The Iran Controversy: cutting through the noise

At 1:15 am EST on Saturday February 28th Operation Epic Fury commenced, and with it an online fury of impassioned opinions about the operation. That day, I had a good deal of downtime with lingering aches and weakness as I recovered from feverish illness of the day before. As I recuperated, I had plenty of time to consume the flood of online opinions and to notice, per usual, most of the opinions were coming down hard and fast on two very divided sides.

Passion and emotion are understandable. War means death. It’s human nature, and a good nature we have, to feel profound emotion when life is involved. But a good portion of the passion poured out was not necessarily for the lives that would or might be involved. Notably, it was more generally applied to America’s role abroad, inability to fix problems on our own soil and who we are linking arms with, Israel.

The Iran Controversy – a teachable moment

As a homeschool family we are actively overseeing the entirety of our children’s education. Current events such as this are opportunities not to be missed. So, Saturday night we sat down, started from the top by watching the President’s eight minute speech and then sorted through arguments playing out publicly and our kid’s questions about them.

It’s a true gift to your children to demonstrate to them an example of what it looks like to examine information from multiple sides in order to form a well thought out opinion, contrasting the knee jerk reactions culture is framing up for them daily. In the process, proving to yourself that it can be done might be a gift to you as well.

Is this a war?

Whether or not this is war is one of the points of contention between the two sides. Most of those on pro-Operation Epic Fury side were online chirping over and over “this is not a war, these are targeted strikes.” Conversely, the opposition is bemoaning the idea of being drug into another war, possibly not even of our choosing, reminding everyone that Trump was supposed to be a no more wars “peace through strength” president.

So, is this war? Yes, it is. Anyone listening to hear (not just react) heard Trump say in his February 28th speech, “for these reasons, the United States military has undertaken a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.” Massive and ongoing is not just targeted strikes, it might include targeted strikes but it equates to war. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth confirmed that just this morning in his briefing where he called it, war. He denounced the notion that it would be a ‘forever war’ but he did not avoid the word war.

Whether or not it is a war shouldn’t be the sole factor in forming our opinion of this operation but it is interesting to note that many eager to show only favor for the operation are the most reluctant to call it what it is.

Why war?

The stated reason our government gave is ending Iran state sponsored terrorism. Trump declared that we cannot let Iran get a nuclear weapon, and stated that nuclear facilities were obliterated via “Operation Midnight Hammer” in June 2025. He continued, saying after that operation, Iran repeatedly “rejected opportunities to renounce their ambitions” and continued to develop long range missiles.

Who could war with Iran help?

America – Iran has been responsible for American deaths over the years. In his announcement of the mission Donald Trump spoke of this. Over the last day or so Trump also made mention of Iran trying to “kill him twice” and we’ve seen footage of the death to America chants.

Israel will be helped. Trump brought up the October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel within his speech. This is the part many are latching onto, concerned we are fighting a war that is not our own.

Iranians who want freed from this oppressive regime. It has been reported that over 30,000 people were killed in January over the course of a few days for protesting the government. While it seems no one is suggesting an all out denial of these deaths, some say these numbers have been significantly padded to garner support for this attack & here is another article discussing the varying numbers. Iranians celebrating in the streets both in America and abroad are being filmed and shared widely. Likewise I have seen video of protests and mourning in the streets of Iran. It’s hard to know what to believe online, but likely both scenarios are happening simultaneously – surely there are regime sympathizers.

Some believe the main way this helps America is by harming China. Iran supplies China with a portion of their oil needs, losing that will hurt.

Potentially the Middle East at large will be improved as Iran is said to be the backer for many of the terrorist groups impacting the region.

How could War with Iran be bad for America?

When I said some people think this could be bad for America, my oldest asked, “how?” In his speech Trump laid out the first and most obvious reason: loss of life. American servicemen, will likely die. Already at the time of writing this, sadly, four have and there will likely be more. This and the potential for innocent life caught in the middle.

The other most obvious way this could harm America is the monetary cost of war. We discussed this as a family and as we did, I pulled up the national debt clock on my phone. When I turned the screen to my daughters, their jaws physically dropped open. Just fifteen and eleven years old, they get it.

We continued to talk about the national debt and the role it plays in people’s skepticism about military actions keeping us safe or creating weak spots by further breaking us down financially. The national debt per citizen currently is $118,584, in case you were wondering. Quickly rounding in my head to give them a clearer picture, I said, “our household of five carries $600,000 of that national debt.” Wow.

