In 2003, the president of the United States started a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. President George W. Bush never made a persuasive case for his decision to topple Iraq’s government, although he did have public opinion on his side and secured explicit permission from Congress. Hindsight vindicated the war’s opponents. Iraq wasn’t the imminent threat Bush insisted it was, and the bloodshed continued for almost a decade.
In 2026, the president of the United States has started a war. This time around, President Donald Trump didn’t bother trying to convince members of Congress, the American public or the world at large that this gravest of decisions was justified.
The war with Iran will, on its own terms, change the world in myriad and unpredictable ways. But it’s worth noting at the outset that two institutions have compounded the errors that set up Iraq’s tragedies:
U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 immediately spawned counterattacks, and the fighting, less than a week old, has already claimed the lives of two Iowans. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee were killed in a drone strike in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while stationed there with the 103rd Sustainment Command of Des Moines. Coady was studying computer science and cybersecurity at Drake University. O’Brien was a manager for a Coralville cybersecurity company. At least four other soldiers died in the strike.
That the war immediately achieved a tactical objective ― the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ― is a credit to Trump and the military but does not assuage any questions about the reason for the attacks or about the future.
Iran’s theocratic leaders thoroughly earned the antagonism of the United States and Israel through their backing of terrorists and nuclear-arms ambitions, not to mention the brutal repression and extermination of their own people. But war requires more. Trump cited “imminent threats” and has left it at that. Just as distressing is reporting suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the instigator here, with Trump acceding to his argument for attacking. Being an ally of Israel, or anybody, should never mean that other countries can overtly start wars with the confidence that American power is beholden to back them up. A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,282 U.S. adults found that only 27% supported the strikes, with 43% opposed.
Now that there’s no going back, the plan is no more apparent. In a range of interviews, Trump and his Cabinet have given widely varying answers about how long they expect fighting to last or even what broad objectives they are trying to achieve.
Iowa’s six members of Congress issued statements praising the war’s initial strikes. Congress was expected to vote March 4 and 5 on a symbolic resolution to block Trump from continuing to use military force. Regardless of the merits of this action, their indifference to the presidency usurping Congress’ constitutional role in defining military conflict is disappointing.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said March 3 that “ground troops will require congressional authorization,” according to CBS News. If it comes to troops on the ground, Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Reps. Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn should insist on at least that much.
The American people depend on their elected officials to demand clear and convincing assurances that military action can’t be avoided. Congress did not demand it, and Trump hasn’t provided it. Because they treated the onset of war so trivially, countless lives will never be the same.
Lucas Grundmeier, on behalf of the Register’s editorial board
This editorial was updated March 5, 2026, to include details about a second Iowa casualty in Kuwait.
This editorial is the opinion of the Des Moines Register’s editorial board: Rachel Stassen-Berger, executive editor; Lucas Grundmeier, opinion editor; and Richard Doak and Rox Laird, editorial board members.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Trump takes us to war with Iran without explaining why | Opinion
Reporting by The Register’s editorial, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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