A new rat- America has been down this maze before: Trump's war path

Again? Raise your hand if you smell a rat.

Does that rat smell a lot like the argument used to go after Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction we later confirmed did not really exist?

We saw and heard high-level government officials do their best to convince the American public the threat was real, imminent, and we needed to strike hard and fast.

The weighted rhetoric was force-fed through media outlets, and counterarguments were greatly muted.

The invasion of Iraq took place, and American troops and treasure were locked in a prolonged conflict based on an embellished lie.

The new rat is being paraded as an effort to justify a new military action against Iran.

We see grainy images of a small boat and several individuals floating next to a giant oil tanker. The action is being labeled as a military strike against shipping in the region.

It appears to be a weak attempt by someone who wants to draw America into another expensive war and keep us entangled in the Middle East.

If the attacks on tankers were truly an act of war, those tankers would be resting on the bottom of the ocean. There are special interests at play here.

America has been led down this path before, and the results do not work in our favor. War should only be a response to an undeniable threat, and it must also include a well-defined end game.

Soldiers will die for political reasons - again.

Bob Warterfield, Tulsa