OPINION:
Donald Trump promised us prosperity and security, but now has us on the brink of war with Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson claims that the United States is ready to use its military to punish any massacre of civilians anywhere in the world. The U.S. military recently killed more than 200 civilians in a bombing raid on Iraq March 17, which is approximately twice the number of people killed by the April 4 Syrian airstrike. President Trump suspects the attack in Syria was chemical, but it may have been a toxic gas cloud created by the destruction of a chemical-weapons manufacturing facility controlled by rebel forces. There is no hard proof that Syrian leader Bashar Assad is responsible for using chemical weapons.
The United States bombed civilians en masse during World War II using both conventional and nuclear weapons. We napalmed villages in Vietnam, and North Korea has claimed that we used germ warfare agents against them during the Korean War. That charge is not proven, but the United States certainly did use chemical weapons during World War I.
The United States is historically a war-loving country, and the Democratic Party is just as hypocritical and insane as the Republican Party in this regard. Many Americans voted for President Trump because they thought he would bring us better relations with Russia and an ’America-first’ foreign policy. By his own actions, Mr. Trump now declares we are still the policeman of the world, and our economy, our children’s future and our very lives are insignificant. The only thing that seems to matter is for politicians and generals to prove their bravery by getting us into one counterproductive war after another.
CHRISTOPHER CALDER
Eugene, Ore.
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