US Attacks Iran 2026

[Valerie]

I can recognize that others volunteer to serve without feeling morally obligated to support every use of military force. Those aren’t the same thing.

Yet they would feel insulted & discouraged by the attitudes here while they are willing to lay down their own lives that others might live. I do t expect to understand it all but I’ve been listening to those who are explaining it well as it is their, not our, area of expertise.
Certainly praying rather than criticizing the Lord would see as a better use of time. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one availed much. Amen?

I have forebears who were persecuted here in the US for their refusal to serve in the military. During WWI, one of my Great-Great Uncles was forced to boot camp and tortured. My grandmother was expelled from public school in the 1920s for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

There were Mennonites who were imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth for refusing to enlist. Others faced mob violence for refusing to buy war bonds.

That history shapes how I understand conscience and war. For some of us here, dissent isn’t disrespect. It’s inheritance and faith.

I appreciate that and I don’t agree with compulsory serving. But there has been a lot of disrespect shared by posters here for those who understand it differently and do risk their lives.

[Szdfan]

Yet they would feel insulted & discouraged by the attitudes here while they are willing to lay down their own lives that others might live. I do t expect to understand it all but I’ve been listening to those who are explaining it well as it is their, not our, area of expertise.
Certainly praying rather than criticizing the Lord would see as a better use of time. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one availed much. Amen?

I have forebears who were persecuted here in the US for their refusal to serve in the military. During WWI, one of my Great-Great Uncles was forced to boot camp and tortured. My grandmother was expelled from public school in the 1920s for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

There were Mennonites who were imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth for refusing to enlist. Others faced mob violence for refusing to buy war bonds.

That history shapes how I understand conscience and war. For some of us here, dissent isn’t disrespect. It’s inheritance and faith.

I appreciate that and I don’t agree with compulsory serving. But there has been a lot of disrespect shared by posters here for those who understand it differently and do risk their lives.

Disagreement about war isn’t disrespect toward those who serve.

[Szdfan]

I think few will mourn the Iranian regime but have we thought about what will replace it?

“We” don’t need to replace it. The Iranian people certainly can do so though, and have already demonstrated plenty of resolve to do so.

How well did that go in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Of course, part of the irony is that one of the dynamics that fueled the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran was anger over US involvement in a 1953 CIA backed-coup that installed the Shah and authoritarian rule. I’m not sure why things should go differently this time.

[Bootstrap]

Winning the war means winning the peace. What matters is what comes next.

Libya. Iraq. Afghanistan. Egypt in the Arab Spring (2011).

We've seen this before. If you remove a dictator without a viable government to replace it, the result is not democracy. It's violent chaos. If there's a power vacuum, armed factions, extremists, and strongmen rush in to fill it.

I have no idea what the "day after" plan is. For that matter, I still don't know what the "day after" plan is for Venezuela. But that's what matters. The Pottery Barn principle is relevant: "You break it, you bought it." What are we going to leave behind in the long run?

[Southerner]

But there has been a lot of disrespect shared by posters here for those who understand it differently and do risk their lives.

I have zero respect for people who yielded to their lower nature and killed others...unless they repent and turn from their wicked ways, they will not be in heaven which is tragic. As I understand Scripture, Jesus says that hating another human is the same as killing them.

[Valerie]

Winning the war means winning the peace. What matters is what comes next.

Libya. Iraq. Afghanistan. Egypt in the Arab Spring (2011).

We've seen this before. If you remove a dictator without a viable government to replace it, the result is not democracy. It's violent chaos. If there's a power vacuum, armed factions, extremists, and strongmen rush in to fill it.

I have no idea what the "day after" plan is. For that matter, I still don't know what the "day after" plan is for Venezuela. But that's what matters. The Pottery Barn principle is relevant: "You break it, you bought it." What are we going to leave behind in the long run?

That is a great question. As I’ve been watching Iranians dancing for joy in various places and proclaim thanks- I cannot help but wonder with great concern what you bring up- it’s scary. No one seems to predict what will happen. I really feel for the Iranian people - it hurts to know the way they have suffered. It’s been so long, I cannot fathom them knowing what to do now. There are a lot of Christians there, I assume really praying hard.

[Southerner]

Winning the war means winning the peace.

Whatever this means.

[Bootstrap]

Well…it’s started. The US and Israel attacked Iran this morning (02/28/26).

I am against the attack. No one asked me before they launched. Not sure why.

I am not surprised. This needs to be cleared out before the midterms. I think this is one reason it is happening now.

I sure hope this is not about midterms.

It's hard for me to imagine any "day after" plan solidly in place by mid-terms. I would love to see a stable peace as soon as possible. Wars move quickly at the beginning. Building a stable peace does not.

So far, I haven't heard any plans along those lines. I’ve heard hopeful talk about internal factions suddenly aligning, the Revolutionary Guard breaking ranks, protesters coalescing into a new unity government ... but it's hard to imagine the extremely ideological Guard who was killing the protesters suddenly doing a 180 degree turn.

And this all sounds more like a fantasy than a plan. Like the Iraqis who were supposed to welcome American invaders with open arms ...

[Bootstrap]

Winning the war means winning the peace.

Whatever this means.

It means the goal of a war is always some political outcome that makes continued war unnecessary.

War is a means to that end. It is not an end it itself. In fact, the human cost of war is always huge, and the chaos it introduces is usually unpredictable. The cost of war is usually much higher than predicted. If we start to feel like war is cool and it proves our masculinity and power and we love the videos and technology, we can lose sight of the goal and the suffering every war involves.

For Iran, if our goal is to eliminate nukes and political oppression, it means a government that does not seek nukes and does not brutalize its own people. If they get another dictator much like the current one, there wasn't much point to the war. And the human cost is enormous.

[temporal1]

Szd:
Disagreement about war isn’t disrespect toward those who serve.

i agree, i believe Jesus lived this.
not everyone agrees, or maybe realizes Jesus’ model.

Vietnam, with DRAFTED troops, was a horrfying blunder young men had to endure. Many fatalities+casualties.

They were drafted, many as teens in tears, had to endure fears+atrocities of war, then return to be spit upon and criticized in every way imaginable by those they were obligated by law to defend with their lives.

Following this, there has been significant effort to separate the enlisted from those in control (of their very lives).

Jesus came because, for Him, all lives matter. He has 1 precious offer for all.