As the U.S. threatens war with Iran and regime change in Cuba, a group of veterans is urging President Trump to pursue diplomacy and reject a return to “forever wars.”
“We urge you to reject calls for regime change wars and instead prioritize sustained, serious diplomacy,” the veterans wrote in an open letter published Thursday. “Pursuing peace through strength requires wisdom, not perpetual conflict.”
The letter, signed by 90 veterans as well as organizations that represent more than half a million former service members and their families, comes as the Trump administration surges American forces to the Middle East in preparation for potential attacks on Iran. Trump has left the door open to a deal with Tehran, but Iranian leaders appear unlikely to accept U.S. demands, which include a permanent end to civilian nuclear enrichment in the country.
Advocates of regime change in Iran argue that the government is brittle and that a campaign of airstrikes could quickly bring about its collapse. But the letter warns that such a conflict would “not be quick or surgical; it would likely become a costly, open-ended quagmire, and inflame the region.”
“Launching another war would put American service members in harm’s way, strain our Armed Forces rather than strengthen them, and ignore the will of the American people, who consistently oppose wars of choice in polling,” the veterans wrote. (Recent polls show that 49% of Americans, including a majority of Democrats and independents, oppose attacks on Iran.)
The letter’s signatories include organizations like Common Defense, New Hampshire Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the Quincy Institute Veterans in Foreign Policy Initiative. The 90 individual veterans who signed the letter served in all branches of the U.S. military and retired at a wide range of ranks, from Private First Class Mike Caggiano to Major General Dennis Laich.
The veterans hope the letter will inspire reflection among those who support war with Iran, many of whom never served in the military themselves. One signatory said his service in the Marine Corps helped demonstrate the “human costs of war.”
“It wasn't like the movies,” said Adam Weinstein of the Quincy Institute. “I know that sounds cliche, but it just brought home the real human cost.”
Hawks who seek war in Iran and Cuba think about conflict in “a very logistical way,” Weinstein argued. “The human sacrifice is abstract to them.”
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