Blatant duplicity of US Congress 'progressives' on human rights, imperialism 

By Shabbir Rizvi

On July 18, US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib issued a joint statement with fellow Congresswoman Cori Bush, declaring they would boycott the visit of the Zionist regime president Isaac Herzog to Washington.

“Bestowing President Herzog with the rare honor of a joint address to Congress while the Israeli apartheid government continues to enable and directly support racism and brutal settler attacks is a slap in the face to victims, survivors, and their loved ones—including the families of Americans murdered by this regime like Shireen Abu Akleh and Omar Assad,” read the statement.

Many human rights groups, anti-war activists, and other so-called "progressives" hailed the statement, especially considering the popular support Israel has in US Congress - and the absolute grip of the Zionist lobby.

Meanwhile, run-of-the-mill Democrats and Conservatives condemned the boycott, using their typical smears - falsely claiming the boycott is “Anti-Semitic.”

“It’s contradictory to claim to support human rights when you’re arming the oppressors with billions of dollars of bullets and bombs,” noted the statement by Tlaib and Bush.

The choice of words was extremely interesting - especially considering Tlaib’s tweet a few days later.

“Syrian Dictator Bashar al-Assad is a war criminal,” wrote the Congresswoman who represents Michigan’s 12th District on her Twitter page. 

“I introduced the Justice for Syrians resolution with Rep. Ilhan [Omar] to hold Assad accountable for crimes against humanity. It’s time for the Syrian people to have justice.”

Israel, who Tlaib and Omar boycotted, has been illegally bombing Syria for years - sometimes multiple times per week, killing innocent Syrians. Not to mention the West, spearheaded by the US, has been at war with the Arab country via direct confrontation and its proxies for over 10 years.

The United States has invested billions of dollars into destabilizing Syria, which has caused a humanitarian crisis impacting millions of people in the country, starving Syria through horrific sanctions, destroying its cities, or funding Al Qaeda-backed extremists to execute pro-Damascus supporters. 

The new resolution comes the same year Syria suffered a horrific earthquake, killing thousands - and millions could not receive aid because of the previous sanctions Tlaib, Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other “progressives” overwhelmingly supported.

The new resolutions will open a path to more sanctions where civilians will suffer, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis that the West has aided and abetted. 

Boycotting the Israeli regime is morally right but these so-called “progressives” cannot condone their own government’s foreign policy that revolves around invasions and sanctions, which the likes of Tlaib, Omar and Ocasio-Cortez actively have the power to make a difference.

The fact is, you cannot serve in the halls of US Congress, at least as a Democrat or Republican - without serving imperialism. That is because the very nature of “progressivism” has shifted in the United States.

Attributes of the progressive movement for decades were demands for fair criminal justice, anti-police brutality, healthcare benefits, and of course, demands to stop a war.

Now, however, with an emerging generation that does not want to participate in the previous generations' wars, a shift has been made. To appeal to the new generation of Americans, war itself is being sold as “progressive” in order for Americans to buy it.

The “Squad” - a group of so-called “progressive” Congress members (which includes Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, and more) - sells wars masterfully.

Rallying their voter base with ideas of “taxing the rich” and “social rights,” these members of Congress work in unison with the war hawks in Congress to pass bill after bill meant to support the United States’ military interests. 

For example, when the United States and its clients were orchestrating deadly riots in Iran late last year, the majority of the progressive “Squad” voted “YEA” on a resolution condemning the Islamic Republic and supporting the actions of foreign-backed rioters. 

There are dozens of similar examples - all one needs to do is find a military conflict the US wants to be involved in and they can find a bill that the “progressives” have signed supporting it – Syria, Iran, China, Russia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Cuba. The list goes on. 

It's no wonder why US President Joe Biden has been able to pass a series of multi-billion dollar packages for weapons shipments to Ukraine – it has become “progressive.” 

The neo-Nazis that flood the military ranks of the Kiev regime are now painted as defenders of freedom, democracy, and European interests.

In order for the US to continue to wage its unpopular wars and invasions, it needs a voter base that is convinced that what the Pentagon is doing is right.

Washington has recognized that the new generation – from later millennials to the young Generation Z – cannot be so easily pulled into wars as the previous generations.

To continue its criminal missions across the globe, Washington will need to turn these wars “progressive”. They will need to become fighters for “human rights,” for “liberal democracy.” 

All it takes is an analysis of the framing of war 20 years ago versus today. In 2003, then-US President George Bush told Americans that America needed to fight to “defend itself from those who want to take away its democracy.”

In 2023, Joe Biden is fueling destabilization efforts in the same regions under the guise of “bringing democracy.” Progressive-minded people need to be convinced that “human rights” and “social justice” are being “exported” - albeit via the barrel of a gun.

The new generation must wake up to this. They must see through the deception of “progressives” in Congress who are just the Cold Warriors of today. If they don’t, they will risk being pulled into another military quagmire just like previous generations, or be tricked into supporting the US’ proxy efforts.

Perhaps a good first step forward would be to question why even the most so-called “progressive” members of the US Congress want to serve the war machine.

Shabbir Rizvi is a Chicago-based political analyst with a focus on US internal security and foreign policy.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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