5 - Stop Mad King Donald's Iran war

0:00Stop Mad King Donald's Iran War excerpt of an open letter to members of the U.S. Congress by Jeffrey D. Sachs, 23 September In truly deranged remarks to world leaders at the UN, Donald Trump declared that, quote, I have a big decision to make, whether to negotiate a deal with Iran or instead to quote, annihilate the Islamic Republic and drive Iran, quote, into hell with no chance of survival. He posed it as his personal choice, the fact that the American people are dead set against Trump's war means nothing. And as for the voters, he added that he gives absolutely no credence to the coming midterm elections in deciding on his actions and on Iran's fate. Nothing binds this president. He is not bound by law, the Constitution, the UN Charter, or public opinion at home and abroad. When asked at the start of the year whether he has any limits on his power, he said, yeah, there is one thing, my own morality, my own mind, it's the only thing that can stop me.

1:03Trump opened his speech with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence hailing America's freedom. The fact is that Trump's authoritarianism far out does that of King George III against whom the colonies rebelled. Among the founders indictments of Mad King George was that he has affected to render the military, independent of and superior to the civil power, yet our own Mad King has decided that the survival of a whole civilization is in his hands alone. Trump is emboldened in his contempt for Congress because the Republican members of Congress have abdicated their constitutional responsibilities, terrified of their own president, and forsaking their constituents for campaign Luca from APAC and the military industrial complex. The Constitution is unambiguous regarding Congress's responsibility, article one section eight assigns Congress, not the president, the sole power to declare war. That is not a choice or an option. The Constitution doesn't say that Congress

2:05can play dead and let the president declare war. The framers made this choice deliberately because they were explicitly rejecting the power of a king to take the nation to war. In Federalist 69, Hamilton assured the public that the president's war powers would be far less than the British monarchs. Madison stated the principle plainly in a letter to Jefferson in 1798, quote, the Constitution supposes what the history of all governments demonstrates that the executive is the branch of power most interested in war and most prone to it. It has accordingly with started care. Vested the question of war in the legislature end quote. The Founders' careful design has been overturned because of the unconstitutional subservience of the Republican members of Congress to Trump and to the military industrial digital complex. And yes, under Democratic presidents, most Democratic members of Congress also look the other way when those presidents chose to go to war. The war with Iran is Trump's folly,

3:07but Congress's disgrace for not stopping it. The president's threat to annihilate a member state of the United Nations delivered from the General Assembly podium, disgrace Trump in front of the world. It also violated article 24 of the UN Charter, which prohibits even the threat of force against another state, nearly all the world stands a gassed. I write to you, because you cannot simply walk away from Trump's recklessness, shaking your head silently. You have a job to do. So do it. The Craven Republican Party has to find even a minimal level of guts to tell Trump, no, you do not have the power to destroy Iran. Any war with Iran depends on us and we don't support you, and our constituents want this war to stop. A clear majority of Americans oppose this war, and poll after poll shows that the opposition to the war is growing. A few Republicans have found that courage. Last week, three more Republicans broke ranks to support ending the war. Their colleagues should follow. Many of you receive campaign

4:10contributions from military contractors and technology companies deeply involved in the war. Many of you take money from APAC, which champions the war that Netanyahu did so much to help launch. This has to stop, as it is a dereliction of your constitutional duty and a violation of your oath. Members of Congress, to save our nation's honor and our constitution, you must do your duty to stop this war, and stop Trump's brazen, destructive, and unconstitutional grab for power, republished from JeffSax.org.