(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection - Letter to the Editor)

As I write, four Americans have now given their lives in this new war. We mourn for the patriots who raised their right hands and took an oath to put everything on the line, willing to go wherever their government said they were needed, sacrificing all for our country.

The president (a five-time draft dodger) who sent them into harm’s way assures us that they will not be the last to fall. More Americans will lose their lives, he has said, because “that’s the way it is.” Today he has signaled that he would not rule out sending ground troops into the conflict.

We all know that the most serious, sober, and important job of a president is to decide whether and when to order troops into combat. Because American lives are on the line, and because of the dreadful cost of war, it is to be done only when there is no real alternative. A last resort.

But no one seriously believes that is what happened here. America is at war, and the president shows little interest in justifying it to the American people, let alone seeking a declaration from Congress as required by American law.

When he does try to state a reason, he cannot keep his story straight on why or what the objective is. Sometimes it’s regime change, which he’d promised he would not use American blood and treasure to pursue. Sometimes it’s a nuclear threat, which he told us last year had been obliterated.

What we know for sure is that the president and his wealthy friends will not bear the burden – they will continue to enjoy their enormous tax cuts, while telling us health care and food stamps must be cut because we can’t afford them. He announced these strikes from a private club for the extremely wealthy that he owns, as if to illustrate how little this has to do with what’s best for ordinary Americans.

And that’s who will pay the price. Americans know this war will do nothing to help – and will very likely hurt – when it comes to the biggest challenges we face, especially the cost of living.

Billions of taxpayer dollars are now flowing to the Middle East instead of going toward pressing needs at home. Prices will rise. The debt will grow. The economy will become even less stable, and Washington will be even less capable of facing urgent needs at home.

Here, as in so many other areas, the president is not an unstoppable force. After all, under this country’s Constitution, it is Congress that has the power to declare war. Now Congress must do its job and rein in the President’s recklessness – and at the very least require him to explain and justify his reckless course of action. If service members are putting their lives on the line in combat, the absolute minimum our representatives can do is put their name on the line to take an up or down vote on sending them there.

Repeatedly, especially in the past year, we have seen that this Congress and even the White House can be compelled to change course when the American people speak up loudly and clearly enough. We, the people, must be clear in demanding accountability from our leaders, never more so than in matters of war and peace.

Jerry L. Payne

Ripley