Letters to the editor March 23
An ill-defined war
In his victory speech, Trump said, “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars… I am the President of peace.”
He has authorized military strikes in at least seven countries, including Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and Venezuela. Recently he bragged about invading Cuba telling reporters, “I mean, whether I free it, take it. I can do anything I want with it.”
After kidnapping the president of Venezuela, he felt emboldened to plunge us into war with Iran, a country with 90 million people and a more sophisticated military. He assassinated Iran’s supreme leader, followed by massive bombing attacks. The U.S. is blamed for obliterating an elementary school in an attack that killed over 150 people, most of them children.
With magical thinking he has recklessly ignited a widening conflagration throughout the Middle East with little thought about what comes next. Historically, bombing and destroying totalitarian military governments in the Middle East has not stopped wars, but has led to increased involvement and failure. It is time we learned our lesson.
A prime influence on Trump’s decision to attack Iran is Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu. During Trump’s first term, Netanyahu convinced him to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal. Every president has resisted Netanyahu’s wish to go to war with Iran except Trump. Netanyahu said, “I have wanted this to happen for 40 years. And finally, Trump did it.”
Iran has a terrible, repressive regime, but this is not how America should operate. We cannot allow Trump, goaded by Netanyahu, to commit our troops to an ill-defined war. When President Trump was asked if there were any checks or limits on his global powers to strike, invade or coerce other nations, he responded: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
Do we really want to rely on Trump’s morality to determine when to stop spending more than a billion dollars a day bombing Iran? He is now asking Congress for an additional $200 billion for the ongoing war. The costs of war are paid by ordinary Americans at the expense of increased prices, funds for health care or disasters, and increased debt.
It is time for our Montana representatives in Congress to stand up and say, “No, stop this misguided war!” Let them know what you think, and refuse to support any candidate who lacks the courage to stand up to this president.
— Carol and John Santa, Kalispell
Montana can power the world
Montana’s annual wheat, barley and beef production is valued at well over $3 billion, making it one of the pillars of our economy.
If Montanans tried to eat all that food in a year, each resident would need to eat about 39 loaves of bread, six beers and four or five hamburgers every single day. Instead, Montana exports its abundance to feed people the world over.
Montana has always prospered by exporting what we produce best.
Energy offers a similar opportunity — but right now that opportunity is slipping away.
I saw the benefits of wind energy while serving as a Cascade County commissioner. Wind projects brought new tax revenue to rural communities, helping support schools, roads and local services. Later, I supported the Montana–Alberta Transmission Line, which strengthened the states transmission backbone.
Those experiences taught me that Montana has extraordinary energy potential, and our permitting system often makes it far too difficult to unlock it.
Major energy and transmission projects in the United States can take a decade or more to permit. Imagine if farmers had to wait that long before planting a wheat field or building grain storage. Montana’s agricultural economy would never have developed the way it did.
Today I volunteer with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan organization working to modernize energy permitting. Many Montana leaders recognize that permitting is broken and they need to hear that voters support sensible reform.
Reform means creating a process that is predictable and timely so important infrastructure can get built and benefit Montana’s economy. I worked to cleanup superfund sites damaged a century ago. I would never support permitting reform that would leave a pollution legacy for future county commissioners or their communities.
Montana already feeds the world. With smarter permitting, Montana can help power it too.
— Peggy Beltrone, Whitefish