2024 so far
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Give me Liberty
Rodger Williamson
As we finish the first month of 2024 and spring into the second month, I am left unsure as to what I should focus on this week.
The U.S.A. is still supporting Ukraine in their defense against an invasion by Russia. While the fear-mongers are still crying that once Russia defeats and annexes Ukraine, that they will continue to roll further into Europe. However, Russia can’t even defeat Ukraine and has only survived this long because of the huge stockpiles of tanks and other weapons that they had left over from the Cold War, and with a huge population to draft manpower from to replace their losses.
With neither side showing any inclination of yielding, I suspect this war to continue for several years to come, ending in a stalemate, and a DMZ (de-militarized zone) similar to the DMZ along the border between North and South Korea. World War III trigger? Probably not.
The U.S.A. is also still supporting Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Three U.S. troops were killed, and another 34 were injured in a drone attack on “Tower 22,” a U.S. military outpost in Jordan near the border with Syria. Biden accused “radical Iran-backed militants” in Iraq and Syria, while Iran denied any responsibility.
However, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq did claim responsibility. This group is a loose coalition of militias supported by Iran who oppose U.S. support for Israel in the war in Gaza and American involvement in the region more broadly. Biden vows a response, which will most assuredly result in the deaths of those with affiliations with the Islamic Resistance, or with Iran, which will most assuredly trigger a response from their side against any of the more than 40,000 U.S. troops deployed at multiple Middle East locations. World War III trigger? Possibly.
Meanwhile, here in the good ol’ U.S.A., we have a political crisis between the Biden administration and the State of Texas.
The U.S. Constitution created a government of enumerated powers. The Constitution delegates to the U.S. Congress the power “to establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, …throughout the United States.” Thus, the Constitution gives Congress the power to determine which foreigners can become citizens, and under what conditions.
The Constitution also states within the 10th Amendment that: “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” With regard to “immigration” the Constitution is silent. Thus, the federal government is not explicitly granted a general power to exclude or remove noncitizens from the United States. Regardless, U.S. courts have allowed the federal government to exercise such a power. At various points in time (and in various U.S. Supreme Court cases), the power over immigration has been said to derive from various legal standings: the Commerce Clause, the Naturalization Clause, the Declaration of War Clause, the Law of Nations Clause, and the Necessary and Proper Clause, among others; in the end, the courts have thus deemed it a “plenary power” of a sovereign nation.
I was surprised when the Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of the Biden administration to remove razor wire along the border installed by the Texas National Guard under orders from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. I saw this as a 10th Amendment issue, as noted above.
It seems to me that the justices that sided with Biden have forgotten the text of the Declaration of Independence, considered “Law #1”, wherein it declared “that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; … and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.”
As I see it, the State of Texas, as one of only six states to have been an independent Republic prior to becoming a member state of the United States, and to whom has written into their Constitution in the very first section that: “Texas is a free and independent state, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the states.”
I still side with Texas on this. Texas is a free and independent state that is subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and therefore with zero mention of immigration within the Constitution, has its own “plenary power” to control immigration, and is therefore free of any assumed federal “plenary power.”
The Supreme Court has made its ruling, and in this, I am reminded of the words of Andrew Jackson when he said “Let them enforce their decision,” as they do not have the power within their branch to enforce anything. They in effect punt to the Executive, and at this time, the Executive is headed by a feeble octogenarian that I do not trust to have the cognizance to be able to tie his own shoes anymore. What comes next? Who knows? …We’ll have to wait and see.
The State of Texas has a rightful claim to their motto of “Don’t Mess With Texas.” The Lone Star State ranks at the #1 position when compared to the National Guards of the 49 other states. The Texas National Guard is host to nearly 21,000 troops, including its Army and air components. Texas is also home to two companies of the 19th Special Forces Group and Air Guard fighter and attack wings that provide strike and drone capabilities. My guess is that well over 50% are veterans of active combat service around the world over the last couple of decades.
While the president has the option to federalize the troops of any state’s National Guard, as a former guardsman, I believe that the governor of a state still retains the right to refuse the request of troops. Should Biden blunder and attempt to federalize the Texas Guard, I do not imagine a peaceful compliance with any federal orders.
This would force Biden to order active-component troops, probably from Fort Hood, to be mobilized, laying the groundwork for a potential second civil war. World War III trigger? Probably, as any conflagration will draw support from those who would like to see the U.S.A. toppled from its position as the world’s only super-power.
As a veteran, I pray for peace, but prepare for war. I hope for a peaceful resolution, but know that if hostilities were to occur between federal and Texas personnel, that over time those hostilities will not be contained to Texas alone.