Will Americans allow themselves to be sucked into yet another needless war in the Middle East? If warmongers like National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have their way, bombs, cruise missiles and bullets will soon be flying, Their goal: regime change in Iran.

Right-wing fanatics like Bolton and Pompeo have been egging on a clueless President Trump to provoke Iran at every turn. The slightest incident could explode into a worse nightmare than the invasion of Iraq. Will the war be triggered by fake or cherry-picked intelligence (like in Iraq) or by a phony attack (as in Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin hoax)?

If war comes, most of the world will, correctly, blame the United States. Israel and Saudi Arabia will cheer us on, from the sidelines.

Why would Trump agree to this madness? After all, he campaigned on keeping us out of stupid wars like the one in Iraq. Perhaps he thinks a war will draw Americans’ attention away from his egregious flaws at home, make him look tough, and help his re-election campaign. Or maybe he’s just too stupid to realize what Bolton and Pompeo are up to.

What will members of Congress do? Will they have the courage to strongly condemn an attack on Iran?

And what of the news media? They didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory when they got sucked into supporting, or at least acquiescing in, President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

Finally, how will the American people react? To higher gas prices? To more trillions of tax dollars wasted? To all the lives, both Iranian and American, lost?

Haven’t enough Americans been needlessly killed or maimed in the Middle East already?

John R. Merrill
Augusta