Dan McKnight, founder of Bring Our Troops Home, has issued a challenge to members of the legislature when he appeared in the "Keep the Republic" program of Daniel Bobinski.
"If they want the National Guard to go fight and win America's wars, Congress -- they need to put their name on the line before our boots are on the ground," he said.
McKnight, his fellow veterans from the global war on terror and dozens of lawmakers crossing party lines are pushing "for a state-based legislation that would prohibit National Guards from being deployed into active combat without a declaration of war by Congress." This is in contrast to the present setup, where the president can call them in and throw them into the fray.
"We've got Republican sponsors in over 40 states, we've got democratic sponsors of our legislation. We've got a libertarian sponsor in Wyoming," said McKnight.
"We're trying to be very politically neutral because our message is not about one party or the other. It's about restoring constitutional principles, that Congress only has the enumerated power in the Constitution to declare war. And they've abdicated that responsibility. They've castrated themselves and allowed the president for 70 years to take us into endless and undeclared wars over and over again." (Related: For decades, U.S. Presidents have signed Executive Orders that activate a DICTATORSHIP during a "national emergency.")
Bobinski pointed out that the last declared war is World War II. "So every combat that our soldiers have engaged in since World War II have all been just the decision of a president," he said.
That includes the war in Afghanistan, where McKnight took part in 2005 as part of the Idaho Army National Guard.
McKnight said: "We give him an authorization of use of military force, which is a violation of the Constitution. Really, all we're doing is giving the president a blank check to take the military anywhere in the world, for any length of time for any amount of money for as long as he or she wants, based on his decision on who our enemy is."
No wonder, the U.S. has taken part in so many wars, including the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq, Syria and the Yemen civil war. Thus far, nearly 800 guardsmen have died since the September 11, 2001 attack in support of the U.S. wars on terror.
Remember that the National Guard is not the active military. "These are the people who have a weekend warrior position. They go one weekend, a month, and then two weeks in the summertime to train," said Bobinski, a behavioral analyst, corporate trainer and best-selling author.
Fight to bring all the troops home from endless, undeclared wars
According to McKnight, they have tried to advocate for bringing all the troops home from these endless and undeclared wars. "[We] tried to get Congress to reclaim their authority. And they were polite, and they listened to us. And then they basically turned around and did just the opposite of what we asked, " said McKnight, a 13-year veteran of the military, including stints in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.
"From that experience, we said we can't take the fight to the swamp, we have to take it back to the States, where we have more control [and are] more able to talk to our state legislators, our state representatives, our governors. And so we designed this piece of legislation called defend the guard.
"It essentially says that the National Guards shall not be released into the federal service to fight in an overseas undeclared war unless Congress has first done their job and declared war as required by Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution."
Among the reasons cited by guardsmen for their reluctance to leave home, apart from being separated from their families, is that they're going to have a pay cut from their regular jobs such as barbers, police officers, teachers, doctors, nurses, first responders and the likes.
Also since they're deployed many times, chances are some of them would come home injured or dead.
The measure, however, is meeting opposition from certain quarters, especially committee chairmen who used parliamentary procedures or their power to kill the bill. Also, there are generals who testified against the bill using the argument that the states will lose federal funds if the bill were to pass.
So, basically, the issue is still money – federal funding – in exchange for the lives of the people who put on the uniform and go.
McKnight stressed that under the Constitution, the "National Guard can only be called into federal service for three purposes, to enforce the laws of the Union, to repel an invasion and to put down an insurrection."
It's clear therefore that going to an overseas undeclared and unauthorized war like the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not the role of the National Guard. "What's happening in Europe isn't our fight," said McKnight. "Ukraine isn't our fight."
Unless, of course, Congress declares war against Russia. Then it becomes the National Guards' fight, too. And they will comply.
Watch Dr. Daniel Bobinski's interview with Dan McKnight in the video below.
This video is from the BrighteonTV channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Sen. Tom Cotton wants the National Guard stationed in Washington to be sent home.
Biden considers activating National Guard to assist with worsening supply chain crisis.
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