Trump and his administration had absolutely no proof that Soleimani or Iran were targeting embassies or planning any attack whatsoever. Their illegal strike that endangered us and the rest of the world was based solely on "belief."
Of course, this is how Trump and his cronies operate. They believe Democrats are evil and corrupt and so they believe there's a conspiracy, even as there's no proof. It's a consistent line that moves through modern Republicanism and it's incredibly dangerous.
The groundwork for this goes back to Richard Nixon's presidency, where he *believed* there was a conspiracy against him perpetrated by his enemies, so it meant he then HAD to break the law in order to protect himself. His crimes were all the result of paranoia and projection.
The more recent example, of course, is George W. Bush, whose administration pioneered the idea of belief-based first strike doctrine. In Bush's case, he created a system where a president could *believe* there was an imminent threat, sans any proof, and then could wage war.
The Republican Party has been living in an alternate reality for decades now, and what we're seeing is a terminal descent into *belief* and subsequent madness. If Trump and Republicans can do anything they want without any repercussions and all it takes is *belief*...well...
Allowing Trump and Republicans to do anything based on *belief* we're going to see even more laws and institutions destroyed as they act based on their own interests, their paranoia, and their projection. That *belief* based ideology is the very foundation of authoritarianism.
Authoritarians believe they're vessels for the will of god and the universe. Their own insecurities and their own machinations lead to projection and paranoia. They HAVE to crush freedom and liberty because it's a threat.
We can't let Trump continue to take us down this road.
We can't let Trump continue to take us down this road.
