War!

Monday--2 March 2026

On Going to War

Was the war that we—the US and Israel—started this past weekend justified, appropriate, and reasonable? I doubt it, but I honestly don’t know with any reasonable degree of certainty. And I’m only one citizen who may not need, as an individual, to know with precision.

I am certainly not grieving over the death of Ali Khamenei (1939-2026), who was by all credible accounts a bloody murderer and absurdly oppressive religious and state dictator—a misogynist of the first order. Evil. The people of Iran deserve much more decent and reasonable leadership.

And I suspect that regime change in Iran is as much a desirable thing as it would be in Russia or China—or the US or Israel, possibly.

I do think Israel has a right to defend herself and that the Iranian regime was (is?) a genuine threat to Israel and, often via others like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, a grave threat to peace and life throughout the Middle East.

There is little doubt, in other words, that there are real, deadly, and pressing problems in the Middle East.

But is this war at this time the answer for those problems? I don’t know.

But I’m represented in the US Congress by two US Senators and one Representative, and they certainly do need to know. All three happen to be Democrats, but the representatives of the citizenry need to know regardless of what political party, if any, they belong to.

Blood and treasure—and national prestige, safety and order and power in the world—are at stake. We already have an ally shooting down three of our fighter jets. We already have some reason to think that shootings like the one in Austin, TX, could be terroristic responses to this war.

Chaos and many deaths—of Iranians (including not just Khamenei but innocent school girls), Israelis, and American servicemen and service women—have and will occur. What happens in the coming weeks or years is wildly uncertain.

Survival as individuals, as a nation, and of our democratic republic may be on the line.

This is a matter of paramount importance because war can so easily spiral into something unpredictable, something even worse than it is at the start, something dangerous to the lives of every American citizen (and others on earth, too), but also because it is clearly and unambiguously described in the US Constitution as a power reserved for Congress—

US Constitution, Article I, Section 8: Powers of Congress (emphasis added)

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

. . . .

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

…

And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

War Powers Act

Presidents before Trump—Harry Truman and Korea, for example—have failed to secure a proper congressional declaration of war. Because over fifty years ago (well after Truman) the Congress understood that in the modern world there might be too little time for Congress to carefully consider whether to declare war, a law was passed in 1973 laying out under exactly what emergency circumstances the President could act before fully consulting Congress.

Trump is not the first President to play fast and loose with following the Constitution or the law, but he is the first to just ignore it or nearly so.

https://psc.uncg.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/War-Powers-Act.pdf#:~:text=Public%20Law%2093%2D148,of%20Congress%20and%20the%20President.

Though my concern is assuredly primarily focused on the US, the importance of this to the entire planet is quite high. As Joyce Vance laid out (see below), the “law of war” means all nations and all people are affected, possibly vitally.

Whether you love Trump or, like me, despise him, he is an American President—not a king or a dictator. He is not above the law and he is subject to the US Constitution. What is required now is not a mere technicality, a mere box that needs checking. It’s a must.

Like many others (see examples below), I call, as a citizen, for President Trump to communicate clearly with the American people what the goals and next steps for this war are.

And I insist that he direct that his administration immediately have full and ongoing consultation with the US House and the US Senate. And not just with the “Gang of Eight,” not just with the GOP. (CNN has reported that a congressional briefing is scheduled for tomorrow—Tuesday—it must be comprehensive and ongoing.)

And I urge that the House initiate impeachment proceedings if this is not done fully and forthwith.

---

---

What others are saying—

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/members-of-congress-demand-swift-vote-on-war-powers-resolution-after-trump-orders-iran-strike-without-congressional-approval

https://fareedzakaria.com/columns/2026/2/27/0afe5hyw7nvkot1r51gi37qxxbir0j

BREAKING: CENTCOM confirms 3 killed; 5 seriously wounded

The Law of War

Trump Launches War on Iran and His Approval Ratings

Why Attack Iran?

February 28, 2026

---

Note: Anyone may copy and publish what I or my guests write, provided proper credit is given, that it’s not done for commercial purposes, that I am notified of the copying (you can just leave a comment saying where the copy is being published), and provided that what we write is not quoted out of context or distorted.

---

Thanks again for reading Letters … . Subscribe for free (always) to receive new posts and support my work.