Chicago Tribune needs to confront the ghastly criminality of Trump’s second criminal war this year

Chicago Tribune needs to confront the ghastly criminality of Trump’s second criminal war this year

 

The Trib’s long editorial on Trump’s unprovoked, immoral, criminal war on Iran gives tacit approval to it without a hint of its murderous criminality. “Trump and his Israeli partners knew what they did not like in Iran and we don’t disagree.” That sure sounds like an endorsement of criminal war that should have Trump and his partner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the dock at The Hague for war crimes.

 

Trump’s attack had nothing to do with defense of America’s national security interests. Alleging Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei led a repressive, theocratic, medieval regime is not a justification for launching preemptive war.

 The Trib accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism when, unlike Trump, Ali Khamenei didn’t bomb 7 countries in 2025 killing untold thousands. If the Trib is concerned about sponsors of terrorism, a good starting point is Donald J. Trump. 

 The Trib notes that Ali Khamenei “threatened the security of Israel,” but fails to note that Israel killed over a thousand Iranians in their 12 day preemptive war last June. Ali Khamenei and Iran were never a threat to Israel’s security. They represented a potential rival to Israel for Middle East dominance that had to be eliminated with American firepower and now American blood. Being a hegemonic rival is not grounds for preemptive war.  

 

Trump’s ongoing, murderous war aside, the Trib focused instead on Ali Khamenei’s “plans for a nuclear weapon.” Why does the Trib ignore that Ali Khamenei not only forbid nukes, he signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 which guaranteed Iran would never get one. Guess who blew up that signature Obama achievement? Donald Trump in 2018. Reason? The JCPOA prevented regime change demanded by Israel to be implemented by the United States.

 It took 8 years but that regime change is underway in a grotesque criminal war that will kill many thousands, possibly destabilize the Middle East and likely drive up energy prices in America to recessionary levels. 

Now with 3 Americans dead and 5 seriously wounded due to Trump’s criminality, the Chicago Tribune might consider a follow up editorial titled ‘We will not miss the President of the United States. His only plan was endless, senseless war.’

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL