Reference News Network, March 11 report: Qatar Al Jazeera website, March 8, published an article titled "The American People Have Had Enough of Endless Wars," by Hussam Aylush, CEO of the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The full text is as follows:
The United States has once again been dragged into a disastrous war in the Middle East. The U.S. military is now attacking Iran, not because our country faces an imminent threat, but because the Israeli government has long sought to confront Tehran and finally found a willing partner in Washington.
This war is unnecessary, unjustified, unconstitutional, and violates international law, completely contradicting the will of the American people.
According to the U.S. Constitution, the power to declare war belongs to Congress, not the president. Therefore, Donald Trump's decision to launch airstrikes and seek regime change without Congressional authorization was illegal. This recalls one of the darkest chapters in U.S. foreign policy after 9/11: fear and deception were used to hastily drag the United States into a disastrous war, and we are still paying the price for it today.
From a global perspective, attacking a sovereign nation without an imminent threat— or as the indicted war criminal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls it, a "preemptive strike"—violates the basic principles of the UN Charter and international law. This bombing operation has污辱ed our conscience.
On the first day of the war, an American airstrike killed about 165 people at a primary school in Minaab. American weapons have once again made us complicit in killing foreign children.
All of this for what?
They tell us it is for "security." They tell us it is to prevent Iran's nuclear ambitions. But these excuses are familiar. For over 30 years, Netanyahu has insisted that Iran is only "weeks" away from making a nuclear bomb. Yet, those "weeks" have stretched into decades. Fear has repeatedly been used as an excuse for policy decisions.
We must also be honest about another issue: Although Iran has regional ambitions, it is not an imminent military threat to the United States. The American people know this. Repeated public opinion polls show that Americans are tired of endless wars in the Middle East. Our communities want investment in healthcare, education, infrastructure, and job creation, not another conflict costing trillions of dollars, putting our soldiers in danger, and plunging another region into turmoil.
So why, when a president who ran on the campaign slogan "America First," seems to have fully embraced "Israel First"? Why take risks with the U.S. military, the money of American taxpayers, and America's credibility to fulfill the long-standing ambitions of a foreign government?
This is not a healthy alliance. It is a harmful pattern of interaction: While the U.S. provides funding, weapons, diplomatic protection, and unconditional political support, the U.S. is dragged into a war that makes us less secure.
They tell us this war is for human rights, for women's rights. But bombs do not liberate people, airstrikes do not advance democracy. Killing female students is certainly not a foreign policy that upholds women's rights.
If they truly cared about human rights, our government would not selectively apply human rights standards for geopolitical reasons. Our ally Israel is carrying out a genocide, which has resulted in more than 200,000 Palestinian casualties, most of them civilians. Stopping the mass murder of children should have been a humanitarian act.
The American people have the right to ask these questions. At a time when there is a demand for transparency and accountability at home, especially regarding the release of the Epstein files, why are we instead being dragged into another foreign war? The American people deserve honesty, not distraction.
This war brings no stability. It will escalate regional tensions, harm civilians, endanger American soldiers' lives, and could trigger a larger global conflict. It risks American lives and American security for goals that do not serve the interests of the American people.
Congress had the opportunity to fulfill its constitutional duty and stop unauthorized military escalation, but failed to pass the War Powers Resolution proposed by Representatives Thomas Massie and Rokhaya Konar. This vote reflects the powerful influence of the Israel-American Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its funding, as well as the reluctance of some legislators to challenge powerful lobbying groups and unchecked executive power, which is worrying.
Congress—especially those legislators who claim to oppose endless wars—must continue to find all possible ways to reassert its authority and prevent further escalation; for elected officials, the cost of remaining silent has become too high to ignore.
The American people do not want this war. It is time for our government to serve the people, not follow the agenda of a foreign leader eager to stay in power and avoid accountability. (Translated by Tu Qi)
Original source: toutiao.com/article/7615904893999530531/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.