“We must not ask another generation to fight wars driven by political convenience.”
From Aaron Gies for NY-23, AaronforNY23.com
Aaron Gies, a Democratic candidate for Congress in NY District 23, responded to a press conference by President Trump and other administration officials announcing an overnight military operation in Venezuela that removed President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from the country to stand trial in the United States.
“The operation conducted in Venezuela last night gives every American cause for concern,” wrote Gies.
“Nicolás Maduro is an illegitimate ruler who has ignored the results of fair elections and governed through repression and fear. It is right that America should seek to bring him to justice, as it did former Honduran president Juan Hernández, a convicted narco-terrorist pardoned by President Trump.
But condemning Maduro’s brutality does not give the United States a blank check for military escalation. Venezuela is a nation of more than 28 million people with a courageous democratic opposition. Reckless intervention risks plunging the country into civil war and inflicting immense suffering on innocent civilians.
At his press conference today, President Trump claimed that the United States should ‘run’ Venezuela with the help of American oil companies and did not rule out the deployment of U.S. ground troops. Those statements amount to an assertion of control over a sovereign nation, not a law-enforcement action. Our experience in Iraq and Afghanistan has taught us that regime change wars launched without clear goals or legal authority become long, expensive, and dangerous, with final outcomes that do not justify their cost.”
Gies, a Professor at St. Bonaventure University, referred to his experience teaching both those training for service and veterans re-entering civilian life:
“As an educator, I have worked with young people in ROTC and the National Guard, and I have taught veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as they tried to rebuild their lives. I have read their stories of trauma and triumph, and watched them struggle to assemble the necessities of life in a world that often doesn’t understand their needs. We must not ask another generation to fight wars driven by political convenience.”
Gies concluded his remarks by calling for Congress to reassert its authority and criticizing incumbent Congressman Langworthy for his silence.
“When elected, I will fight to make sure Congress takes back its constitutional duty to decide when and where our troops go to war. Congressman Nick Langworthy has spoken out against Maduro, but he’s been silent as Congress is pushed aside and the President hints at another open-ended conflict. America is strongest when we lead with smart diplomacy, work with our allies, and respect the rule of law – not when we act alone with costly, unnecessary military action.”
