Dear Friends,
President Trump has initiated and is prosecuting an illegal war against Iran with the direct complicity of some members of his cabinet, some members of Congress and some senior military officers. The oaths of office of all these officials contain the following words in one form or another, “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same”.
The Constitution and subsequent Supreme Court interpretations make it clear that only Congress can declare war. President Trump has not provided any evidence that Iran was about to attack the United States in any way. So, he cannot use the theory of a preemptive strike to prevent an imminent attack on the United States as an excuse for his illegal action. He has, however, referred to what he is doing in Iran as a “war”. Congress has not authorized a war against Iran. Congress has not approved the use of military force against Iran. Congress has not even debated any form of armed conflict with Iran, much less a war of choice against Iran.
Consequently, Trump’s war of choice against Iran is unconstitutional and illegal. He has violated his oath of office, is violating the Constitution and is issuing illegal orders to the Secretary of Defense and senior military officers. He needs to be impeached by the House of Representatives, tried by the Senate, found guilty and removed from office.
The President of the United States is not the only one that must face the consequences of his illegal actions. The Secretary of Defense and some senior military officers are obeying Trump’s illegal orders and are issuing illegal orders to their subordinates to prosecute an illegal war. They have violated their oaths of office, they have dishonored their offices, they have shown cowardice at a time when bravery is required. The Secretary of Defense needs to be impeached and removed from office. The senior military officers who are participating in this illegal war need to be court martialed, if not by this Administration, then by the next one.
The members of Congress who are supporting Trump’s illegal war and who are mainly Republicans, are violating their oaths of office as well by not asserting the powers of Congress. At I write this piece, it is not even clear that Congress will hold any votes on Trump’s illegal war of choice. Members of Congress are willing to ignore their duty and let American service members die, be wounded and put their lives at risk, but they are too cowardly to even have a vote on the issue. They all need to be voted out of office and publicly shamed for their dereliction of duty and immoral behavior.
The authors of the Constitution did not want one person, the President of the United States, to be able to start a war on his own. The Constitution set up a process which would result in a debate on the merits of going to war. Since that debate would take place in Congress, the American people would have a say in whether to take the monumental step of going into war.
I don’t know if going to war was the best approach for American interests because there has been no debate – no facts disclosed, no goals, no strategies or tactics discussed, no risk assessments, no exit strategies, no plan b, etc. All of which should have been thoroughly discussed before we started a war of choice. The comments about the reasons and goals for this war of choice by President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and General Caine have been inconsistent, constantly changing, without factual evidence and always ignoring the constitutional requirement that Congress, not the President make the decision.
President Trump wants to be a dictator. There is no clearer indication that a leader is a dictator than when he assumes the right to take the country into a war of choice without following the Constitution. We, the people, cannot let this decision stand. Congress must act to restrain the President.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
