|
Dear Fellow Vermonter,
On Saturday, February 28, at 2:30 in the morning, President Trump posted a video to social media announcing that the United States and Israel's right-wing extremist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had launched a major military attack against Iran.
And just like that, we are now in an illegal, premeditated and unconstitutional war.
Here is what we know almost a week in. Six American soldiers are dead. Eighteen more are seriously wounded. Over one thousand people have been confirmed killed in Iran — and independent human rights organizations believe the number of deaths is much higher. On Saturday morning, missiles struck a girls' elementary school in southern Iran. At least 175 — mostly children — were killed.
The war has now spread across the entire Middle East. U.S. embassies have been attacked and closed. The State Department has told an estimated one million Americans in 14 countries to leave immediately. Israel has launched a ground invasion of Lebanon, displacing 30,000 people in 48 hours. And Israel closed every border crossing into Gaza — cutting off food and medicine to two million people who were already living in desperation. While one crossing has since partially reopened, the flow of aid remains a fraction of what is needed.
This attack against Iran is a clear violation of international law and will create increased instability in an already dangerous world. If the United States and Israel can launch an attack against a sovereign nation, no matter how awful that regime may be, so can any other nation. Might does not make right. It creates international anarchy, death, destruction and human misery.
President Trump has said to expect more American casualties. He said: "There will likely be more before it ends. That's the way it is." That is not a strategy. That is not a plan. That is a president who illegally launched a war without knowing how it ends. Right now, there are Vermonters in uniform in the Middle East, and their lives are at risk. There are more children in Tehran who will die.
History is clear about what follows these wars. Iraq. Libya. Afghanistan. Chaos, instability and suffering — for the people we claimed to be liberating and for the Americans sent to fight and die. The United States has already spent more than $8 trillion on post-9/11 forever wars. And now we have started another one — while this administration cuts health care, food assistance, housing, education and Social Security for working families across Vermont and this country.
The people of our country, no matter what their political persuasion, do not want endless war. At a time when 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, Americans want decent-paying jobs, and health care and housing that they can afford. They want their kids to have an excellent education and be prepared for a rapidly changing world.
We must not allow Trump to force us into another senseless and endless war. That is why I voted this week to pass the War Powers Resolution. That is why I will do everything I can to stop it.
Sincerely,
 |