Those of us with personal ties to the Middle East know firsthand that Iran’s apocalyptic, fanatical regime has spent decades sowing chaos across the region, with nuclear weapons serving only to make the situation potentially much worse

Objections to the Iran war that hinge on the absence of an immediate and certain threat overlook that the Islamic Republic has, through decades of proxy warfare and its pursuit of nuclear weapons, consistently sought to kill Americans and destabilize the Middle East

Contra Fr. Gerald Murray’s recent article in The Free Press, neither Iran’s potential acquisition of nuclear weapons nor its past proxy warfare justifies a full-scale war today.

Christians can disagree with Pope Leo’s prudential judgment about the Iran war while also appreciating his insistence on preaching the gospel, graciousness in the face of insults, and sincere concern for all who suffer from violence

Contra those opponents of the conflict who claim that it is a product of religious, civilizational, or foreign influence, the war is directly in line with America’s core national interests

Despite Pope Leo’s recent condemnation of those who “wage war,” the U.S.–Israeli campaign against Iran is fully in keeping with the Roman Catholic Church’s official doctrine of just war.

The lesson of 21st-century warfare is not that American power is ineffective. It’s that military success and political victory are not the same thing.

With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed. – Abraham Lincoln

While Iran’s theocratic regime should be overturned, will Operation Epic Fury ultimately bring this goal closer to fruition or exhaust the patience of the American electorate with wars in the Middle East?