SEN RAND PAUL: America is at war—but Americans didn’t vote for it

Americans were not asked if they would bear the burdens of war. Instead, the American people were told, through a presidential eight-minute video, that the country was, once again, at war.

A debate and a vote in Congress provide the nation with the only opportunity to discuss whether the country understands and accepts the inevitable sacrifices of war, especially the loss of life. Republican Rand Paul represents Kentucky in the United States Senate. He is the author of "The Case Against Socialism" (Broadside Books, October 15, 2019).

Americans were not asked if they would bear the burdens of war. Instead, the American people were told, through a presidential eight-minute video posted around 2:30 in the morning, that the country was, once again, at war.

And because there was no national discussion about going to war, we do not know whether ground troops will be used. We have no idea how long the war will last. We have no idea who will lead Iran after the death of the supreme leader. And we have no idea how many casualties the American people are supposed to tolerate. We cannot know the answer to these questions because no one bothered to make the case that war with Iran was worth the sacrifice.