This led to a reinforcement that the government is not a producer. We, the American taxpayers, are the government. The money always comes from us by way of taxing or inflation and printing of new money.

Economic impacts will hit closer to home for some as well. The input costs to plant a crop as well as commodities are greatly impacted by war, as farmers our family will notice this. Fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia prices are likely going to increase significantly.

In the few minutes that passed as my family sat discussing the financial impact of military action, the national debt had increased by $5 million.

What is Americas role? Isolationism? Freeing other nations?

As discussed above, many are concerned that we are fighting a war soley for other countries either for Israel or to free Iran.

John Quincy Adams, while serving as Secretary of State, famously said in an 1821 Independence Day speech, “America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example. She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom… She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit.”

Has America ceased to be the champion and vindicator of her own? Have we led with action by example of true freedom and independence or have we diminished and taken for granted our own while still thinking we have it in us to save others? Have we failed the original mission by setting our sights abroad?

I find this speech to be incredibly uplifting and filled with a mature sense of the American spirit. Restraint not out of weakness but the recognition of greater obligation.

Would what John Quincy Adams holds as the ideal be considered an “isolationist” approach?

The first line is key, “America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.” It doesn’t say, we don’t destroy monsters. It says we don’t search for them. Did we search out this monster or did it find us and we took action? Are we involved because of our own national defense? Others will benefit because of the United States’ involvement, that is true, but it is possible that our real interests overlap, is that the case here? And, even if the true reason for American involvement is America, will taking out this evil leave a void only to be filled by a new evil or will Iran see peace?

I can see clearly both sides, the argument for and the argument against this war. Only time will really tell who was right and in some ways time never will. But, it’s a question that’s been argued for nearly the entirety of our nation’s existence: What is the role of America outside of our borders?

I hesitate to share much opinion here but one additional question I have asked myself is do I feel more or less safe (or the same) from a national defense standpoint with Donald Trump in the White House compared to other presidents within my lifetime? My answer is more. I think most people (likely even those who think Donald Trump is compromised and bowing to Israel) would be hard pressed to answer that they feel less safe now when our last president had obvious signs of progressing dementia while in office. This is somewhat an aside because a sense of greater capability, strength doesn’t mean we trust actions without question but it is a factor to entertain as we each individually sort through the Iran controversy.

We aren’t required to have an opinion

It is good and worthwhile to understand our nation, its role throughout history, the intentions of our founders and discuss if the approach John Quincy Adams advocated for is even possible in our technologically advanced interconnected times. Threats are more swiftly acted upon. Is the past a utopian dream?

These questions and those discussed earlier are all excellent to entertain. It is good to evaluate concepts and establish ideals that align with our morals, but we are not required to have an opinion (especially and immediate and not fully informed one) on every action taken. You might choose to support the actions of the POTUS while holding strong reservations, be strongly opposed while acknowledging you might not have all the information, just watch and wait without voicing an opinion or anything in between, knowing that in these types of conversations multiple things can be true at one time.

Without negating the impact of public polling and public support or opposition; you and I are not the overseers of the world. We are not called to the position of initiating or resolving international conflict. Therefore, a quickly determined and publicly declared opinion is permitted but not required.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

Helpful links for further home discussion:

John Quincy Adams: Monsters to Destroy full speech.There’s audio of this speech being read and a discussion of it within this link. My girls are going through it over the course of a few days, pausing in between for discussion. It might be hard to listen to and fully grasp due to the vocabulary but as I tell my girls consistently stretching ourselves by listening to linguistically challenging text is a great way to grow intellectually.

Duties of the Secretary of State, currently Marco Rubio

Office of the Secretary of War, currently Pete Hegseth

Powers and procedures of declaring war

Encyclopedia Britannica, Iran

Only Cry for the Living, this is a book I purchased in late 2025 in an attempt to gain a better perspective on conflict in the Middle East and personal stories of those living it. I’ve been reading it intermittently and am currently about half way through, it’s eye opening.

Beirut, this book, written by Jack Carr, I purchased at the same time as Only Cry for the Living. I haven’t yet read it but it’s definitely relevant to helping gain an understanding on Iran and the “untold origin story of the war on terror” in the queue as next up for me.

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