To The Editor:

Whoever you are, whatever your political beliefs, I hope you have questions and concerns about why we are starting a war against another nation. Yes, Iran has a horribly repressive government that has done horrible things, especially inside its own land against its own people, but repressive governments, unstable regimes, jihadist terrorist groups, they are a dime a dozen these days. Anyone taken a look at Africa recently? Are we going to start bombing all those countries to force “regime change?”

President Trump promised us that we would give up the stupidity of being the world’s police force. Yet here is he, pushing “regime change” to justify his unauthorized war against Iran. Our first strikes do seem to have killed that old monster, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Khamenei’s next in command. Just like in Venezuela, we have taken out the top dog. Got to point out we did not achieve regime change in Venezuela and probably won’t in Iran.

Our first strikes also blew up a school and killed over 100 little girls. Is this what you want? Do you want your government killing children? Wars are messy and innocent children do die. Sometimes the loss of innocent lives is a necessary price to pay. Our government is supposed to carefully weigh the risks and benefits before killing children. OUR Congress whom we elected to serve OUR interests is supposed to debate, consider, deliberate and VOTE before our country goes to war. Trump didn’t bother asking Congress; he started a war without authority.

President Trump has now sent our military into another country for the second time in two months. Both times, he claimed an “emergency” that justified bypassing Congress. “It’s an emergency” has become his stock response when over-reaching his constitutional authority. What is the emergency in Iran? After last year’s targeted strikes, President Trump claimed that he had eliminated Iran’s nuclear capacity. Now he insists Iran poses an immediate nuclear threat that justifies the emergency use of war powers. Our own Defense Intelligence Agency says that Iran is ten years out from being able to build an intercontinental ballistic missile. This is NOT an emergency.

Iran’s existing ballistic missile capability did pose a risk to American interests in the Middle East. Our attack this past Saturday converted that risk into likely harm. Iran will protect itself. The conflict will escalate. President Trump has created an emergency which intensifies with each new round of bombing. On Monday, our President promised prolonged air attacks. He says he isn’t ruling out sending in ground forces. Soon American troops will be dying in Iran.

Israel’s Netanyahu has obvious reasons for wanting to destroy Iran’s short-range ballistic missile capabilities. If President Trump went to war to support Israel, that was not his decision to make. He may want to be known as the guy who finally took down Iran, but he doesn’t get to be that guy without the approval of Congress.

Anne Renner

Sandy Hook