Tulsi’s peace campaign
by Tulsi Gabbard
In the last few months, the thing I have found the most personally alarming, as a citizen and as a soldier, is the virtual evaporation of any movement or motion for peace in the United States.
We have seen our new president dangerously escalate conflicts in North Korea and Syria with little or no regard for the consequences on the ground and for the inevitable blowback such actions have to our country. Even as he employs bigger and flashier weapons in an attempt to impress and intimidate, there is a disturbing lack of opposition to these reckless acts.
Make no mistake, these interventions weaken us strategically and increase human misery, even when they are embarked on with humanitarian intent.
There is no denying that the regime change wars in Iraq and Libya that were propagated as necessary to relieve human suffering have in fact increased human suffering in those countries — many times over.
As a direct result of our intervention in Iraq, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, human suffering there has increased dramatically. Terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda took advantage of the Maliki Shia-led government that persecuted and oppressed the Sunni people. ISIS therefore gained a stronghold in Iraq, kidnapping, terrorizing, and killing thousands and thousands of innocent people.
In Libya, when the United States led the bombing campaign to overthrow Gaddafi, which began with a no-fly zone, the result was incredible loss of life, total chaos, with Libya resulting in a failed state, and a haven now for ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
There is no reason to believe that escalating the regime change war in Syria or initiating military actions on the Korean peninsula will be any less disastrous.
We can’t help anyone anywhere, try as we might, if we don’t have strict principles about when, where and why we intervene. We must have realistic appraisals and criteria of what conflict means in the regions where we initiate it and here at home.
But we can’t start this conversation in a vacuum. With both parties on Capitol Hill intent on fanning the flames of war, will you join me in starting a nationwide conversation about the true costs of war?
Join me in starting the conversation that no elected official seems to want to have.
Join me in talking about peace.
Aloha,
Tulsi
[Editor’s note: Antiwar Democrats well know that the hawks in our party and war industry donors will target anyone in public office who objects to military adventure for defeat in a primary or general election race. To avoid that, you may want to donate to US Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s peace campaign by clicking here.]
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