Forget the pretext. The invasion is the point.

Manhattan: Voicer Dan Cerrone expresses the same worries as most Americans when it comes to the United States getting militarily involved in foreign conflicts.

The U.S. has a storied history of starting phony wars to justify its many foreign interventions, such as the sinking of the munitions ship USS Maine in 1898. This act got the U.S. involved in the Spanish-American War for the express purpose of taking over Spanish colonies throughout the world. Then there was the Vietnam War in the 1960s, fought to save a corrupt South Vietnam government from an invasion by a Communist North Vietnam. Of course, more recently, we can’t forget the military debacles in Afghanistan and Iraq, when Secretary of State Colin Powell told the UN that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

President Trump’s witless invasion of Iran is simply an extension of these past American geopolitical blunders. However, what has been done can not be undone! It’s evident that the Middle East in general needs a credible nation-building template to follow — a nation that promotes peace, secular freedom, democracy, tolerance and economic prosperity. Not the same old rhetoric that America says it can provide but never does!

The Kurds represent a credible model for the new governments of Iran and Syria to follow. It won’t happen because these two murderous governments, along with Turkey, have tried to jail or eviscerate the Kurdish population for more than 100 years. Gerard Rosenthal

Manhattan: So Kim Jong-Il designated his son, Kim Jong-Un, as his successor, with the public designation occurring in 2010. Now we have the same thing in Iran. So why are House Republicans, the Senate GOP and Trump taking victory laps? I’ll go out on a limb and say the new leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, will be just as bad as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and neither was elected. Edward Drossman

Fairfield, Conn.: To Voicer Nick Di Pasquale: You stated, “It’s a good thing that Trump didn’t wait for Iran to attack America; we could have lost hundreds of thousands of people.” Mr. Di Pasquale, Trump himself has stated that he attacked Iran because he thought (without any proof) that Iran was going to attack Israel. Nothing about keeping America safe. We have already lost seven American lives. In my opinion, that’s too many already. Stephen Johnson

Dumont, N.J.: A reporter asked Trump about the American Tomahawk cruise missile that destroyed a girls’ elementary school in Iran, killing at least 175 people, mostly children. Trump did what he always does. He lied, rambled incoherently and pointed the finger at everyone but himself. The buck always stops somewhere else. Later, at a press conference at his Doral, Fla., golf resort, Trump claimed Iran might have its own Tomahawks and bombed its own school. Of course, only a Trump MAGA supporter would buy into any of Trump’s lies and attempts to obfuscate the murder of innocent young children. Sorry, President Trump, but the blood of those children is on your hands and no one else’s. Walter Wolfgang Papenfuss

New Hyde Park, L.I.: So now the most famous draft dodger in American history wants to bring back the draft. Am I the only one who is laughing at that? Bob Wiecezak

Park Ridge, N.J.: In Trump’s news conference on Monday evening, he stated that Vladimir Putin wants to help end the war in Iran, while for the last few days it has been reported that Russia has been giving Iran information on U.S. military placements. Putin wants to help? To Trump’s credit, if it’s true, he told Putin he could end the war in Ukraine if Putin wanted to help. Oh, right, Ukraine, the never-ending war. Maybe when they can find the time, Trump and his buddies can get as serious with Russia as he is with Iran. Steve Ostlund

Yonkers: Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (“hands off my free speech”) is being rightfully rebuked and scorned for her hateful speech regarding Muslims. However, John Jay, a Protestant and first chief justice of the Supreme Court, once accused Catholics of spreading bigotry, persecution, murder and being a threat to America. He suggested building a wall of brass around the country to exclude Catholics, principally targeting Irish, Italians, Spanish and French. Today, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, part of CUNY, is named in his honor. Go figure! Frank Brady

Midland Park, N.J.: March 10, page 6 (“Bomb suspects sought to outdo marathon blast“). Great photo of policemen’s instant reactions to that threat. Nice. Anthony Merlino

Reckless & retrograde

Ledyard, Conn.: How appalling that this is where we are in 2026. That people decided it was a protest to be deliberately provocative and anti-Muslim, that someone made bombs in the first place and that someone brought them as a supposed counterprotest is beyond comprehension to me. When are we going to end prejudice and discrimination, this toxic partisanship, willful ignorance and the desire to “win” at the expense of others? It doesn’t help when the media fans the flames. I don’t hate America. If I did, I wouldn’t care what happens to our country. But what a waste of our potential that we allow people to divide our nation when most of us want the same things: good health and a productive and enjoyable life. Lisa Allen

Fresh Meadows: It’s no secret to anyone, environmental groups included, that we’re not getting to 70% renewable energy by 2030 as the 2019 law mandated (“N.Y.’s energy law must be amended,” editorial, March 2). Gov. Hochul is using a scare tactic against New Yorkers. Yes, if she finally introduced Cap and Invest but set the cap so high that we’d meet the 2030 mandate, the pass-through cost to consumers would be overwhelming. I don’t know what gas industry flack came up with that, but it’s the perfect way for Hochul to tell New Yorkers we need to keep building gas plants and pipelines even as that’ll make our utility bills go sky-high. By every measure, and even with the loss of tax breaks and federal investments, renewable energy sources like solar and wind are far cheaper than fossil fuels. Yes, the deadlines must be readjusted, but not the goals nor the methods. Sara Rebecca Storch

Manhattan: Re “Postal Service will go bust in a year unless Congress acts, postmaster warns” (March 10): There is another way to help keep the Postal Service afloat: Slash the law enforcement arm of USPS. The federal government already has numerous other law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, the DEA, the ATF and DHS. Perhaps it’s time for USPS to get out of the law enforcement business and focus on delivering mail. Angela D. Lipsman

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