Barbara Lee: If we learned anything from the disastrous War on Terror, now’s the time to show it

On September 14, 2001, I stood alone on the House floor to deliver a message to the American people. In a moment of tremendous grief for our country, I urged restraint.

I cast the lone vote against the Authorization to Use Military Force that launched the global war on terror and gave President Bush – and all future presidents – the authority to go to war without approval from Congress. Every one of my colleagues lined up to vote for the overly broad, blank check that set the framework for forever wars.

I take no pleasure in pointing out that I was right.

The global war on terror was a strategic, economic, and humanitarian disaster for our country and the world. $2.3 trillion dollars spent – money that could have been dedicated to rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, investing in our public schools, reducing the cost of healthcare, and protecting our environment. Nearly half a million civilians were killed. More than 7,000 American troops lost their lives. Tens of thousands – Muslim, Christian, Jew, and non-believer – came home wounded in body and spirit.

After all that loss and destruction, even President Biden acknowledged that our approach was “a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever.” There was no military solution.

Just over two years after finally leaving Afghanistan, the United States finds itself at the doorstep of another major conflict in the Middle East.

And I find myself again reflecting on a quote I read on the House floor in 2001: “As we act, let us not become the evil that we deplore.”

This is a moment that demands moral and strategic clarity. We cannot allow billions of American tax dollars to unconditionally fund the indiscriminate bombing of civilians. We cannot allow the dilution of our own fragile democracy.

That is precisely why I was among the first members of Congress to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Let me be extremely clear: the horrific terror attacks carried out by Hamas against Israeli civilians were barbaric. An estimated 1,200 people were killed; women were brutalized with unspeakable acts of sexual violence; countless people around the globe are suffering and mourning from the terrible loss of loved ones and neighbors.

Military action will not bring lasting peace and security to Israel and the Palestinian people, nor should U.S. taxpayer dollars be unconditionally funding unfettered military action. While our communities at home struggle to make ends meet, the federal government is rubber-stamping billions of dollars of military aid to Israel, while the Biden administration bypasses Congressional approval to sell weapons to the Israeli military.

In the weeks and months that followed that attack, more than 22,000 Palestinians — over two-thirds of them women and children— have been killed. At least 57,000 have been injured. In Gaza, more than 1.6 million Palestinians have been forced from their homes. Nearly half of those homes have been damaged or destroyed. Water is scarce. People are starving. This is a humanitarian disaster, by any measure.

My approach to foreign policy — which I took during that vote in 2001 and that I take today — is guided by three principles: diplomacy, development, and defense.

We should not retreat from the world stage.

We can certainly support the government of Israel’s responsibility to defend its people — and that includes bringing justice to those who planned and carried out the atrocities of October 7. But Israel is at war with Hamas, not innocent Palestinian civilians. We cannot – morally or legally – support military action that violates international law.

The scale of Israel’s indiscriminate bombing assault on the civilians of Gaza long ago exceeded any proportionate response. And, as experts have made clear for months, the perpetual war being waged against the Palestinian people is unlikely to be more than a temporary setback for Hamas. The execution of this war is counterproductive to both Israel’s and the U.S.’s security.

It is our responsibility as the United States to wield our power and vast wealth to support our common humanity. In this case, that means upholding international law, providing critical aid to Palestinians, supporting negotiations for the freedom of hostages, and helping to advance a political and diplomatic solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side with security and peace.

Californians, and the American people, deserve a voice that speaks for them, against the powerful people and interests that seek to suppress it. I will continue to fight for accountability in how we spend American taxpayer dollars, for leading with strategy and morality from the outset, and for moving us towards global peace and security.

Barbara Lee represents California’s 12th congressional district and is a candidate for U.S. Senate.