My response to the war in Iran is comes down to three simple words: Not my kids

As I watch the world twist into an economic death spiral spurred by Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel in a war against Iran, I’m painfully aware that the president could eventually send ground troops into the conflict.

My response is a simple one: Not my kids.

But even as I and many other parents across the nation voice that sentiment, the Trump administration is seeking $200 billion in additional military funding from a Congress that has yet to make a declaration of war. Three warships and 2,200 Marines have already departed California and are headed to the region. The Pentagon is planning for the possibility of detaining Iranian soldiers and other operatives. Another detachment of Marines was dispatched from the Pacific and is en route to the region.

All of this is happening in support of a war Trump has not adequately explained.

Perhaps if the administration could provide a just reason for the war, Americans could find a way to support the conflict. But as it is, even one of Trump’s most ardent supporters has come out against the conflict. Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned last week, posting a letter on X which said, in part, that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States. Kent went on to say that the Trump administration “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Kent was immediately accused of antisemitism. Then the Trump administration announced that Kent is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly leaking classified information. But even if those accusations help to marginalize and silence Kent, the rest of us have doubts of our own.

Is this war truly about protecting America, or is it a quest for more oil? Is this about increasing Trump’s personal power, or expanding the influence of our nation? Is this another war based on false accusations, or a foolhardy quest for glory? Has Trump truly counted the cost, and does that cost include lives?

If any of those questions lack definitive answers, then all of us should answer in a single voice: Not my kids.

My kids should be exempt if Trump himself could avoid the Vietnam War after a bone spur diagnosis. My kids should be excused if Trump’s own children will not be required to serve. My kids should not be risked if Trump and his allies in Congress are unwilling to risk their own.

Your kids should not be risked, either.

We’ve already seen 13 American families lose their loved ones. We don’t want to lose any more.

Nor do we want to wrestle with the nightmare of knowing American missiles are killing civilians, including schoolgirls, in Iran.

Therefore, my response to the war comes down to those three simple words: Not my kids.

You cannot send them to get payback for what happened decades ago. Not for the hostage crisis. Not for the rhetoric. Not for the war of words we’ve fought with Iran for years.

I’ve invested too much in them to hand them over to you for nothing. To allow them to be used by you for nothing. To let you gamble their lives for less than nothing.

Like any American, I am willing to defend this place. A country where my ancestors and I have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into the soil, into the asphalt, into a system that hasn’t always worked to our advantage. This, after all, is our home.

However, if the president can’t provide us with a reason for this deadly conflict, he should at least show us what he’s willing to risk.

Perhaps he can risk his reputation, a rise in oil prices, or a significant political loss.

But there is one thing that should never be risked without good reason.

My kids.