By PETER MOLENAAR
Not long ago, I woke to the news of assassination”¦ head swimming with visions of missile launches to and fro, skyrocketing oil prices, etc., etc. A quick study of relevant history commenced, before and after a trip to 4200 Cedar Avenue, where a consultation with WAMM (Women Against Military Madness) took place.
Minnesota”™s leadership was bound to speak as well. Our own brave light, Ilhan Omar, stated: “Sending teenagers to die, or to return with lifelong wounds is not what it means to carry out our oath of office to protect the American people.”
From across the river, Congresswoman Betty McCollum stated: “President Trump”™s decision to assassinate Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani inside Iraq will have severely negative consequences on U.S. interests around the world”¦ Further, it strengthens the Iranian regime”™s domestic hold on power”¦ Americans now know that 17 years of war in Iraq was based on a manufactured lie.”
On the other hand, Trump”™s pal Pompeo has stressed: “U.S. resolve to hold Iran accountable for its interventions [in the Middle East].” Oh, really [!!!]
Sadly, Senator Amy Klobuchar”™s echoes blamed Soleimani for “destabilizing” Iraq and Syria. Never mind his many contributions to the struggle against ISIS, yes, the ISIL which would not have formed if not for the U.S.A. invasion.
Note:
I was among those who called the Senator”™s office to point out the discrepancy, suggesting she had been ahistorical and a tad dishonest. Her staff person was very cordial. Moreover, Amy”™s email response was, I think, personal (not robotic).
So, why?
According to Adel Abdul Mahdi, Prime Minister of Iraq, Soleimani had come to mediate the showdown between Riyadh and Tehran in Yemen. Indeed, it was a peace mission intent upon addressing a dire humanitarian crisis. Such was the nature of the “imminent threat” to our “national interests””¦ a threat to Trump”™s arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
So now, the Iraqi government has asked U.S. forces to leave. “We” refused to go. But then, apart from the moral outrage leveled by the world against our nation, perhaps “We, the People” will embrace a simple slogan: More War Won”™t Work.
