The speech of Dennis Kucichin to EIR’s “Epstein and the Bottomless Depravity of the ‘Elites’ —Urgent Need for a Cultural Renaissance!”
The speech of Dennis Kucichin to EIR’s “Epstein and the Bottomless Depravity of the ‘Elites’ —Urgent Need for a Cultural Renaissance!”
The Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) organized an online forum on March 2, 2026, titled “Epstein and the Bottomless Depravity of the Elites – Urgent Need for a Cultural Renaissance!” Dennis Kucinich, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the Democrats held a speech here.
Below is the speech of Dennis Kucinich.
Thank you very much. I just want to say, having listened to Professor Deepak’s presentation, how measured and erudite it was, and what a pleasure it was to have the opportunity to listen to him and also to participate, unfortunately if only briefly, in this important meeting.
As some of you know, I posted on Substack, a column that I regularly write, concerning the United States’ and Israel’s attack on Iran. And in particular, there are two things: One is the murder of the Ayatollah, and the second is the attack on the little girls’ elementary school. The death toll there now exceeds 150, mostly children.
This is a war of choice, and it’s a war of choice that the United States and Israel unfortunately have conspired to execute upon the people of Iran. There are many reasons that are now being given; all of them false. The underlying concern that I have is that this is a further expression of a longstanding colonial mindset and one that is now tethered to a type of megalomania that’s obsessing some of our leaders in the United States.
The United States Congress must go forward, not just with the War Powers Resolution, but this is certainly a cause for impeachment. In some ways it would be symbolic because, while the votes may narrowly be there in the House, the Senate does not possess the votes to remove the President. There are only two measures that Congress has to take any action. One is impeachment and the other one is to cut off funds for this enterprise in Iran.
Unfortunately, the commitment that President Trump made to Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be very deeply entrenched in longstanding relationships the President has with supporters of Israel as well as the fact, unfortunately, that groups that support Israel have a very strong hand in the United States Congress. However, one thing they cannot control is the American people being willing to go to the streets to protest this carnage that has put not only the lives of innocent Iranians at risk, but has put the lives of people throughout the region at risk, as well as the men and women who serve in the armed forces of the United States who are in the region and who also might be called upon in some way to participate in this act of aggression.
So the debate has to go back to Congress, and while I’m not particularly optimistic about what this particular Congress can do, it is urgent that Congress take up this matter, because it’s a constitutional issue. It is a clear abuse of Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that Congress approves all such military actions, in particular declarations of war or practices of war. The President has repeatedly violated that, but now we’re at a crisis point where he’s precipitating what could be World War III. We must not gild this issue. When war begins, the fact is, there is no control. War is generally the lack of control. Things spin out of control, and that’s already happening. And so we in the United States here need to insist that Congress take action. But the American people who have already seen the abuse of power by this administration, who have seen it in the streets of our city through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation (ICE), which functions as a private army, the people of the United States will have to move forward and demand that they take back their government. This will have an impact on the midterms, but in some ways that’s a small matter right now because we’re talking about something that’s months away and actually before the new Congress takes place, it’s many months away. So Congress still has to speak, the American people have to act.
And finally, to our friends across the world: It’s important to know that not everybody in the United States supports this wanton and reckless warring upon another nation. It’s important to remember that there are those of us in the United States who understand the implications of international laws that are being broken now and broken repeatedly. And it’s important to understand that we do not indulge in this ceremony, the destruction of innocence, all over the world. We have an obligation as Americans to stand up for our people for sure, but also to stand up for people around the world who are interested in peace. The United States was not threatened here, and President Trump was not threatened. This is a clear violation of international law, and as someone who has led the effort against many of the wars in the last 30 years, I can tell you that this is a time for straight talk, for careful analysis, and for us to link arms around the country and around the world in the cause of peace and social and economic justice.
So thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to participate. I’m sorry that I’m not going to be able to stay on this call, but I felt an obligation to share with you some thoughts from the standpoint of a former member of the United States Congress for 16 years, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, and somebody who sees himself not just as a citizen of America, but as a citizen of the world. Thank you very much.