Foreign Policy
I believe in an inclusive foreign policy — one that centers on human rights, justice and peace as the pillars of America’s engagement in the world, one that brings our troops home and truly makes military action a last resort.
This means reorienting our foreign affairs to focus on diplomacy and economic and cultural engagement. At a time when we spend more on our military than the next seven countries combined, our global armed presence is often the most immediate contact people in the developing world have with the United States. I am a strong advocate for drawing down our out- of-control defense spending and reinvesting those resources back into our local communities. We must also demilitarize our foreign policy by repealing the 2001 AUMF, and reclaiming Congress’s constitutional authority over war powers. Doing so is the only way to end our state of perpetual and endless war, and avoid military-use as a last resort in the future.
Creating an inclusive foreign policy also means reconsidering harmful sanctions and other interventionist policies that interfere with democratically-elected governments. Academic research has shown that sanctions achieve their desired goals only about a third of the time and in the worst-case scenario, they can hurt people of a country – generally the very people we’re purporting to help – without making a dent in the country’s behavior. In Congress, I am pushing to end the use of sanctions and embargoes as a means of punishment and control, and instead focus instead on diplomatic solutions with a long-term strategic vision.
I also feel strongly that our foreign policy should reflect our domestic values. That is why I strongly advocate for international programs that address the climate crisis, increase economic opportunity, end mass incarceration and protect vulnerable populations, just as I do domestically. These are principles that must extend not only to our foreign policies but to the trade agreements we enter into, avoiding any economic bargains that undermine our labor and environmental standards at home or abroad. Once we fully implement these policies, we can begin to repair the harm that’s been done, restore America’s broken image, and rebuild in diplomatic relationships.
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More on Foreign Policy
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County), Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA) announced the reintroduction of the Arms Sale Oversight Act, which would align House procedure for reviewing major arms sales with existing Senate procedure under the Arms Export Control Act. The bill makes it possible for any House member to force debate on the House floor in the event that the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) does not debate a contested arms sale.
WASHINGTON—Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced the Combating International Islamophobia Act, legislation to address the rise in incidents of Islamophobia worldwide. The bill requires the State Department to create a Special Envoy for monitoring and combating Islamophobia, and include state-sponsored Islamophobic violence and impunity in the Department's annual human rights reports. The creation of the Special Envoy will help policymakers better understand the interconnected, global problem of anti-Muslim bigotry.
MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) released the following statement about reports of rampant abuse of migrants in Libyan detention centers.
WASHINGTON–Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced six amendments to the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The first amendment blocks the sale of F35s and other weapons to the UAE, a global human rights abuser. The second amendment requires reporting on recent security assistance to Mali, Guinea, and Chad. The third amendment adds reporting on human rights and civilian casualties to the Afghanistan Commission.
WASHINGTON – Today, Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) led a group of 66 members of Congress, including Representative Ilhan Omar (MN-05), in calling on the Biden Administration to increase the U.S.
As I heard the news out of Afghanistan—the families scrambling to get on American planes, or the thousands of requests for assistance pouring into my office—I was taken instantly back to my childhood. I remembered sitting in a refugee camp in Kenya when I was about 10 years old and overhearing my father and grandfather discuss how we were going to get out. "Only in America can you ultimately become an American," my grandfather said. "Everywhere else we will always feel like a guest."
MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) released the following statement on the situation in Afghanistan.
“Like many of us, I have watched the immense human tragedy in Afghanistan in horror. My heart goes out to the Afghan people, especially the many Afghans who risked their lives for a safer, freer Afghanistan, as well the of countless Americans who served in this conflict, thousands of whom made the ultimate sacrifice.
WASHINGTON– Today, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Congressman David Price (D-NC), and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), along with more than 70 members of Congress, delivered a letter to President Biden calling for the immediate closure of the prison at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.
WASHINGTON—Rep. Ilhan Omar led a letter to President Biden requesting more information on the airstrike the United States carried out on July 20th, 2021, in Somalia. The letter also calls on the administration to define “collective self-defense” in the context of the airstrike and explain how the strike fits into the broader Somalia strategy.