CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Is it Un-Patriotic to Want Your Country to Lose a War?

Kate Smith singing “God Bless America,” The Ed Sullivan Show, Oct 6, 1963. (Screenshot: The Author)

The emerging liberal consensus

You may have heard politicians in the U.S. and Europe, as well as liberal commentators state some version of the following:

I’m opposed to Trump’s war on Iran. He should have sought Congressional authorization. But I’m glad the tyrant Ali Khamenei [Iran’s 86 y.o. supreme leader] is dead and hope Iran’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon is ended. Naturally, my thoughts and prayers are with the brave U.S. soldiers sent to the Middle East and I wish them Godspeed.

I’m opposed to Trump’s war on Iran. He should have sought Congressional authorization. But I’m glad the tyrant Ali Khamenei [Iran’s 86 y.o. supreme leader] is dead and hope Iran’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon is ended. Naturally, my thoughts and prayers are with the brave U.S. soldiers sent to the Middle East and I wish them Godspeed.

Here’s another expression of the emerging consensus:

Under what authority is Trump conducting this war? I’m worried about mission-creep. He needs to immediately come before Congress and provide a rationale for his bombing campaign and a plan for its successful completion.

Under what authority is Trump conducting this war? I’m worried about mission-creep. He needs to immediately come before Congress and provide a rationale for his bombing campaign and a plan for its successful completion.

The sentiments above are hypocritical if not non-sensical. If a war is illegally waged, there’s no point demanding a rationale or hoping for a successful outcome. That’s like condemning a burglar but hoping he makes a big score!

There are many reasons to oppose the president’s actions. Here’s ten:

1) Iran is an independent state and U.N. member that has never waged war against the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. attack was an “act of aggression,” according to the Charter of the United Nations. The Charter was approved by the U.S. Senate (89-3) in 1945 making its provisions binding under U.S. law (Constitution, Article VI, Clause 2). 2) The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war. The U.S. War Powers Act (1973) further requires that absent such a declaration, the President must: a) consult with Congress before sending armed forces into combat; b) submit to House and Senate leaders within 48 hours a rationale for the deployment; c) halt military intervention after 60 days unless there is formal approval by Congress to continue. There has been no Congressional declaration of war against Iran, minimal consultation with Congress, and no coherent rationale submitted.  What justifications have been given are contradictory. Last week, Defense Secretary Pate Hegseth said he wouldn’t speculate about what “we will or will not do” in the war, adding however: “This is not a so-called ‘regime change war’, but the regime sure did change.”  This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Rubio said the war was launched in support of Israel; then, contradicted by his boss, said it was because of Iran’s weapons stockpile. Trump in the meantime said it was because Iran was a “global threat.” 3) Assassinating foreign military or civilian leaders, however noxious they may be, is a violation of U.S. Executive Order 12333 signed by Ronald Reagan in 1981. “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in or conspire to engage in assassination.” Though Trump could overturn the Executive Order, he has not, so it remains binding on the Executive branch. Assassination of a foreign leader is also a violation of international law. 4) Thousands of people of people in Iran and nearby countries – most of them civilians – have already been killed by U.S. and Israeli bombings. (The U.S. bombed a school, killing over 175 children and teachers.) If the bombardment of Iran lasts for months, or is followed by civil unrest, thousands (potentially millions) of people in the region may be displaced from their homes and become refugees. 5) The expenditure of U.S. lives and treasure in an illegal war is senseless. Money and labor are better spent protecting American health and safety and conserving the environment. The president and Congress are already planning a supplemental appropriation to pay for the war, despite a projected 2026 structural deficit of nearly $2 trillion, about 6% of GDP. 6) War in the Middle East is exacerbating tensions with China, India and Russia making a wider war (even nuclear war) more likely. 7) The attack against Iran was launched beneath the cloak of peace negotiations. The U.S. and Israel decided the date they would attack before the negotiations with Iran even began. During the subsequent faux talks, Iran agreed to limitations on its nuclear program more stringent than those worked out in the effective pact........

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