en. Bernie Sanders has pleaded with President Trump and Republican lawmakers not to go to war with Iran, warning that military action would prove to be a bigger disaster than the war in Iraq. In a video posted to Twitter early Friday, hours after the Pentagon confirmed it had carried out a deadly Trump-ordered drone strike on Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, the Democratic presidential hopeful urged the president to get off the path to war. Sanders explained that he opposed the war in Vietnam as a young man and that he helped lead the effort against the war in Iraq. “That war was the worst foreign-policy blunder in the modern history of the United States,” said Sanders, referring to Iraq. Sanders went on: “I’m going to do everything I can to prevent a war with Iran because if you think the war in Iraq was a disaster, my guess is that war in Iran would be even worse... So let’s work together and prevent that war, and if people want to criticize me for that, go for it, that’s OK, I don’t apologize to anybody.”
Statement by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR)
| We are in a dangerous moment. Without authorization by Congress, the president ordered the assassination of a senior military leader of Iran on Iraqi territory. There is no question that General Soleimani has been involved in plotting lethal attacks on Americans. But there is plenty of uncertainty about whether this act strengthens or hurts American security. President Trump claims that his purpose was to deter future attacks on Americans. I fear that it may well have the opposite effect—triggering additional attacks, potentially destabilizing the government of Iraq, and driving escalation to the launch of another poorly calculated war in the Middle East. Our country should never just fall into a war. Our Constitution is clear: The power to go to war rests with Congress, not the president. We must insist that the Constitution be honored. One reason I refused to support the president's military spending bill last month was that it dropped an amendment blocking the president from launching an unauthorized war with Iran. I had fought for this amendment—which had passed the House with bipartisan support—because restoring Congress's constitutional role is essential to our security. It must be the American people, through their representatives, who decide when our sons and daughters go to war. Now, after breaking the nuclear deal and months of saber-rattling, President Trump and the war hawks he has surrounded himself with have put America at the brink of war with Iran. Iran is a dangerous foe, and we need a strong, thoughtful policy to meet the challenges it poses to American security. But American lives are too precious to let a reckless president with reckless plans start another war in the Middle East. Senator Jeff Merkley |
NO MORE U.S. TROOPS TO IRAQ OR THE MIDDLE EAST!
U.S. OUT OF IRAQ NOW! and NO WAR/NO SANCTIONS ON IRAN!
The government of Iraq has called on US troops to leave Iraq. Last week, people protested at the massive US embassy compound in Baghdad calling on US troops to leave the country. Protests have been in response to the latest US aerial assault that killed scores of Iraqis. Rather than leave, Donald Trump has ordered 750 more U.S. troops to the Middle East and potentially 3,000 more. This is in addition to the 5,200 US troops already stationed in Iraq. Every US president over the last 28 years has ordered the bombing of Iraq. The decision by Donald Trump and the Pentagon to launch new air assaults against Iraqis in the past week ignited nationwide resistance by Iraqis who want to reclaim their full sovereignty and do not want Iraq to be used in a US war on Iran. More than a million Iraqis have died during the past 28 years as a consequence of US occupation, bombings, and sanctions. Tens of thousands of US troops have either been killed or suffered life-changing wounds. The US government has spent more than $3 trillion dollars in the on-going occupation and bombing of this oil-rich country. Instead of taking the United States out of this endless war, Trump is building up U.S. forces in the region and threatening war with Iran. The demonstrations calling for the US out of Iraq and the Middle East, as well as an end to the illegal US sanctions, will take place on Saturday, January 4 in the following cities. More are being organized. Contact [email protected] if you are organizing a local action.
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