Our government perceived that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and convinced the United Nations and the American people that war with Iraq was necessary.

Despite proof that they were wrong, the White House and Congress have never expressed regret or taken responsibility for starting a war based on false claims. They also don’t seem to have learned anything, since Congress is unable or unwilling to assert that it has the constitutional role, not the White House, to declare war. As of this writing, neither the House or Senate have been able to pass legislation stating that the prior authorization given to the White House to declare war against Iraq does not apply to Iran or other countries. Attempts to pass such legislation in the House have failed. No such attempt has been made in the Senate.

The drumbeat for war is getting loud and familiar. On Sept. 26, the Senate passed the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment to the defense authorization bill, which supports the use of military power inside Iraq against Iran and its proxies and designates Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as a foreign terrorist organization. The amendment does not contain a measure to prevent conflict from spilling into Iran itself.

After all that’s happened and is still happening in Iraq, it’s hard to believe our Congress and the White House are following the same path toward a war with Iran.

Joyce Schelling

Orland