Ilhan Omar: ‘War destroys lives, takes away futures’

Muslim US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says “war destroys lives” and “it takes away futures and it destroys generations,” as US President Donald Trump’s aggressive actions against Iran have increased concerns of spiraling out of control into a new full-fledged war in the Middle East.

Tensions between the US and Iran escalated after Trump ordered the assassination of a top Iranian commander who had played a leading role in the Middle East in the fight against Daesh terrorists.

Fears of a new war in the Middle East emerged following the assassination of General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) last week.

On Saturday, Trump said that his military would hit “very important” targets, including cultural heritage sites, if the Iranians want to take a retaliatory action against the assassination of Lieutenant General Soleimani.

Early on Wednesday, Iran responded to the assassination of Soleimani, the Middle East's most prominent anti-terror commander, striking the American airbase of Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq and another in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Trump has said he authorized the assassination of the Iranian commander of the Quds Force in Iraq “to stop a war,” but his Democratic presidential contenders have said that his action has put the United States on a warpath.

According to CNN, the US assassination of General Soleimani has brought America to the “brink of its first hot war” with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

In a message on Wednesday, Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, said, “We caution against war because of our allegiance to this country and our oath to protect it. Sending teenagers to die or return with lifelong wounds seen and unseen what it is to carry out our oath.”

“Risking a regional or even global war is not what it means to carry out our oath to protect the American people,” she added.

“I always say war does not have a reset button,” she said.  

“War is never the answer to saving more lives. War destroys lives. It takes away futures and it destroys generations. I know this. I learned that lesson at the young age of 8 and many of the people in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world also know this lesson,” the lawmaker said.  

“The world is asking us to act differently this time and it’s our duty and make sure that we do,” she concluded.

Tulsi Gabbard: War with Iran would make Afghanistan, Iraq wars 'look like a picnic'

US presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has warned President Trump that war with Iran will make previous wars in the Middle East region look like "a picnic."

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the House will vote Thursday on a resolution to curb Trump’s power to take military action against Iran.

Pelosi said the Trump administration’s actions “endangered our servicemembers, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran.”

She added that some members of Congress have “serious, urgent concerns” about Trump’s strategy.

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