I have spent the last two days reading commentary and trying to figure out how to respond to Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran. Although Secretary of State Rubio and Vice-President Vance claim the bombing of Iran was a permissible limited military action, when he announced on X that he would speak to the nation about the “military operation in Iran,” Trump was clear that the United States had joined Israel in a war on Iran.
Whatever your position on Israel’s actions in bombing Iranian nuclear facilities and assassinating Iranian scientists, military leaders, and government officials, United States participation was an illegal air attack on Iran that violated the 1971 War Powers Act which limits the ability of an American President to send American armed forces into combat without the explicit authorization of Congress or in the event there is a military attack on the United States, its territories or armed forces. Iran did not attack the United States and there was no national emergency, Trump himself said he was giving Iran two weeks to respond to his demands, so there was no reason Congress could not have been asked for authorization.
I am worried about what will come next for two reasons. Iran is a country of 90 million people, and it has over 600,000 active-duty personnel in its military and an additional 350,000 trained reserves. It also has a history that dates back thousands of years as the Persian empire. Trump’s actions could lead to a much broader Middle Eastern war. In the June 27, 2024 Presidential debate, Trump argued Biden’s “policies are so bad. His military policies are insane. They’re insane. These are wars that will never end with him. He will drive us into World War Three and we’re closer to World War Three than anybody can imagine. We are very, very close to World War Three, and he’s driving us there.” In now looks like Trump may drive the United States into World War III.
Representative Thomas Massie (Rep-KY), generally a Trump supporter, agreed with AOC and Sanders that “This is not Constitutional.” He accused Trump of striking “Iran without any authorization of Congress. We need to immediately return to DC and vote on my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war.”
Congressional Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (Dem-NY) denounced “The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization” as a “grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers. He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (Ind-VT) told a crowd at an Fighting Oligarchy rally “Not only is this news that I’ve just heard alarming . . . but it is so grossly unconstitutional. All of you know, that the only entity that can take this country to war is the U.S. Congress. The president does not have the right.”
I am also worried that if Iran responds to the U.S. bombing with an attack on the United States or American bases overseas which I anticipate, it will make the domestic situation worse.
Trump and his allies could use it as an excuse to expand their campaign to overturn constitutional government in the United States and eliminate freedom of speech and assembly.
Trump has already assumed virtual dictatorial control over law enforcement with the Justice Department, Homeland Security, the National Guard, and even local police forces expected to pledge loyalty to his whims and not their Constitutional responsibilities. If a real national emergency existed or one that he could press a subservient Congress to endorse, Trump might use the military to suppress domestic dissent as treasonous actions during wartime. Trump could claim that anti-terrorism laws permit him to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens just as his administration violates the legal rights of suspected undocumented immigrants who are seized in the streets, courthouses, and churches by unidentified and masked agents, imprisoned, and then summarily deported without due process.
