Code Pink protesters interrupted today’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to disrupt testimony from top Administration officials about how U.S. military intervention will aid in the destruction of the Islamic State.
From the Washington Free Beacon:
“No more war!” the protester shouted. “The American public does not want war! We do not want war! No military solution to this! No more war! No more war! No military solution!”“You’re acting very warlike yourself,” Levin said.
Code Pink is a liberal-progressive anti-war NGO, but it isn’t strictly partisan. Earlier this month, they protested outside the White House while President Obama laid out his plan to roll back ISIS in the Middle East.
(Then again, they also protest Israel’s right to self defense, so let’s not kid ourselves about where they stand generally.)
Code Pink recently issued a statement to its members calling the latest intervention in Iraq “The Dumb War”:
Why does our President want to take sides and get involved in a civil war? The US is not the target of ISIS, but if we become involved, we will be. President Obama’s concerns about the Iraqi humanitarian crisis and the safety of US personnelcan be solved without dropping bombs. Helping the besieged civilians in Iraq should be an orchestrated international effort, not carried out just by the US–the country that unleashed the sectarian turmoil in the first place. And if American personnel in Irbil or elsewhere in Iraq are in harm’s way, they should be immediately evacuated to a safe location.
Code Pink’s messaging tactics are completely divorced from reality. They claim that “[t]he US is not the target of ISIS;” have they missed the past few weeks? Let’s take a look back:
In late August, normally reserved Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in a press conference that American interests have been and will continue to be threatened by the Islamic State:
We are pursuing a long term strategy against ISIL, because ISIL clearly poses a long term threat. We should expect ISIL to regroup, and stage new offenses, and the US military’s involvement is not over.…Our objectives remain clear and limited: to protect American citizens and facilities, to provide assistance to Iraqi forces as they confront ISIL, and to join with international partners to address the humanitarian crisis.
This came two days after we learned of the brutal execution of American journalist James Foley, and just days before the similar execution of Steven Sotloff.
5 days after Secretary Hagel’s declaration, ISIS demanded over $6 million in ransom for the life of a 25 year old female aid worker they kidnapped.
ISIS attacks on major Iraqi oil installations have driven up the price of oil for consumers all over the world.
The State Department is begging those considering defection to think otherwise.
If we’re not the target of broader ISIS aggression, then who is?
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