06Apr
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Common Defense, a grassroots veteran-led organization, condemns Tuesday’s threat from President Trump that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” calling it a chilling declaration of war crimes that abandons the laws of war and targets civilians. A temporary ceasefire does not erase those words. Rhetoric like this is disqualifying from any commander in chief.
Naveed Shah, Political Director for Common Defense and a veteran of the U.S. Army and Operation Iraqi Freedom, issued the following statement:
“As veterans, we recognize this dangerous rhetoric for what it is: a preview of atrocities. When a sitting president threatens an entire civilization with death, that’s not military strategy. That’s the announcement of a war crime.
“A ceasefire called hours later doesn’t walk that back. The threat was made. The intent was stated. And American troops are the ones left carrying the moral weight of whatever comes next.
“Veterans know how this goes. We heard this fear-mongering before Iraq. We know what happens when leaders threaten populations instead of pursuing strategy. That is not how you win wars, but how you manufacture generations of enemies.
“This is worse. This is a president signaling, openly, his willingness to inflict civilian suffering on a scale that violates every value American service members swore to uphold. We condemn it without qualification. Any Member of Congress that supports this rhetoric, or votes to keep funding this war, will not receive Common Defense’s endorsement.”
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Common Defense Civic Engagement (501c4) (CDCE) is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.