From Common Dreams, who shares our vision of peace.

“A British general threw a wrench into the Trump administration’s narrative that Iran is plotting attacks on American troops in the Middle East by telling reporters gathered at the Pentagon Tuesday that “there’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces” in the region.”
“We monitor them along with a whole range of others because that’s the environment we’re in,” said Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, speaking via video from Baghdad. “If the threat level seems to go up then we’ll raise our force protection measures accordingly.”
“Apparently eager to squash the general’s remarks, the U.S. Central Command issued a statement just hours later disputing Ghika’s comments and repeating national security adviser John Bolton’s unsubstantiated claim that American intelligence has ‘identified credible threats’ from ‘Iranian-backed forces’ in Iraq and Syria.”
“The public dispute came as anti-war voices and foreign policy analysts warned that the United States, led by Bolton, may be attempting to manufacture a false pretext to justify launching a war with Iran.
As Common Dreams reported on Tuesday, U.S. officials are—without any concrete evidence—attempting to blame Iran for attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
“The effort to pin the tanker attacks on Iran came just over a week after Bolton used the planned deployment of an American aircraft carrier and bomber task force to the Persian Gulf to threaten Iran with military action and warn—again, without evidence—of “escalatory indications” from Iran.”
“According to the New York Times—which reported Monday that President Donald Trump has reviewed a Bolton-crafted plan to send 120,000 troops to the Middle East to threaten Iran—Trump administration officials are having a difficult time convincing America’s European allies to join them on their march to war.”
We Hold These Truths adds our own brief thought.  Our ‘Common Dream’ is for peace.  American Christians have trouble convincing ourselves that our leaders opt for war again and again. Why do we have trouble believing it?  Because the idea of choosing war is just too ugly to imagine.  We are trained to think minor countries, including Iran, are a military threat to mighty and undefeated USA. The one overriding reason is business – i.e., commerce.  We are hooked on war as our present leaders’ means of stimulating money-creation and an artificial prosperity!  It will inevitably destroy us, both morally and financially, because it is evil and an affront to Jesus Christ.  Please read this full story of the UK General who did not remain silent. -Editor CEC