Americans question Iran war price as markets grow volatile nationwide

As the Pentagon continues to release video of bombs devastating parts of Iran, the smoke can’t hide an increasingly urgent question here at home:

How high a price are Americans willing to pay for this war?

I don’t mean that in terms of casualties, because the seven Americans killed so far is a relatively low number, although every soldier killed is a tragedy. Each should be honored for their sacrifice, as the first half dozen were at a Delaware ceremony attended by President Donald Trump and other dignitaries.

Financial turmoil is really taking its toll on the homeland, not to mention around the world. Markets are stagnant. Oil prices are rising. Business is dwindling. This has raised doubts about Trump’s decision to launch relentless attacks against Iran and offered a range of shifting explanations for why the war is necessary and why it must be launched now.

WHY TRUMP RESPONDED TO REGIME CHANGE WHILE ATTACKING IRAN AND THE MEDIA SHOULD LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES

All great wars require sacrifice. But because the President did not make a prime-time speech to support his decision, many Americans woke up one morning feeling like they were at war with Iran.

Was the aim here to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons? Or was the elimination of Ayatollah Ali Khameneini and other senior leaders a regime change? Pete Hegseth said the goal was not to overthrow the regime, but Trump denied this claim when he said he needed to approve the new leader and refused to anoint the Ayatollah’s son. If this isn’t George W. Bush-style regime change, what is?

Initially, the Dow was falling, 401ks were shrinking, and gas prices were rising.

From a military perspective, the US-Israeli offensive against the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism has been a remarkable success, at least so far. So how long will this 24/7 bombardment continue?

HEGSETH ONCE WARNED AGAINST NEVER-ENDING WARS. NOW HEADING TRUMP’S FIRST STRIKE DOCTRINE

Hegseth told “60 Minutes” that he and Trump are “willing to go as far as we need to go” to overthrow Iran’s dictatorial regime, including sending in troops if necessary. The war minister understandably said he would not tell the enemy whether the military offensive would last four to six weeks or longer.

“Short-term oil prices that will plummet once Iran’s nuclear threat is eliminated is a very small price to pay for the United States, the World, Security and Peace,” the President said. “ONLY FOOLS THINK DIFFERENTLY!”

“The war is almost over,” the president told CBS yesterday. This is an important change.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth argues that the media is exaggerating US casualties in the conflict to make Trump look bad. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Hegseth argues that the media is exaggerating Americans’ losses to make Trump look bad. I’m sorry, but there’s a reason why so many people find this offensive. Journalists cover American military casualties in every administration, and this is not aimed at any one president. To honor our war dead. The majority of the press is not pro-Trump, but these deaths would be major news regardless of who is commander in chief.

Meanwhile, other Arab countries attacked by Iran also cut oil production due to this situation and the risky conditions in the Strait of Hormuz, an important transit point for energy shipments.

At the same time, history shows that some political opponents seek to capitalize on the wartime deaths of Americans, as many Democrats have done here by refusing to call Iran a terrorist state. When 13 Americans were killed in an attack on the Kabul airport during a chaotic retreat from Afghanistan, Republicans blamed Joe Biden during his tenure. When four Americans died in Benghazi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was beaten for years.

Russia’s role is also polarizing. The Washington Post, citing a secret report, said the Kremlin helped Iran target US forces, in other words, kill Americans.

When reporters brought this issue to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Leavitt said, “Whether that happens or not doesn’t really matter, frankly.”

The reaction was immediate.

THE WHITE HOUSE SAID THE RISE IN OIL PRICES WAS TEMPORARY WHILE TRUMP INCREASED ENERGY DOMINANCE IN THE IRAN WAR.

There is a growing sense of international uncertainty that is throwing everyone off balance right now.

For years I watched LBJ and Richard Nixon bombard the Viet Cong in a largely jungle war and the guerrillas refuse to surrender, claiming to outlast the United States. Ultimately, South Vietnam collapsed and was invaded. The war was even more pointless because it was fought against the “domino theory” that these small countries would fall in a communist victory.

Donald Trump ran as an “America First” candidate who would keep the country out of foreign wars. He said that the person who will drag the country into the Third World War is Kamala Harris.

The person who Trump claimed would drag the USA into World War III was former Vice President Kamala Harris. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The former Vice President now accuses Trump of “dragging the United States into a war that the American people do not want.”

And the Iran war, of course, followed another regime change, with Trump ordering the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro and declaring himself the leader of oil-rich Venezuela.

Anger against Iran has exacerbated a deep and ugly divide in conservative media; Some members of the media abruptly changed their rhetoric about foreign wars, and others said the president was betraying his MAGA base.

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A month from now, six months from now, the decision to declare war on Iran may be seen as a brilliant tactical move or the beginning of an Iraq-style quagmire. Will Trump be able to say that he stopped the mullahs’ nuclear program?

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But if there’s anything that might convince the president to declare victory and calm things down, it’s the growing economic pain this war is inflicting on the average American.