Don’t let history repeat: The next Congress must end the Iran War 

For many obvious reasons, America needs an aggressive Congress to emerge from the November elections ready to restore the government’s balance of power. If the Iran War is still underway, one of the new Congress’s first jobs should be to end it.  

President Trump says he won’t resume strikes against Iran before the elections. It is not clear what he plans for afterward. But in addition to usurping Congress’s war powers, hurting the economy and costing U.S. and Iranian lives, this war of choice violates a sacred contract between commanders-in-chief and American families: the assurance that our sons and daughters will be sent to war only when there is a clear and present danger to national security and no other option but the military.   

Instead, Trump’s greed, personal grievances, ego and failure to learn from history all appear to play a role in this war. 

Greed: CNBC reports that Trump has holdings in oil and gas companies. His nine largest holdings earned him as much as $4.4 million during the first six months of the war. CNBC found “no evidence” that Trump or his investment managers used advance knowledge in the stock trades or allowed them to influence policy. But it is one of the many examples in which Trump has created the appearance, if not the reality, of conflicted interests. 

Trump’s sons, who own investments in multiple defense-related companies, have reportedly collected billions of dollars in defense contracts since their father became president again. No public evidence shows illegality, but the investments create another appearance of conflicted interest, especially with the Pentagon planning to spend more........

© The Hill