By Douglas V. Gibbs
The opponents of President Donald Trump are accusing him of war crimes because he told Iran that if they don’t work with him he will bomb Iran back to the Stone Age. The verbal threat was one that told the Islamic leaders America was willing to end their civilization. Critics of Trump immediately launched into rhetoric that called the president “insane,” suggesting he might use nuclear weapons on Iran, and that his attacks on Iran were “unconstitutional,” and “criminal.” Steven Simon of Responsible Statecraft even accused Trump of threatening genocide in Iran.
Senator Chuck Schumer called Trump an “unhinged madman.” Bernie Sanders said Trump is “dangerous and mentally unbalanced.” A long list of Democrats are accusing President Trump of war crimes, and House Democrats are discussing invoking the 25th Amendment to seek removing Trump from power because of Trump’s threat to “wipe out Iran’s civilization and unleash hell on Tehran.”
House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated it was their “patriotic duty” in “stopping the madness.”
Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) wrote on social media, “This maniac should be removed from office.”
Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) said, “He must be removed.”
The 25th Amendment, according to the Constitution, requires a majority of the President’s Cabinet (or a body created by Congress), and the Vice President to agree that Trump is unfit for office, and if Trump were to offer an opposing view that he’s fit for office in writing, two-thirds of each chamber of Congress would need to vote in support of removal. So, the 25th Amendment threat is an empty one, at best.
While opponents call Trump’s threats “mad rants” and “calls for genocide,” the reality is Trump’s threats are the only language that Islamic madmen understand. The threats by Trump were specifically regarding Iran’s infrastructure (bridges, desalination plants, power plants), the very same kind of actions being used by Ukraine in their war (of which the Democrats don’t consider war crimes) as stated by Jessie Watters on The Five, recently. If the targets Trump is threatening to hit are war crimes, then by that standard a long list of Presidents (most of whom were Democrats) are then guilty of war crimes from past wars America has participated in.
“Well,” said a well-intentioned neighbor of mine, “the war in Iran is unconstitutional because Congress did not declare war. The War Powers Act requires the President to get congressional approval before conducting war.” Article II establishes the President as Commander in Chief and an examination of the Constitutional Convention and history provides that means he is able to wage war without Congress micromanaging his actions from their legislative desks. As for the War Powers Act, the law is unconstitutional on its face. The only method that may be used to change constitutional powers to the President is a constitutional amendment, not a piece of legislation.
Islam is an enemy that lies, deceives, and takes advantage of weakness. So, President Trump has taken a firm stance, and unlike prior presidents he does not bluff. Trump’s methods are simple. Put pressure. Enter into diplomacy. If diplomacy fails, apply more pressure, and attempt more negotiations. If the other side is still refusing to be reasonable, apply the consequences that are necessary to ensure compliance. That is what Trump is doing with Iran.
Unlike other enemies, Islamists largely base their decisions on what they believe the will of Allah is. If they believe their defeat is so strong that Allah wants them to back off for a while, then they will. Only military strength against them can bring them to that conclusion. Iran’s threat to the region, once they agree to Trump’s terms, will be temporary because that is how Islam operates – and Trump understands that. But they’ve got to really believe that Allah is against them continuing to fight if they are going to stand down. As Shiites, however, Iran’s leaders believe in an apocalyptic vision of worldwide chaos if a global caliphate is to emerge. So, they’ve got to be convinced that even chaos raining down from the Heavens is not even in their best interest. Only the threat of complete annihilation will get them to stop their pursuit of nuclear weapons and their willingness to defy the world. Trump understands this, so he made the threat – not in the name of genocide, but realizing that is the only language the revolutionary military leaders of Iran are willing to understand.
Without the threat, and without Iran believing that Trump is willing to do exactly what he says, there would be no chance of Iran ever coming to the table of diplomacy and seriously considering an actual agreement to the terms Trump has laid out.
What is funny about it is that the Democrats freaking out that Trump is seriously willing to wipe out an entire civilization is actually helping the president, because if fellow Americans believe he is willing to wipe Iran out, Iran’s leaders will be more likely to believe so, as well.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
