I fear this could be Iraq all over again

Dear Editor,

When U.S. troops entered Iraq and captured Saddam Hussein, it was an act of war. It was a war that dragged on for years, long after President Bush posed with a big thumbs up in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner. It cost U.S. taxpayers trillions of dollars. It required the service of well over one million U.S. soldiers, took the lives of thousands of those soldiers, and afflicted tens of thousands of those soldiers with debilitating physical and psychological injuries. It killed well over 100,000 Iraqis. It led to the rise of ISIS, who terrorized the region with genocidal violence, killing hundreds of thousands more and creating 15 million refugees and internally displaced people. To this day, there are still displaced people living in tent camps in Iraq.

When U.S. troops entered Venezuela and captured Nicolas Maduro, it was an act of war, and an illegal one any way you look at it. It was not authorized by Congress. It was broadly condemned at the United Nations, including by U.S. allies, as a violation of international law. Congress must act to put a stop to this.

The horrors of Iraq could happen again with Venezuela, and this time it would be much closer to home.

What's more, the Trump administration is threatening invasions of more countries. Whether or not they voted for Trump, the American people certainly did not vote in support of the U.S. launching World War III. Across the political spectrum, Americans oppose U.S. "forever wars". 

Back in 2024, Trump made a promise to oil executives that if they gave his campaign a billion dollars he would make it worth their while. He's certainly making good on his promises to oil tycoons by trying to take control of Venezuela's oil and handing it over to them. He's certainly distracting Congress and the country from efforts that are underway to hold rich and powerful men accountable for sex trafficking and abusing young women and girls. He's likely trying to establish a "wartime" rationale for imposing ever harsher deportation tactics here at home.

How does any of this make our lives better?

Jennifer Williamson

Dodgeville, WI