Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sharply criticized Donald Trump on social media for the invasion of Iran that started this weekend.
“The President has launched our nation and our great military into a war of choice, risking American lives and resources, ignoring American law, and endangering our allies and partners,” Buttigieg wrote on Bluesky. He stressed that Trump has no plan for the war and pointed out that it could have effects on world politics for years to come.
Related
“This nation learned the hard way that an unnecessary war, with no plan for what comes next, can lead to years of chaos and put America in still greater danger.”
Insights for the LGBTQ+ community
Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
In a separate post, Buttigieg noted that four members of the U.S. military died in the attack so far.
“Their loss reminds us why sending troops into harm’s way is the gravest responsibility a leader can face – a choice only to be made when there is no real alternative,” he wrote. Since he called it a “war of choice,” he clearly thought there were better alternatives.
Trump has said that he won’t rule out sending ground troops to Iran and said that the military campaign will last five weeks, Al Jazeera reports. Trump also claimed that Iran posed a “grave threat” to the U.S., although there does not appear to be much evidence that an attack was imminent.
At least 555 Iranian people have been killed so far in the invasion, with dozens killed in other countries in the region after Iran retaliated militarily against other nearby countries.
Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.