DEAR EDITOR:

On Easter Sunday morning, the president of the United States announced his intention to commit war crimes.

That’s not hyperbole or partisan rhetoric. Legal scholars citing the laws of armed conflict, using the same framework American military commanders are trained on, confirm that deliberately targeting civilian power plants and bridges constitutes a war crime. Causing excessive suffering to civilian populations clears that bar. We called it a war crime after World War II. The label hasn’t changed.

On April 6, The Vindicator ran the headline: “President intensifies Iran threat.”

To say the least, that headline deserves a rewrite. I’ll leave the wording to the editors, but I’d suggest starting by adding the actual words “war crimes.”

Here is what the President actually posted on Easter morning, verbatim; “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

The president spelled out every word. He did not extend to the American public or to the office he holds the courtesy of a single dash or asterisk.

A sitting American president conducting a war like he’s “drunk texting” an ex. On Easter Sunday. Signing off with “Praise be to Allah,” a taunt so bizarre and awful it defies explanation.

This is not politics. This is not left versus right. This is a moral question with the only answer sitting right in front of us; accountability — at the ballot box, in the halls of Congress, and in the court of public opinion starting right here in the Mahoning Valley.

To my neighbors who support this man, I ask you honestly: How did you feel when you read those words from the President of the United States? Neighbor to neighbor, where is your line?

There is still time to see this clearly, not as Republicans or Democrats, not as Trump supporters or opponents, but as Americans who know the difference between right and wrong. That clarity is still available to all of us. I hope we choose it.

JOHN SHARTLE

Canfield