As a principled opponent of military adventurism since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, I was devastated this weekend when we heard that US service members will once again be coming home in body bags. Trump announced: “There will probably be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
No. It’s not like that. That shouldn’t be the case. With Trump now refusing to send ground troops to Iran, I believe we must do everything in our power to stop this horrific war of choice before more Americans are killed. That’s why I’m forcing a vote in the House of Representatives this week on a bipartisan resolution with my Republican colleague, Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, to end this illegal and unconstitutional conflict. These families are in my thoughts and prayers. But we also owe the families of our fallen soldiers and every military family with sons and daughters still at risk a debate and vote in Congress.
The framers of our Constitution knew that any president would have incentives to start unnecessary, costly, and destabilizing wars. As James Madison wrote, “War is, in fact, the true nurse of the glorification of power.” That is why they entrusted the authority over war and peace “completely and exclusively” to the people’s representatives in Congress – and not to the president.
Trump once seemed to understand this. In his victory speech on 2024 election night, Trump promised: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.” In 2016, he channeled Republican resentment over the Iraq war by saying the conflict “started ISIS, it started Libya, it started Syria,” and its architects “lied.” They said there were weapons of mass destruction, but there weren’t. And they knew there weren’t any.”
Ten years later, the administration is promoting a new set of lies, including the false claim that the US-Israeli airstrikes were actually preventive against looming threats from Iran, even though a peaceful diplomatic solution seemed within reach.
We owe the families of our fallen soldiers and every military family with sons and daughters still in harm’s way a debate and vote in Congress.
Let’s be clear: only 1 in 4 Americans support this war with Iran. This country doesn’t want to see more dead Americans. Americans do not want higher gas prices, which will rise at the pump due to this stupid conflict. They don’t want higher inflation. They don’t want us to waste tens of billions of dollars on this war while millions of Americans lose their health care. They don’t want to plunge the Middle East into more chaos and unpredictable violence while well-connected Pentagon contractors enrich themselves. Americans want Washington to focus on jobs, child care, infrastructure, schools and health care at home.
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But the president who warned in 2023 against those who would “squander all American strength, blood, and treasure by chasing monsters and phantoms abroad and distracting us from the destruction they wreak here at home” is plunging this country into reckless war without explanation.
This week’s vote could be one of the most consequential in our country’s history. Congress can critically halt this mindless march toward a deeper and more reckless war.
I believe that no individual should decide whether to risk the lives of America’s sons and daughters in a war of choice. Every member of Congress, representing 340 million Americans, must participate in this solemn debate. And each of us must be held responsible for the consequences.
This is not a party political issue. I was briefed by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, who argued that “every warship launched, every missile fired, in the ultimate sense represents a theft from those who are hungry and unfed, those who are cold and unclothed.” I am forcing this vote this week on behalf of millions of mothers and fathers. If enough like-minded Democrats and Republicans unite against the permanent war party and the military-industrial complex, the House of Representatives can pass this resolution and send a strong and unmistakable directive to the executive branch: remove American troops from this ill-conceived and unconstitutional war.
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The longer this war continues, the more dangerous it becomes. Iran is a complex society with a population of 90 million – more than three times the size of Iraq in terms of area and more than three times the population when we invaded Iraq in 2003. U.S. military advisers warned that with limited supplies of air defense systems, U.S. and Israeli forces will be forced to absorb incoming fire from Iran’s missile arsenal in the coming days and weeks. Our 40,000 U.S. troops in the region remain at risk from Iran’s retaliatory attacks.
Instead, we must build a global coalition that is rock-solid in our shared commitment that Iran should never have a nuclear bomb. A smart approach would include targeted sanctions and other tools to prevent the Iranian government from acquiring nuclear weapons. We can and must address the regime’s heinous crimes, human rights abuses, and the regime’s massacre of courageous Iranian protesters. But bombs won’t end Iran’s nuclear program, which Trump supposedly “obliterated” eight months ago. Nor will bombs bring regional stability or justice for the protesters. America should be, in the words of John Quincy Adams, “the benefactor of the liberty and independence of all,” but should not go abroad “in search of monsters to destroy.”
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This week’s vote could be one of the most consequential in our country’s history. Congress can critically halt this mindless march toward a deeper and more reckless war. I will urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes on Concurrent House Resolution 38. And I respectfully ask Americans across the political spectrum to engage with their legislators to support this measure.
After decades of wars launched by presidents of both parties, it is time for Congress to build a new bipartisan majority: Congress must reclaim these wartime authorities from an out-of-control executive branch and use this moment of crisis to unite our country around a shared priority: no war with Iran.
CLICK HERE TO FROM REP RO KHANNA
