Letters: Regarding the US bombing of Iran, war does not lead to peace

Chicago Tribune

25-06-2025

As a young boy, I remember hearing of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor over the radio on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, 1941. 'A date that will live in infamy,' President Franklin Delano Roosevelt later told the nation. Now, over 80 years later, June 21, 2025, I have a similar and surely more mature feeling of shock and dismay.
Without being attacked, without a declaration of war, our president has chosen to enter this unending conflict in the Middle East. And he has declared that 'now is the time for peace.' Japanese Emperor Hirohito was not delusional enough to say such a thing after the surprise attack on the U.S. fleet.
War does not lead to peace. It certainly did not in Vietnam or in Iraq. 'For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.' How many of our children and grandchildren will discover this as the Middle East conflict continues with our involvement and complicity?
May God forgive us and have mercy on our souls. And on the soul of America.When President Bill Clinton authorized NATO to bomb Serbia for several months in 1999, a necessary move to stop Belgrade from the killings in Kosovo, he did not do it with authority from Congress. In 2011, when President Barack Obama ordered the execution of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, he didn't go through Congress. What he did was rely on a 2001 law passed by Congress called the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to act against terrorism.
Now, as to the bold bombings in Iran, it could be argued the AUMF doesn't apply, because Iran hasn't terrorized the United States, but that isn't true. We lost service members in 1983 in Beirut, thanks to Iran's proxy Hezbollah, and not that long ago in Iraq, too, by direct Iranian action.
The repercussions are anyone's guess, and that was true in 2011 when some feared what bin Laden's assassination would provoke.
Yet regardless of the opposition to U.S. intervention in Iran from the isolationists and progressives — who wouldn't dare claim Iran's nuclear program is peaceful — was President Donald Trump overstepping his legal boundaries? Probably not.It's difficult for me to understand why some members of Congress think that President Donald Trump needed congressional approval to bomb Iran's nuclear-enriching plant sites. Some have even gone so far as to suggest his action might be considered an impeachable act. This is ridiculous!
The president has the power to take whatever action he or she deems necessary to protect American interests. Moreover, it's my understanding that key members of Congress were briefed ahead of the actions. No doubt Congress has a right to challenge the president to explain his reasoning, and if further action is required, he must seek congressional approval.
So, let's stop wasting time trying to claim that Trump exceeded his authority and concentrate on the more important question: Where do we go from here?So we commit an act of war without congressional approval by bombing Iran. Now the world clearly sees that we are no better than Vladimir Putin and Russia. And by the way, when will this Congress grow a backbone?Is President Donald Trump so stupid that he didn't realize by attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, he is bringing the U.S. closer to a nuclear war?
Our enemies in the Far East are just waiting for a reason to attack the U.S. North Korea could see this attack on Iran as an golden opportunity to attack the U.S. by allying with Iran.
Am I the only one who thinks that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal is to dominate the Middle East? He has destroyed Gaza and killed thousands of Muslims. He is now focusing his attention on Iran.As tensions between Israel and Iran reach dangerous new levels, the United States must confront the consequences of its growing military involvement. The U.S. participating in strikes on Iranian nuclear sites — on behalf of Israel — and claiming 'obliteration' of Iran's nuclear program without providing evidence are deeply troubling.
Such actions don't promote peace; they incentivize nuclear proliferation. Iran, once a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, now has every reason to believe that nuclear weapons are the only way to deter attacks. That logic mirrors what we've seen in North Korea, a country far more volatile and dangerous — yet untouched militarily — precisely because it already has nuclear weapons.
Our current approach sends a disturbing message to the world: If you don't want to be bombed, develop a nuclear arsenal. This is not security policy — it's an arms race blueprint.
And with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubling down on military solutions, we must ask: What country will Israel target next? Lebanon? Syria? Turkey? Iraq? At what point will any American administration say: Enough is enough?
Unquestioned U.S. support for Israel's most aggressive actions is not sustainable. It risks dragging us into wider regional conflict, undermines global nonproliferation goals and destabilizes diplomatic progress for generations to come.
We are not just enabling war — we are normalizing it. The American public deserves better than vague justifications and open-ended entanglements.
It's time to demand clarity, accountability and, above all, restraint.Regarding the editorial 'US bombs fall in Iran' (June 22): The Tribune Editorial Board would have 'preferred' congressional involvement in the act-of-war bombing of Iranian nuclear sites? The board does recall that the Constitution requires an act of Congress to declare war? The board does understand that we are now at war with Iran without such an act of Congress, regardless of President Donald Trump's desire for 'peace' (unconditional surrender)?
Trump intends to supersede any constitutional limit on his powers, and this act is only the latest of his efforts to do so. Something stronger than the board's preference is needed.Who wrote the editorial on President Donald Trump's bombing attack of Iran?
'We would have preferred the President had given more time to diplomacy. … We prefer that the President of the United States keep his word. And we would have preferred the involvement of Congress.'
'Prefer'? What a juvenile, anemic word to describe this rogue president's action!
And when the board describes Israel wanting regime change, given Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's repression of women, his stealing of elections, his meeting of dissent with violence and his denouncement of opposing voices, does the board not see parallels to what is happening here in America?
So bomb and say this is the time for peace? Why don't all the rich potentates, sheiks, oligarchs and MAGA dictators meet and fix it? Leave the innocents, the children, the ones who just want to live a simple life, out of the bombing and destruction.
This president creates more hate every day.