Former Pentagon chiefs, top spooks, and key architects of the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq urged Congress on Thursday to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), saying the deal has “tremendous strategic benefits.”
David Petraeus, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Leon Panetta joined 13 other retired military leaders in signing on to a letter to Congressional leaders, which declared the potential failure of the TPP to have “harmful strategic consequences.”
“TPP in particular will shape an economic dynamic over the next several decades that will link the United States with one of the world’s most vibrant and dynamic regions,” they wrote, according to The Financial Times. “If, however, we fail to move forward with TPP, Asian economies will almost certainly develop along a China-centric model,” they added.
The ex-brass also claimed that “our allies and partners would question our commitments, doubt our resolve, and inevitably look to other partners” if Congress blocked TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
“America’s prestige, influence, and leadership are on the line,” they added.
The appeal to imperial concerns by organizers of arguably the most disastrous war in American history is unlikely to persuade TPP and TTIP’s many critics from the left—Democrats in both the House and Senate have lined up to voice their disgust with how the Obama administration has negotiated the corporate lobbyist-encouraged trade deals in secret. On April 20, for example, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) told The Sentinel that the White House has only, in recent weeks, started to give ground on transparency issues governing the years-old negotiations “because they’re losing votes.”
Earlier this week, in threatening to block an impending vote on Trade Promotion Authority, a legislative procedure required for Congress to pass deals like TPP and TTIP, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) vowed to bring surveillance reform and funding for infrastructure, two progressive priorities, to the forefront of the Senate’s agenda. Both the Highway Trust Fund and the National Security Agency’s mandate to spy en masse expire before the month ends.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, appeared to be moved by the letter. In making an 11th hour case for TPA on the floor of the Senate Thursday morning, not long after The Financial Times report was published, McConnell used language similar to that employed by the former high-ranking Pentagon officials.
“If we walk away, China will step right in. No question about that,” McConnell said.
“Would we rather see Chinese workers and Chinese farmers or American workers and American farmers reap the economic benefits of selling more to this dynamic region?” he asked.
