S J Res 68].

What opponents are saying: Former national security adviser and notorious Iran hawk John Bolton tweeted: "The 1973 War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Constitution allocated foreign affairs authority between the President and Congress. The Resolution should be repealed." Pres. Trump quote tweeted Bolton and added: "Smart analysis, I fully agree!"

What supporters are saying: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was one of the few Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution, stating on the House floor: "Killing Soleimani was the right decision, but engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced legislation that would block funding for offensive military force against Iran without congressional authorization. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) is also seeking to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which has been used repeatedly to justify war in the Middle East in the wake of 9/11. Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the AUMF in 2001, criticizing it as a "blank check."

Legislative outcome: H Con Res 83 Passed House 224-194-13 on 1/9/20; S J Res 68 passed Senate 55-45-0 on 2/13/20. Vetoed 5/6; Senate veto override failed 5/7/20.