Enforcing Accountability: Senator Eric Brakey’s Defend the Guard Initiative

Maine State Senator Eric Brakey’s recent speech on the Senate floor raised some eyebrows with its bold criticisms of corporate media and the Washington War Machine. His speech was made in response to a proposed joint resolution expressing support for Ukraine.

Senator Brakey called out corporate media’s propaganda and criticised America’s foreign policy, which has been blindly following the neoconservative orthodoxies that run the Republican Party. 

In his speech, Senator Brakey questioned the US policy of Eastward NATO expansion toward the Russian border, which he argues is viewed as an existential threat to Russia’s national security.

He pointed out that this policy has been continued under both Republican and Democratic presidents and has run rampant without consideration of the warnings given by US foreign policy realists and repeated red lines from the Russians. 

Republican Senator Brakey Challenges Foreign Policy Orthodoxy and War Profiteers

Senator Brakey refused to support the resolution, saying it was overly simplistic, regurgitated corporate media propaganda, and would lead us to a potential nuclear conflict that threatens the entire world. He called for peace, encouraging Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to engage in peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders to resolve the ongoing border dispute. 

Senator Brakey, a registered Republican, said that although three other Republican senators voted with him, most of his Republican colleagues do not follow foreign policy issues closely.

However, he did highlight that in the House of Representatives in Maine, most Republican members stood opposed to the resolution. Senator Brakey’s criticisms of foreign interventions have made him a prominent Republican who identifies with the Ron Paul libertarian wing of the party. 

In his speech, he also called out the role played by war profiteers in shaping the mainstream media. He discussed www.antiwar.com, where he often turns for news on foreign policy matters that are not shaded by the interests of the war profiteers. 

Defend the Guard: Proposed Bill to Recall National Guardsmen from Foreign Wars

Senator Brakey’s speech was notable for its bold criticisms of corporate media and the Washington War Machine. His call for peace is a sobering reminder that in the midst of conflict and hawkish rhetoric, there are politicians who can see what’s really going on. Senator Brakey’s speech also highlights the shift in the Republican party towards a more anti-war stance, which he identifies with the Ron Paul libertarian wing of the party.

Senator Brakey of Maine has proposed an interesting bill known as Defend the Guard. The bill has been proposed in almost two dozen states, and its aim is straightforward- it is to recall US National Guardsmen from foreign wars that Congress has yet to declare.

The Constitution clearly indicates the three circumstances under which the National Guard can be called, including suppressing insurrection, repelling invasion, and enforcing laws of the Union. However, in cases like Syria, the US military is occupying a sovereign nation and not suppressing insurrection, repelling invasion or enforcing laws of the Union. 

Enforcing Accountability: Senator Eric Brakey’s Defend the Guard Initiative Video

Weapons Manufacturers and Campaign Contributions Are Keeping Foreign Wars Alive

In this interview with Kim Iversen, Senator Brakey outlined the importance of this bill, which seeks to force accountability for Congress members who want to keep these wars going. The bill aims at ensuring that the National Guard members, who have accounted for almost 50% of troops on the ground in these wars in the last 20 years, receive accountability for their service. 

According to Senator Brakey, accountability is currently not certain because Congress wants to avoid voting on the wars, making them unpopular. In addition, Congress wants to avoid being accountable to their constituents back home for supporting these often unpopular wars.

Nevertheless, they don’t want to stop the wars because they receive campaign contributions from the weapons manufacturers that profit from the wars. 

State-Level Action: The Defend the Guard Bill and Its Implications for National Security Interests

Defend the Guard calls for the National Guard to be recalled from wars that Congress does not legally authorise, and this would require every state to pass this legislation.

The National Guard, by default, answers to the governor and can only be federalised and used for combat under the specific circumstances the Constitution has outlined, something that has yet to be utilised in recent years. Therefore, in states that have passed this initiative, it’s up to the governors to ensure accountability and keep their National Guard home. 

It is time for accountability to be enforced, and the Defend the Guard bill is an excellent effort to maintain accountability. By calling for evidence of national security interests as a precondition for the involvement of the National Guard in any international conflict, states can avoid pointless international conflicts. For those looking to scale down US military adventurism worldwide, Defend the Guard is an excellent place to start.