WAR AND POLITICS

In a recent CNN interview, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman acknowledged what many of his fellow Democrats won’t admit: that their opposition to the war in Iran is largely political: “I really want to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region …So I’m all for that. …On the other hand…I don’t want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are two awful human beings.”

Deep down, Mr. Friedman understands the differences between this and past conflicts like Vietnam.

In the early 1960s, Viet Nam was a small country that played a minor role in the world’s economy. It was nowhere near the acquisition of a nuclear weapon. Other than the widely accepted (but later disproved) “Domino Theory” that we needed to fight the spread of communism across the globe to win the Cold War, Vietnam was insignificant geopolitically. Nevertheless, Lyndon B. Johnson massively escalated the war, pushing troop deployments up from around 16,000 in 1963 to over 500,000 in 1968.

Today, Iran is a country of over 90 million with oil and gas resources that are among the most valuable in the world. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) has exploited these assets to enrich itself at the expense of its countrymen, to build one of the most powerful militias in one of the most economically critical regions in the world, to fund regional terrorism, to pursue nuclear weapons, and to bolster its alliance with China and Russia in what has become something of a Cold War 2.0.

Each of the last three Democratic presidents also recognized that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is an existential threat:

Former President Bill Clinton (2006): “… this is an unacceptable path that they must stop or action will have to be taken … there’s not going to be any alternative but to deny them a nuclear weapons program.”

Then President Barack Obama (2015): “Iran is pursuing its nuclear ambitions and sponsoring violent extremists across the globe...our policy is prevention, not containment.”

Then Vice President and later President Joe Biden (2015): “I want to be clear: Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch.”

And yet, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders (and many in his party and on the isolationist right) have alleged that President Trump has entangled us in a new quagmire: “The American people were lied to about Vietnam, with tragic consequences. The American people were lied to about Iraq, with tragic consequences. The American people are being lied to again today. We cannot allow history to repeat.”

But this is little more than false equivalency in pursuit of political expediency.

Viet Nam lasted 14 years, resulted in 58,000 U.S. fatalities, and in 300,000 U.S. casualties.

Iraq dragged on for 8 years, caused over 4,000 U.S. fatalities and 32,000 casualties.

Epic Fury lasted less than 2 months, and has resulted in 15 U.S. fatalities and a little over 500 casualties.

As a hard-core believer in free speech, I don’t question the right of Mr. Friedman or Mr. Sanders to express their beliefs. But when leaders put their political interests ahead of American interests in something as important as this war, they sow division that plays into enemy hands. In a recent article titled “How Iran is Gaining Ground in the Information War”, The Wall Street Journal described Iran’s new PR tactics,“ The narrative they aim to promote is simple: Trump is Israel First, not America First, and Americans are paying the price for a war started to distract attention from the Epstein files.”

In other words: Iran’s new PR program plays off of and reinforces what has become standard fare for the domestic anti-Trump crowd.

In effect, many Democrats and isolationist Republicans are pushing for President Trump to withdraw too soon under the weight of public opinion. In so doing, they are empowering an otherwise decimated enemy whose only remaining chance for survival lies in their conviction that we will give in before they do. This only emboldens Iran to perpetuate the hostilities, putting additional lives at risk.

Once again: our leaders have the right to express their opinions. And we have the right to decide who we vote for and listen to.

Today we face important challenges, but none that are greater than those we have overcome time and again throughout our storied history. Here’s to hoping your day is as bright as America’s future.

- Todd, May 10, 2026

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