Congress Must Stop War by Mission Creep
We’re going to war, I cannot say more.
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
As in Venezuela last month, as in Iraq in 2003 — as in so many places for thousands of years — so perhaps again in Iran soon: The leader of a major power weighs an attack, and adjusts his reasons to justify the war, rather than making the war depend on the objectives. There ought to be a law against shifting war aims and all other forms of mission creep, the costs of which are tallied in the blood of innocents.
The leader in question right now is Donald Trump, the American president, as he contemplates striking Iran for the second time in less than a year. In his mind, his recent attack on Venezuela, which culminated in the capture of its dictator, was a success not just militarily (which it was) but strategically (which is not at all clear). Just as Trump massed a huge armada near Venezuela last fall, he has now concentrated US forces near Iran and again talks a confident game.