Platner:

Whether it's mothers, whether it's veterans, whether it's people just running for political office and part of our Maine community, nobody wants this war.

Absolutely no one thinks that this is a good idea.

And the reason why they don't want it, is because they know what it's actually about.

2/x

#War #Iran #Speech #Politics

Platner:

This is a war that's being pushed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

He's been trying to make this war happen for almost 30 years.

This is a war that's being pushed by the Saudis who have also wanted this war to happen.

Two nations that are happy to watch American blood be expended on their behalf.

3/x

#War #Iran #Trump #Politics

Platner:

This war is also being pushed because Donald Trump is in the Epstein files.

And other people in the White House and other people connected with the Epstein class, they are terrified that we have noticed what they are doing.

They are terrified that we're going to start wondering why the hell we let them stay in power.

And to do that, they're going to do the oldest trick in the book.

They're going to try to just start a war to distract all of us.

4/x

#Epstein #Trump #War #Iran

Platner:

They are willing to sacrifice the lives of young American men and women and the lives of Iranian civilians, simply to protect their political interests.

I cannot think of a more reprehensible act. I cannot think of a more unpatriotic act, of a more un-American act, than to send our sons and daughters off to die, to kill, to bring immense violence to innocent civilians abroad, simply because you're afraid you might lose the midterms.

It is disgusting.

5/x

#Iran #War #Trump

Platner:

As reprehensible as it is, it's also important to remember that this situation we find ourselves in is only possible because we have had a Congress that for decades has abdicated its responsibility, its constitutional responsibility, in making war.

6/x

#Congress #War #Iran

Platner:

We need to rescind the 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force. Its vague language and lack of clarity has been abused by multiple administrations of both parties to carry out wars in the name of the military-industrial complex and those in power, to carry out military operations that did absolutely nothing to keep Americans safe, but made some people very, very wealthy and protected the political interests of those in power.

It needs to go.

7/x

#Iran #War #Maine #Senate

Platner:

But not only does it need to go, we need a war powers resolution that actually claws power back from the executive branch.

The resolutions that are on the table, I highly recommend you call your elected officials and put pressure on them to vote for them.

They are necessary, but they are not sufficient.

8/x

#Elections #US #USA

Platner:

We need a truly reformed War Powers Act, where we really pull the power back.

No more 48 hours of combat operations where you have to notify Congress.

No more 60 days of combat operations before you have to prove to Congress that you should have gone to war in the first place.

No.

9/x

Platner:

We need to know why military force is used right off the bat.

And it needs to be approved by Congress right off the bat.

The Constitution is clear about who is supposed to have the power of waging war in this country.

It is the body that is most representative of the American people, because it is the American people who have to bear the brunt of combat.

10/x

#Iran #War #Platner #Maine

Platner:

It is the American people who are asked to make the sacrifice.

It is American families who have to bury their dead sons and daughters.

It is American friends who have to watch their best friends come home from a war and struggle for years with physical and mental trauma.

That is who bears the brunt of all of this.

It is never those in power. It is never those with wealth.

It is always asked of us.

11/x

Platner:

And that is why we need to only wage war when the American people know it is actually in their best interest.

And if it isn't, we do not do it.

This war needs to end. And it needs to end now.

The only way that we can make sure that that happens is we have to prepare ourselves to organize and to mobilize.

I do fear that the Trump administration is far more worried about saving its own skin than whatever pressure it's going to get from someone else in Congress.

12/x

Platner:

Connect with organizations that are doing the work because we're going to have to prepare ourselves to get in the streets.

I don't know if you remember 2003, myself and a lot of people, probably in this room, spent some time protesting the war in Iraq.

13/x

#Iraq #Iran #War #US #USPol

Platner:

We need to make sure we are prepared to do it again, because in this current political moment, it is only the power of organized people that is really going to be able to bring the pressure on these institutions, and we need to be preparing now to do it.

14/x

Platner:

Before I finish, watching people who do not know the realities of war, watching people who know nothing of the horror that comes with this kind of violence, people who could not even imagine what it feels like in the pit of your stomach when you hear that one of your friends has been killed.

Or watching one of your best friends be ripped apart by high explosives.

15/x

#War #US #USPol #USPolitics

Platner:

Watching people, who have no idea what any of this looks like or feels like, celebrate this, disgusts me.

And then watching them turn around and tell us that these sacrifices are just what happens.

We just need to be prepared for more casualties, because that's what happens.

16/x

#Iran #War #US #USA #USPol #Politics #Trump

Platner:

It's not what fucking happens to them.

It's what happens to us.

And to watch these people do this, it disgusts me on a level that I cannot truly articulate.

17/x

Platner:

And I just want to take a moment to pray and be in silence for the families of the three service members we know have died, and hold in your minds all of the Iranian civilians who have been killed thus far.

18/x

Platner:

Working people in this country, working people in Iran, working people around the world have everything in common with each other.

All of our needs are exactly the same.

And we are used as pawns in the games of the powerful and the wealthy.

19/x

#Iran #War #US #USPol #Politics