To the editor: As an American without a political agenda, I must challenge the opinions of Tucker Carlson and Jane Fonda (“Jane Fonda and Tucker Carlson agree on this: Trump’s Iran war is bad — and a betrayal,” March 1). They must have either forgotten or been asleep during history class.
First of all, be reminded of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signing the Munich Agreement in 1938 acquiescing to Adolf Hitler‘s designs on Czechoslovakia with the promise that Hitler would not annex other countries. That proved to be a costly mistake, as Hitler had no intention of honoring that agreement. It eventually helped lead to World War II.
The United States remained on the sidelines through an isolationist policy driven by pacifists in the late 1930s. With our guard down, Japan took advantage and attacked Pearl Harbor, taking the lives of 2,403 U.S. service personnel. The United States was then forced to enter the war.
In 1962, the Soviet Union began placing missiles in Cuba. Thanks to President Kennedy’s blockade and strong deterrence, the missiles were removed and we avoided the possibility of a nuclear war.
And finally, there were signs and warnings about Osama bin Laden that were ignored. This, in part, led to the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, resulting in the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans.
Iran has been the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world. It has continued to be a threat to America and Israel since 1979, when 66 embassy personnel were held hostage for 444 days. The election of President Reagan finally led to the release of the hostages, but began a reign of terror propagated by Iran.
As George Santayana said, “Those that cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.”
Frank Deni, Lake Forest
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To the editor: I am appalled at the Trump administration’s reckless air attacks on Iran, killing most of its leaders. That alone probably constitutes a war crime.
The administration’s claim that Iran is an “imminent danger” sounds sadly similar to claims by President George W. Bush more than 20 years ago that Iraq was such a danger to us. We know how false that was. This current campaign is not a war of necessity but a war of choice, just like with Iraq.
And if Trump has even Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene condemning his air campaigns, then he really has a credibility problem.
John D. Wagner, Altadena
