By Elijah Manley
Going to war with Iran is unnecessary and immoral. When we went to war in Iraq back in 2003, we did not accomplish very much. Did we? I don’t recall any accomplishments. It was said that Iraq was a threat to the United States. It was said that Iraq had connections to Al-Qaeda. That theory was toppled by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (aka 9/11 commission- “Staff Statement No. 15: Overview of the Enemy” June 16, 2004). The commission responded that ‘There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and Aal Qaeda also occurred after Bin Ladin had returned to Afghanistan, but they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship.’ So what was the United States interest to go to war with Iraq? President Bush said that there were Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in Iraq. None were ever found. Quite ironic, eh? A century of foreign policy failure. The Iraq war did not make the United States safer, or any better. In fact, millions of Afghans suffered because of our attacks and are against us now. So what do you say? Go to war with Iran?
The world opinion, which is already heavily anti-American, would only get worse, with Iran garnering sympathy. This is very evident in our past actions and wars. It only made our relationship with other countries even more untrustworthy and worse. In fact, if we would have never started messing with Iran in 1979, they wouldn’t be singing death chants on America. We create our own enemies.
The only reason why the United States is very hostile to Iran (a civilized and advanced culture and nation) is for oil.
That’s the same reason why we’ve attacked the countries before. With a largely fundamental Muslim population, an Iran guerilla war could be ten times worse than what it is in Iraq. Why waste another $1.7 trillion dollars on a war that isn’t making things any better? The U.S. military is already strained and occupied in Iraq & Afghanistan. What are we trying to do? Take over the whole damn region? This is imperialism at its finest. Occupy three countries and when they fight back, they’re terrorists?
Rogue regimes like North Korea are more likely to stir up trouble with the U.S. military tied up in Iran and Iraq. There is no reason to start a war with a country that will in return have three other countries declare war on us. The cost to the U.S. taxpayer would likely be in the hundreds of billions, money which could be spent on education, homeland security, etc. Iran has close connections to terrorist groups around the world and is likely to unleash these groups in the event of an invasion. The point here is there are no pros to war with Iran. All of the candidates that are currently yapping their mouths, voted for the Iraq war, or supported it. Hillary Clinton, who reportedly said that she would ‘bomb’ Iran if President; Jeb Bush, whose brother created ISIS, and so on. There are other things we could be doing than wasting our time with wars. Under a Manley administration, we would be building ties and alliance with Iran. We would be building partnerships in the Middle East, rebuilding their infrastructure and ensuring they have educational opportunities. I just have to laugh at all the hypocrite candidates like Secretary Hillary Clinton who flip flops on major issues like this. On the other hand, the Republican Presidential Debates (both) were a laughing clown jar. Their priorities were war with Iran, no educational opportunities, hate on Muslims, ‘all talk, no action’, war, war, and war. They had no knowledge of foreign policy, and just didn’t care. This is essential for Americans like me and you to know. There are alternatives to those candidates out there, and we have to embrace them.
I may be wrong about things here, but I tell you heavily, I’m never wrong about war. We do not have to dream up wars for my peers (young people) to die in. No war with Iran. It is costly, evil, imperialistic, and disgusting. We are a better country than Trump politics. Help me rejuvenate our generation, by contacting your congressman or senator and setting them straight on this issue of imperialism and US hostility.