Over the course of the past two weeks, Donald Trump has launched dozens of missiles into Syria and dropped something nicknamed the "Mother of All Bombs" on Afghanistan.
And in both instances, without much critical thought or discussion about the ramifications of those actions, the media cheered vociferously.
Brian Williams said he was "guided by the beauty of our weapons" as MSNBC showed video of Tomahawk missiles being launched from warships in the Mediterranean Sea. CNN host Fareed Zakaria said, "I think Donald Trump became President of the United States last night." And Fox News LITERALLY played a Toby Keith track over video of the M.O.A.B. detonating in Afghanistan while a host declared "that's what freedom looks like."
Here's the truth: Donald Trump thrives off that kind of praise on cable television. He will likely make decisions about war and peace based on the reaction of pundits to foreign policy. And if cable news keeps it up, their voices will help march us to more war. That's why it's important we all speak out.
It wasn't all that long ago that media cheerleading helped stifle much-needed debate in the run-up to the Iraq War. We can't let that happen again. Not with a president as reckless as Donald Trump. That's why adding your name to our petition is so important.
All my best,
Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran and Chairman
VoteVets
Iraq War Veteran and Chairman
VoteVets
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TBR-Jon Soltz Iraq War Veteran & Chairman/VoteVets.org
As President Obama addressed the graduating class of 2014 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he said "We must broaden our tools to include diplomacy and development."
His words are something to consider as diplomats gather in Vienna, Austria to hammer out a long-term agreement to ensure Iran never has the ability to develop a nuclear weapon.
They have until July 20th to work out a deal, or extend the process, but several Senators are already furiously working to derail the effort.
They need to hear from us today:
Join tens of thousands of veterans and military family members and sign our petition calling on the U.S. Senate to allow the diplomatic process to work with Iran.
Sadly, it's many of the same discredited neoconservative voices pushing for harsher sanctions that will trigger a new arms race in the region.
Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, said "To a soldier, the phrase 'seeking a diplomatic solution' is sweet music."
And if the diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran fall apart, we'll have the opportunity to talk about which sanctions to reinstate or intensity.
But for now, we should all hope that those efforts succeed.
Tell Congress: Give Diplomacy with Iran a Chance.
http://action.votevets.org/iran-diplomacy
The question is ... how badly do we want to avoid more war?
Thanks for standing with VoteVets on this issue.
Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran & Chairman
VoteVets.org
