Seven months into the war with Iran, Americans have every right to ask a simple question: Where is this going?
President Donald Trump, not Congress, entered the conflict promising a short military campaign and clearly defined objectives. On March 2, he said the United States would destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilate its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and stop its support for armed groups outside Iran. By April, Trump was declaring that the United States had already met and exceeded its military objectives.
Yet here we are, seven months later, still at war and at least 18 American soldiers are dead.
The Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of the conflict. Before the war, roughly one-fifth to one-quarter of the world’s oil normally passed through this narrow waterway. The fighting and Iran’s disruption of shipping have severely reduced commercial traffic and sent shock waves through global energy markets. It appears that the president was completely unprepared for Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz.
Americans have felt the consequences. Oil prices have risen sharply. The economic consequences extend far beyond the Persian Gulf: higher transportation costs, more expensive energy and gasoline, higher grocery prices, and a more difficult life for Americans.
And yet the end of the war remains difficult to see.
That is the central issue—Whether Donald Trump and the United States have a clearly defined, achievable objective that justifies continuing an open-ended war.
That question has become particularly urgent because diplomacy has again presented an opportunity for an exit. Iran recently proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and restarting negotiations over its nuclear program, provided the United States lifts its naval blockade, eases certain sanctions, and observes a ceasefire. Trump rejected the proposal.
Iran’s proposal certainly had conditions that Trump could reject. Iran has its own interests, and there is no guarantee that an agreement with Iran would hold. But the existence of the proposal raises an unavoidable question: What would have to happen for this war to end?
That question has become harder to answer as the administration’s objectives have become more unclear and clouded. What began as a campaign described as lasting perhaps four or five weeks has become a prolonged confrontation involving military operations, an economic blockade, and a struggle over control of one of the world’s most important waterways.
Meanwhile, Congress has struggled to assert its role. On September 24, the Senate rejected a measure that would have required the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress specifically authorized the war. The vote was 49–50. Forty nine of those 50 votes came from the republican members of the senate.
So, the question Americans should be asking is not whether they support Donald Trump or oppose him.
It is this:
What is the objective? What is the exit strategy? What will constitute victory? And how long are American service members expected to remain in harm’s way before the nation is given a convincing answer?
A president has enormous responsibility when committing American forces to war. That responsibility does not end when the first bombs fall. It includes explaining why the war continues, what success means, and how the United States intends to get home. Since Congress has not taken part in this war all of those answers lie in Trump’s camp.
Seven months is a long time to be fighting a war that was supposed to be measured in weeks. Our military is in harm’s way without clear objectives.
And every American—regardless of political party—has a legitimate right to demand an answer, and those answers do not appear to be forthcoming.
We must somehow end this awful situation. Our only option right now is to elect a new Congress that will hold the president accountable and get the answers we need. That new Congress will have to be Democratic; the Republicans have shown they refuse to do it.
Larry Pifer
Easton
2 Responses
Thank you, Mr. Pifer. We need to be constantly reminded of Trump’s criminal activities.
Trump’s Maryland Congressman, Andy Harris, has supported the war since its inception. Unfortunately, that is not news as Harris supports everything Trump does. Trump recently issued an executive order cutting support for a cleaner Chesapeake. Of course, chicken-hawk Harris stays silent. Even though Andy did serve, he never saw combat. I read in the MAGA-sphere that his request for a Purple Heart is still pending approval from Hegseth. While serving, Andy was involved in a car accident driving to Bethesda and he suffered a bruise to his left thumb. He also applied for the Congressional Metal of Honor. Just kidding.
Back when the war started, many people thought Trump did it to distract from the Epstein files. That did not work as he’s now creating distractions to take our attention away from his illegal endless war. Like pushing every small town in America to welcome a “Super intelligence Factory.” But the war keeps going, still killing and injuring Americans, still killing innocent non-combatants, still costing us billions of dollars, and still creating animosity against America. No one has seen anything like it. Some said one man couldn’t undermine our country’s reputation, but Trump did it.
Dan Schwartz wants to end to end the war. That’s just one of a thousand reasons to vote for Dan.
Don’t forget the uprising in Yemen with the Iranian-backed Houthi’s where Trump has refused to help the Saudi’s because the Houthi’s said they would not target US shipping. What a guy!