title:  Republicans In Congress Want To Give Donald Trump Unrestricted War Powers
text: If Donald Trump becomes president, you better prepare for World War III, because if Republicans have their way, their presumptive nominee will have unprecedented power to wage war across the globe without restrictions from Congress.Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump has bragged that he  wants to have a much stronger military  so strong that nobody is going to mess with us.  Of course, that means increased military spending that is completely unnecessary because we already have the top military in the world and we spend more on our military than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, England, India, and Germany combined. In fact, we could slash our military spending in half and would still spend more than any other nation.Graph courtesy of Peter G. Peterson FoundationBut Republicans are gunning to keep military spending at monstrous levels and they are willing to give Trump unprecedented and unlimited war power.Earlier this year, Senate Republicans introduced a new Authorization for Use of Military Force that would authorize presidents to wage war anywhere anytime without having to ask Congress for a declaration of war as the Constitution requires.According to Huffington Post:[The AUMF] would give the president new authority to take action against the militant group also known as ISIS or ISIL. It wouldn t put any limits on the duration, geography or use of U.S. ground combat troops in the war, or on the means by which the U.S. military could act. It also would keep in place a broad AUMF from 2001 that never expired and that allows the president to take military action against anyone, anywhere, connected to the terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks.In other words, Donald Trump would have complete power to go to war whenever he wants against whomever he wants and Republican lawmakers are just fine with that because they don t want the responsibility of making war decisions. I don t like the idea of telling a commander-in-chief they can t go where ISIL goes, they re limited by time, geography and means,  South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said.  If I don t like the time, geography or means, I can cut off funding. Alabama GOP Rep. Mike Rogers thinks Donald Trump would  be an improvement  over President Obama, who has used diplomacy effectively in his foreign policy agenda while limiting his own war strategy to air strikes and predator drone strikes rather than sending thousands of American troops to war.South Carolina GOP Rep. Joe Wilson thinks  we need to finish what we started,  and he is totally okay with Donald Trump controlling the military because he suggested Trump will also try to work with the terrorists, too.Senator Chuck Grassley said he would comfortable with Trump as long as he  has a plan,  and Arizona GOP Rep. Trent Franks wants Trump to  advocate the maintenance and strength of a military capable of dealing with the growing threats to freedom this world faces  and  dismiss the practice of Mr. Obama of emboldening our enemies and disheartening our friends. That s basically code meaning that Trump should rip up the nuclear deal with Iran to reduce their nuclear material and attack them instead even though the deal is working.Trump has already declared his disapproval of the deal. He also said in 2011 that America should use  any and all means necessary  to stop Iran s nuclear program, which includes military force.Republicans are already itching for a war against Iran. A President Trump could give them one unilaterally.Trump has also suggested in his book The America We Deserve that he would use force against North Korea, which would guarantee a new Korean War.[In a Trump presidency], North Korea would suddenly discover that its worthless promises of civilized behavior would cut no ice. I would let Pyongyang know in no uncertain terms that it can either get out of the nuclear arms race or expect a rebuke similar to the one Ronald Reagan delivered to Ghadhafi in 1986. I don t think anybody is going to accuse me of tiptoeing through the issues or tap-dancing around them either. Who else in public life has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?Trump has also not been secretive about the fact that he wants to bring back the use of torture and commit war crimes against civilian populations in the effort to defeat terrorists.That s scary enough, but consider this.As president, Donald Trump would also have control over the nation s nuclear arsenal. And he has already refused to rule out using nuclear weapons in Europe and the Middle East.In short, a President Trump could usher in a nuclear Armageddon and Congress has absolutely no problem with this.If Trump somehow defeats Hillary Clinton in November and Republicans retain control of the Senate and the House, we could see World War III as the thin-skinned businessman in the White House responds to the smallest of slights or Republican prodding with military strikes that could spill the blood of thousands of American soldiers and put the country further into debt.That is what is at stake in this election so let s hope people start taking this seriously.Featured image via Flickr 