Under Section 8 of Article I of the United States Constitution are the following clauses regarding the duties of the U.S. Congress:
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
.... To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
.... To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
Dear Senators and Congressman, I see the cited clauses above as a clear indication of your congressional duties in regard to oversight over the executive branch of our governance in regard to our defense and security.
I also wish to remind you, dear Senators and Congressman, that you are my employees, that this is a governance of We the People BY We the People FOR We the People, that you are my elected agents in this governance. This is still the United States of America and I do not believe that George W. Bush has yet managed to shred totally asunder the document he so despises, our Constitution, that we are still bound by its governance.
You swore an oath to honor and defend that document, to be under its governance as my representative. I would remind you of your oath.
Therefore, I think that my request for inquiries into the editing of the operations manual of the United States Army regarding a revision in status of the missions of our Army should be received respectfully and honored, time permitting. It has come to my attention that:
The Army has drafted a new operations manual that elevates the mission of stabilizing war-torn nations, making it equal in importance to defeating adversaries on the battlefield.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
I am sorely astonished to learn that this was not so in the past. To me, though I be not a military strategist, it is a basic rule of war that when one has subjugated an "enemy" one’s energies must instantly be directed to securing the boundaries and security of that "enemy’s territory," to restoring order, to restoring basic services to the inhabitants of that territory in order to keep one’s subjugation of the "enemy" secure.
This, sadly, was not done during the reign of Supreme Ruler von Rumsfeld over the United States Defense Department during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. I stalwartly believe that it would be a basic tenet of any decent manual of war strategy to stabilize a war-torn nation immediately after its subjugation, particularly if it is a nation that one’s own nation has torn apart in war. I was very interested to know if Supreme Ruler von Rumsfeld had edited the Army’s manual of strategy to down play the role of stabilization.
Supreme Ruler von Rumsfeld did seem rather gleeful over the chaos and looting of Iraq – which behavior I find execrable in a military leader.
I am of the belief that Supreme Ruler von Rumsfeld should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent for his odious conduct during the invasion and occupation of Iraq, for his malfeasance and impropriety in his treacherous treatment of our returning wounded vets from his misdirected mission in Iraq.
In most case, the staffs of my congressman and one senator were quite polite in hearing my demand for an inquiry into Rumsfeld’s conduct. One Senator, however, seems to balk at such a suggestion. I advised that Senator’s staff to have a look at our Constitution for a reminder of her duties to me, to the defense of our nation, to our international security.
Oversight, dear Congress. You have oversight powers over the conduct of the Executive Branch.
I would remind you to stretch your flabby muscles and start exercising your oversight.
And, God bless you, Congressman Waxman, for all that you do.
Long may you investigate!