War is a horror that must be avoided whenever possible.

Every life lost in combat is the life of an irreplaceable loved one: a parent, a sibling, a child.

We must alway make war a last resort, only to be employed when absolutely necessary, either to defend our nation or to put an end to an enormous humanitarian crisis, as was the case with World War II.

The war in Iraq is a good example of an unjustifiable war. In order to sell the war to the public, we were lied to and told that Iraq was harboring “Weapons of Mass Destruction,” yet no such thing was true.

The Iraq War resulted in over 3,836 American casualties. Each one of them an irreplaceable loved one.

One has to ask, if the war was not for self-defense, which it was not, then what was it for? It appears there are other motivations for war among some people in power other than self defense.

The United States Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress. If I were a member of Congress, I would NEVER vote in favor of any war unless I were convinced it was absolutely a war of last resort, necessary either to defend our people from an already-initiated attack, or to intervene in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

The question each congressperson should ask themselves before casting a vote for war is: would I be willing to sacrifice my own child for this cause?

The amount of money our nation spends on defense is far far too great. Every year our budget increases. This money would be better used to support the needs of the American people, including their need for healthcare, family leave, and employment.