The only things we know about Trump’s “Epic Fury” in Iran is that it will get very messy — and Americans will die

I confess that I am happy and satisfied that the evil religious figure that ruled Iran for four decades is dead, and that many of his closest supporters are dead with him.

But the WAY this has occurred is deeply troubling. Attacking someone … making absolute war upon them while in the midst of negotiations is extremely bad form. It is one of the reasons that our European allies have quickly become a “coalition of the wary,” as opposed to the “coalition of the willing” that George W. Bush cobbled together for the Iraq invasion two decades ago. They have found it necessary to clearly say they were not part of this … they were not involved.

I spent 13 months in Vietnam with the U.S. Army in a war that highly conflicted the American psyche, but at least it was done with the inclusion of our elected representatives. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, while highly controversial and deeply flawed, was at least voted on by our Congress.

This time, once again, Donald J. Trump has completely bypassed, has ignored the Congress, whose constitutional mandate is to be the body that chooses to get us into war. It is the People’s House that decides whether or not to place American soldiers in harm’s way.

Not so here. The Bush administration made up stories about “weapons of mass destruction” (all false) in order to get its votes. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was also manipulated and manufactured to get us into Vietnam.

And now, without even bothering to include Congress, the current administration is telling the same kind of stories. They began with regime change and quickly morphed into the old song about nuclear development and long-range ballistic missiles. Trump has said those he planned to deal with are all dead, too, a clear indication he had no plans to actually liberate the Iranian people.  

Think about Venezuela. Trump came. Now their oil no longer belongs to them. But what else? Have those people been liberated? They’re living under the same regime that existed before.

We’ve decapitated another head of state (something that needed doing), but will the people benefit?

“When we are finished, take over your government,” Trump said. “It will be yours to take.”

A month earlier he had told protesters in Iran that “help is on its way,” and they took heart. Thousands more died.

Remember this as this situation unfolds … Iran is NOT Venezuela. The brutal regime that massacred so many of its people remains in place and it has become clear that Trump and his minions have no end-game plans.

It’s going to get very messy and more Americans will die.

For what?

Van Carter of Sioux Falls is a retired broadcast journalist and environmentalist who published a green website for 15 years.

Photo: President Trump oversees Operation Epic Fury, public domain, wikimedia commons

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