Thank you for reminding our leaders that the president does not have the authority to declare war on a sovereign nation, only Congress does (“Going to war,” editorial, April 19). I only wish your editorial had come out 19 years ago (almost to the day) when President Bill Clinton bombed the Serbian people in 1999, disregarding international and domestic laws including the War Powers Act, and disregarding a congressional vote that did not support the effort.
The world hasn’t been the same since as terrorists/secessionists were encouraged during this bombing and the subsequent illegal recognition of Kosovo’s “independence” that terrorism can indeed alter the borders of sovereign nations as long as NATO supports them.
Since then, a number of crises have erupted in Ukraine, Georgia and even Spain (Catalonia) with direct roots to our illegal theft of Kosovo from Serbia. Though this issue has been largely censored/hushed up by our “free and fair” mainstream Western corporate-controlled media, I can only ask my leaders to understand that either we have civilized laws where we have civilized means to condemn nations via sanctions and resolve conflicts (e.g., U.N. peacekeeping force), or we have the laws of the jungle: Might makes right.
Bombing Syria was a very dangerous and foolish act that may directly engage the Russians who have resolved not to become the next Yugoslavia.
This will surely lead us toward World War III, which no one will win — we will all lose.
Michael Pravica, Henderson, Nev.