1. Here's the thing that's really bothering me this morning. The whole idea of a democratic republic like the United States was supposed to be government by and for the people. That means that when it comes to starting a war, you're supposed to sell it to the people, and Congress
2. Let's be honest: 99 percent of Americans never heard of Gen. Suleimani before 9 p.m. last night. Within minutes, the same people who brought us the endless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere suddenly showed up on TV to declare he was the worst person in the world
3. I can't tell you how many times I've read in the last 10 hours that "Suleimani is behind the deaths of hundreds of Americans." Not once has anyone, at least on TV, said any specifics of who or how, let alone explain how either the U.S. and the world is safer with him gone.
4. Instead, the exact same people who said "Trust us!" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or that there was an actual plan for Afghanistan are now saying "Trust us! -- we had to kill this guy, and good things will result." Really?
5. I'm not being naive. Unlike many others on here, I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on Gen. Suleimani, but I do know he fomented terrorism, which is never right or moral, in the Middle East. We can all stipulate he was a horrible human, but....
6. ...where is the speech to the American people that lays out to the everyday citizen 1) who was Suleimani 2) what are his crimes against the U.S. 3) how does killing him make us safer 4) what is our plan for the messy aftermath?
7. What's more, where was the trip to Capitol Hill to brief our elected representatives on the plan and even begin the process of getting congressional sign-off? Instead, Congress was deliberately kept in the dark.
8. That's not democracy. It's not what the United States of America was supposed to be. It's imperialistic and authoritarian -- an autocratic ruler quite possibly starting a regional war without the informed consent of the people
9. I grew up during Vietnam. I've spent my entire life -- nearly 61 years -- hoping and occasionally writing, in vain, that my country would learn from its mistakes, understand that any U.S. power in the world should come from our ideas, not from the barrel of a tank
10. This morning, I am furious that this is happening yet again -- that we have learned absolutely nothing. I will do everything in my power as a citizen to prevent yet another pointless war. I pray the majority of good American citizens will do the same - 30 -
