[Peace-discuss] Constitution Party position on anti-war

[E. Wayne Johnson]

I mentioned at the last Aware meeting and again this week on Aware on 
the Air that the Tea Party organizers here in Champaign-Urbana are with 
the Constitution Party
and that the Constitution Party is anti-war.

Here is a segment from their platform statements to attest to that 
statement.

*
*

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*Terrorism and Personal Liberty*

    The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
    Because we will refer to the fourth and fifth amendments, let's read
    them in their entirety:

    Amendment IV:
    /"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
    papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
    shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
    probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly
    describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
    seized."/

    Amendment V:
    /"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
    infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
    Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the
    Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor
    shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in
    jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal
    case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
    liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private
    property be taken for public use, without just compensation."/
    Note there is no exception to these rights provided for war or
    public danger.

    Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2: /"The Privilege of the Writ of
    Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of
    Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."/
    The threat of Terrorism has not been claimed to be a rebellion or an
    invasion.

America is engaged in an undeclared war with an ill-defined enemy 
(terrorism), a war which threatens to be never ending, and which is 
being used to vastly expand government power, particularly that of the 
executive branch, at the expense of the individual liberties of the 
American people.

The "war on terrorism" is serving as an excuse for the government to 
spend beyond its income, expand the Federal bureaucracy, and socialize 
the nation through taxpayer bailouts of the airlines, subsidies to the 
giant insurance corporations, and other Federal programs.

We deplore and vigorously oppose legislation and executive action that 
deprive the people of their rights secured under the Fourth and Fifth 
Amendments under the guise of "combating terrorism" or "protecting 
national security." Examples of such legislation are the National 
Security Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, and the proposed Domestic Securities 
Enhancement Act (colloquially known as "Patriot II"), and the Military 
Commissions Act.

The National Security Act is used by the federal government as a shroud 
to prevent the American people and our elected officials from knowing 
how much and where our tax dollars are spent from covert operations 
around the world. The National Security Act prevents the release of 
Executive Orders and Presidential Decision Directives, e.g., PDD 25, to 
the American people and our elected representatives. Not only are many 
of these used to thwart justice in the name of national security, but 
some of the operations under this act may threaten our very national 
sovereignty.

The USA PATRIOT Act permits arrests without warrants and secret 
detention without counsel, wiretaps without court supervision, searches 
and seizures without notification to the individual whose property is 
invaded, and a host of other violations of the legal safeguards our 
nation has historically developed according to principles descending 
from the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

Since we will no longer have a free nation while the federal government 
(or the governments of the several states, as the federal government may 
authorize) can violate our historic rights under such laws, we call for 
the rejection of all such laws and the ceasing of any such further 
proposals including the aforementioned Domestic Securities Enhancement Act.

The Constitution Party is unalterably opposed to the criminal acts of 
terrorists, and their organizations, as well as the governments which 
condone them. Individuals responsible for acts of terrorism must be 
punished for their crimes, including the infliction of capital 
punishment where appropriate. In responding to terrorism, however, these 
United States must avoid acts of retaliation abroad which destroy 
innocent human lives, creating enmity toward these United States and its 
people; and

In accord with the views of our Founding Fathers, we must disengage this 
nation from the international entanglements which generate foreign 
hatred of these United States, and are used as the excuse for terrorist 
attacks on America and its people. The 'war on terrorism" is not a 
proper excuse for perpetual U.S. occupation of foreign lands, military 
assaults on countries which have not injured us, or perpetual commitment 
of taxpayer dollars to finance foreign governments.



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Since World War II, these United States has been involved in tragic, 
unconstitutional, undeclared wars which cost our country the lives of 
many thousands of young Americans. These wars were the direct and 
foreseeable result of the bi-partisan interventionist policy of both 
Democrat and Republican administrations.

The Constitution Party is opposed to the continuation of the same 
interventionist policy, with that policy's capacity to involve our 
country in repeated wars.

We demand that:

    * never again shall United States troops be employed on any foreign
      field of battle without a declaration of war by Congress, as
      required by the United States Constitution;
    * Congress refuse to fund unconstitutional, undeclared wars pursuant
      to presidential whim or international obligations under which
      American sovereignty has been transferred to multi-national agencies.

Foreign Involvement:

The Constitution Party has consistently opposed American involvement in 
conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and 
South America. These United States has no interest in these areas which 
would justify the sacrifice of Americans on foreign battlefields - nor 
is our country properly cast as a merchant of death in international 
arms races.

We propose that these United States:

    * repudiate any commitment, express or implied, to send U.S. troops
      to participate in foreign conflicts, whether unilaterally, under
      NATO auspices, or as a part of the United Nations "peace-keeping"
      operations; and
    * cease financing, or arming of belligerents in the world's troubled
      areas.


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