To the Editor:

With deference to David Crane’s credentials (“The 7th Crusade — U.S. folly in Iran,” March 18 SMN) and respect for his opinions, I would offer a contrarian view.

If the Treaty of Versailles had been enforced as de Gaulle and many others vigorously advocated, then perhaps WWII could have been avoided. What would it have taken to enforce that? Could it have been accomplished? We’ll never know. 

The war with Iran is not only a perfect metaphor for Trump’s presidency and the MAGA movement in general, but it is also revealing of a basic truth that MAGA opponents can never quite seem to grasp: Trump’s supporters do not now, nor have they ever, looked to him for consistency, coherence, dignity, wisdom or even decency. 

To the Editor:

Abroad, the Trump Administration defies international laws, violates the United Nations Charter (that the U.S. helped develop) and threatens world peace by recklessly initiating wars with sovereign nations that pose no imminent threat to the United States or our allies. 

The United States has once again plunged into a war convinced that righteous purpose, overwhelming force and moral certainty will deliver victory. But history — ancient and modern — keeps teaching the same lesson: macho crusades fail. They fail because they are built on arrogance, miscalculation and the belief that military might can substitute for strategy. The current U.S. war in Iran is not an exception. It is the latest chapter in a thousand-year pattern of powerful nations mistaking zeal for wisdom. 

To the Editor:

How did President Trump (and his rubber stamps in Congress) get us into this war? The way he manages everything — he lies, and his worshippers in Washington silently nod their heads in obedience. Congressman Edwards, shame on you.

Was this dangerous conflict justified because Iran was about to attack the United States with guided missiles and nuclear weapons? Of course not. Back in June, Trump himself bragged that he had totally destroyed Iran’s nuclear capability for years to come and crippled their missile forces. Now he says that Iran’s supposedly destroyed military was on the verge of attacking America. Lies. This reminds us all of the weapons of mass destruction that led us into the disastrous war in Iraq. Those weapons of mass destruction never were found because they didn’t exist.

What a coincidence. Netanyahu is facing criminal corruption charges and is battling with the Israeli Supreme Court, and Trump is facing the Epstein coverup, threatened with his guilt being exposed. So the two of them decide to wreak havoc in the Middle East. The ultimate distraction — war.

Do we need to go over all the lies that this man has told with complete consent of his allies in Congress? One despicable falsehood occurred during his State of the Union speech. He lied that the young Ukrainian woman horribly murdered on a train in Charlotte was a victim of someone who “came in through open borders.” Lies. The murderer was born and raised in Charlotte and was a diagnosed schizophrenic, hearing terrible voices that led him to this horrible crime. Trump knew it had nothing to do with open borders. He used the suffering mother of the victim as a tragic prop, to justify his cruel border policies.  

Remember Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio? Or “Little Johnny goes to school in the morning, and comes home in the afternoon little Jane?” Who did the sex change operation? The school nurse or the principal? Or “illegals vote by the millions.” All lies.

And now an unconstitutional war with no end in sight. How much blood will be spilled?

Pray — and vote.

Steve Wall
Waynesville

The United States cannot keep breaking the rules of international law and then congratulate itself for the results. That is the uncomfortable truth exposed by the 2026 military operations in Venezuela and Iran. Both actions removed brutal, destabilizing leaders — one captured and jailed, the other killed. Many around the world understandably welcomed those outcomes. But the way the United States achieved them violated the very legal order that keeps the world from sliding toward permanent conflict. 

In truth, there are two camps when it comes to Texas singer-songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey: you’re either completely obsessed with his music, with his tunes becoming a pillar of the soundtrack of your life, or you’ve never heard of him. 

To the Editor:

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to rural Georgia with a friend to see the Venerable Monks on their Walk for Peace. It was the same day that we awoke to the news of the United States invasion of Venezuela to arrest Nicolas Maduro. It was an abrupt end to the peacefulness of the Christmas season, making my head spin and bringing me back to chaos that is the hallmark of this administration. Sadly. 

To the Editor:

I volunteered to serve during wartime. We had experienced the Cuban Missile Crisis and had military advisors training foreign nationals in Vietnam. Things escalated quickly and we found ourselves, “Neck deep in the big muddy ....” to quote the song by Pete Seeger. Our nation slowly slid into commitments that would cost thousands of young Americans their lives. 

Editor’s Note: This is the transcript of a recent voice memo Garret left for a friend of his on Thursday, Jan. 8, in the aftermath of the incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between a protester and an ICE agent. To note, both Garret’s father (U.S. Immigration) and grandfather (U.S. Customs) were career officers for the federal government (now retired). In 2003, Immigration and Customs combined to form ICE due to the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

Good afternoon. You’re probably slaving away at your [office] desk doing your favorite thing, which is working inside under fluorescent lighting, I would assume. [Laughs]. Oh, man, I don’t know where this message is going to go, but I just was wanting to vent about…[well], it’s almost hard to vent anymore, because it’s like every day is just this chaotic frustration of things outside of my [front] door and things across the country and things around the world.