PeaceVoice
Eight
common-sense reason for not going to war with Iran
Patrick Hiller
(1/9) In the wake of the
assassination of Iranian military leader Major General
Qasem Soleimani and nine other people by a U.S. drone
strike in Iraq, tensions between the United States and
Iran are at their height. The immediate threat of war is
real. Real-time news and expert commentary across the
nationwide spectrum of media outlets probably have the
heads of American citizens spinning. When things are
moving so fast, perhaps it is best to move away from the
ever-changing and confusing real-time commentary about
what should happen and what will happen. Let’s look for
the obvious reasons for not going to war with Iran. Here
are eight:
First, Iranians are not our
enemies. We must start looking at Iran as a country with
80 million people who are not our enemies, instead of an
entity reduced to "bad guys" who need to be "eliminated."
If war starts, civilians will bear the brunt of it and we
must do everything in our power and in our respective
spheres of influence to prevent that from happening.
Second, war is destructive. War
means introducing weapons, conducting air strikes, and
sending combat troops. It is the use of deadly force on a
massive scale. Wars are by nature destructive. There is
violence, death, and suffering. In other words, we are
talking about a complete oxymoron when declaring the
intention to defend life and make us more secure, while
actively taking lives.
Third, the human costs of war are
too high. Approximately 800,000 people have been counted
as direct war deaths in major war zones in the post 9/11
wars. That’s almost the population of Indianapolis,
Charlotte, or San Francisco. According the Brown
University’s Costs of War Project, "war deaths from
malnutrition, and a damaged health system and environment
likely far outnumber deaths from combat". In addition, 21
million people are war refugees and displaced persons.
That’s the population of Florida.
Fourth, the economic costs are too
high. Through fiscal year 2019, the US has spent or
obligated almost six trillion dollars on the wars in
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. The National Priorities
Projects estimates that taxpayers in the United States are
paying $32 million every hour for the total costs of war.
These tax dollars could be used to pay elementary school
teachers, create clean energy jobs, jobs supporting high
poverty community, providing better VA medical car,
providing low-income healthcare, and many other domestic
trade-offs.
Fifth, the assassination and
further acts or war against Iran are illegal. As Yale Law
Professor Oona Hathaway argues, the attack on Soleimani
was missing both domestic and international legal
authorization. At home, Congress is the only branch of
government authorized to declare war. The representatives
of the American people were completely cut out and denied
their authority by the Trump administration. Moreover, the
United Nations Security Council would have had to approve
the use of force. The Trump administration initiated and
act of war without any approval.
Sixth, war makes us less secure.
Or how would you explain Senate Majority leader Mitch
McConnell’s prayers with "all American diplomats,
personnel, and brave servicemembers serving in Iraq and
the Middle East".
He certainly doesn’t display any
confidence about their security. Or how would you explain
the State Department’s urgent request for all Americans to
immediately leave Iraq after the US drone attack? Retired
Army Colonel and US diplomat Ann Wright lists 36 bases
with US military forces in 14 countries that are neighbors
with Iran as targets for retaliation. One thing is
certain, the Iranian government will consider a calculated
response proportionate to the killing of Soleimani. When
it happens, and how it will happen is unclear, but it will
be opposite to the positive developments toward common
security that came with the so-called Iran Nuclear Deal.
Seventh, wars are often based on
lies and provocation. The US has a history of both. The
Gulf of Tonkin incident was used to falsely justify war
against Vietnam. Iraq was invaded in 2003 under the false
pretext of Saddam Hussein developing weapons of mass
destruction. The Washington Post is tracking the
President’s claims and has found more than 15,000 false or
misleading claims since assuming office. Now we should
believe and trust in President Trump and his claim that
this assassination took place to prevent war? Even without
considering the domestic pressure of an impeached
President, it would be foolish believe someone who lies
about everything as long as it is politically expedient.
Eight, going to war with Iran is
immoral. The assassination of Soleimani and nine others
was murder. War with Iran would be nothing other than
murder on a large scale. Much of the debate right now
revolves around General Soleimani being a "bad guy." We
don’t have to disagree with that assessment while still
advocating for diplomacy and peaceful approaches and
certainly rejecting his targeted assassination. If war
starts, civilians more than combatants will die and
suffer. Large-scale killing, wounding, impoverishing,
making homeless, orphaning, and traumatizing of people is
immoral.
This brings me back to point one:
Iranians are not our enemies.
Patrick. T. Hiller, Ph.D.,
is a Conflict Transformation scholar, professor, served on
the Governing Council of the International Peace Research
Association.
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