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Calm down—we are not at war. By the time most Americans even heard about President Trump’s targeted strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the headlines were already screaming, the pundits were clutching their scripts, and the usual suspects on the Left were warning of World War III. But here’s the reality they refuse to admit: Trump’s Iran strike was a calculated message, not a declaration of war.
And here’s the part they won’t say out loud, this isn’t war footing, it’s enforcement. What happened wasn’t reckless, it wasn’t random, and it certainly wasn’t a war declaration. It was a long-overdue response to a regime that’s spent years daring the United States to blink. And this time? We didn’t.
The missiles hadn’t even cooled before MSNBC sounded the war horns.
“We are now in war with Iran,” declared Rachel Maddow, less like a journalist and more like a student protester with a podcast.
Foreign Affairs titled their coverage “America’s War With Iran.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rushed to X to declare that Trump had “risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations.”
Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-TX) followed suit, warning that the strike “risks drawing us into another brutal war in the Middle East.”
And Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) said flatly: “Trump’s unilateral decision to strike may lead the U.S. into a war with Iran.”
And Rep. Thomas Massie (R‑KY) with “When two countries are bombing each other daily in a hot war, and a third country joins the bombing, that’s an act of war. I’m amazed at the mental gymnastics being undertaken by neocons in DC (and their social media bots) to say we aren’t at war… so they can make war.”
Let’s pause.
President Trump ordered a targeted, strategic strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. No cities were bombed. There is no regime change agenda, and certainly there are no plans to deploy troops.
We hit a threat. We didn’t start a campaign.
.@VP: “We do not want war with Iran. We actually want peace, but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program — and that’s exactly what the President accomplished last night.” pic.twitter.com/qV1Kp64Qfr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 22, 2025
Marco Rubio: “This is not a war against Iran.” pic.twitter.com/3kFrken3Zu
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 22, 2025
So the media says it’s war. The pundits say it’s reckless. All that’s left now is to call it a distraction. Enter: the “wag the dog” crowd.
But here’s what actually happened: Trump didn’t wag the dog. He walked it straight to Iran’s nuclear doorstep—and let it bark.
This wasn’t theater. It wasn’t ego. It was policy with a spine. And it was long overdue.
So while the media hyperventilates and the pundits reach for their war metaphors, the rest of us can read the moment clearly. This wasn’t a declaration. It was a message, targeted and unmistakable. And judging by the silence out of Tehran, it was heard.
Of course, if Tehran decides to escalate, we’ll all be having a different conversation—but for now, the silence speaks volumes.
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Mad Celt says: Iran does not see it as a message.
John C. says: Iran declared war on the U.S. two generations ago. Should we not take them seriously? WE didn’t start this war; THEY did, and are proud of it.
GWB says: Sorry, Carol, but you’re wrong. This is very definitely an act of war.
The whole industry around claiming these sorts of things are not really a war is one of the most pernicious Prog holdouts from the post-WW2 mindset. It caused the Korean “police action” to drag out. It made the ROE in Vietnam almost entirely ineffective. It ensured we stopped in the first Gulf War when we should have driven to victory and then gone home.
Now, it’s an understandable act of war, IMO, since Iran has actually been at war with us for 45 years. But, again, since “War is bad” we have refused to acknowledge actual reality for those 45 years and wave our hands at a thousand dead at the hands of Iranian* agents, instead of responding appropriately and ending the war. No one wants to be the awful person to actually go to “war” when “war is bad”, so they disguise it with euphemisms and bullcrap like “No, it’s just a message.” (It’s why we had an “Authorization to Use Military Force” instead of a “declaration of war” in the War on Terror for 20 years. “We can’t declare war! It might upset the international consensus or something!”)
It was policy with a spine.
Yes. And it was an act of war. If you think it has a spine, then don’t wilt from it.
GWB says: Marco Rubio: “This is not a war against Iran.”
And Rubio disappoints me in saying that. If it’s not a war against Iran, then you best not fly American military aircraft into Iranian airspace and bomb a bunch of their sh**. Because that’s exactly what war is.
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