By: Ellie Simmers | Editor-in-Chief
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
As I watch the news and listen to the President of “peace” stumble his way through an explanation of why Operation Epic Fury was necessary, I can’t help but feel disgusted by the actions of my country and the needless violence my tax dollars are funding.
On Feb. 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched joint air strikes across Iran, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and nearly 1,300 Iranians as of March 10.
The violence has not stopped at Iran’s borders. Countries such as Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates have already been caught in the crossfire, with casualties and serious injuries reported in each.
What was presented as a necessary strike has already spiraled into a widening conflict, and ordinary people across the region are paying the price for an imperialist temper tantrum.
As an American, it is hard to watch my country sow terror among people that are no different than us, just born somewhere else. I am painfully aware of how privileged I am to be able to turn off the atrocities that this country and our allies are committing.
Time and time again, I have watched our leaders choose bombs over diplomacy, and as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are still terrorizing Americans and Israel has not ceased its genocide in Gaza, it seems that the Board of Peace has quickly become bored with peace.
The timing of this war is also hard to ignore. As President Donald Trump faces declining approval ratings and increasing criticism over his massive presence in the Epstein files, the sudden launch of Operation Epic Fury raises the question of why we really started something with little justification given by leadership. History shows us that governments turn to foreign conflicts when domestic pressure builds.
What makes this war different is that the American people are not on board from the start. A recent poll from Quinnipiac University found that 53% of registered voters oppose U.S. military action against Iran, compared to 74–76% approval for the Iraq War at its outset in 2003.
No one wins in war, even as governments claim victories. How can anyone win when there are innocent lives lost, cities reduced to rubble and the lives and environment of so many are destroyed?
So, I have to ask: Who is this war for?
Not the American people who are seeing record-high gas prices.
Not the Iranian people, who are now being bombed relentlessly.
Perhaps it is for the powerful figures surrounding the president, reportedly profiting from this war.
Perhaps it’s for two of the most powerful leaders of countries who are each facing intense scrutiny for their actions.
Whoever it may be for, the people are paying the price for a war they don’t want.
