There Is No Anti-War Party

Editor, Times-Union:
The purpose of this letter is to state that the U.S. will never avoid war going forward. For at least a century, the president campaigns on a promise to avoid war and then pursues war anyway. Vice President Vance said in 2024 that a war with Iran was in not our country’s interest and yet Trump bombed it this year. Obama promised to end the war in Iraq before bombing Libya, Bush criticized the Clinton administration for being too militant before invading Iraq, and Woodrow Wilson campaigned on keeping the U.S. out of war before entering WWI. Regardless of party, the president drags America into war.
Currently, the opposition party does not desire to end the current war either. Democrat senators such as John Fetterman and Josh Gottheimer have said they support the war, while others merely think congress should be more involved. Most of the critics of war, meanwhile, are more on the fringe of the party’s ideology so their voice won’t influence leadership. None of this is to say these wars aren’t justified. However, every candidate promising to oppose war should be met with skepticism this election season as patterns suggest avoiding war won’t happen.
Brent Heinisch
formerly of Syracuse, via e-mail