I wasn’t alive yet for the beginning of the Iraq War. But as I watch the U.S. war on Iran threaten to spiral out of control, I’m starting to see what it might have felt like.
The Iraq War was predicated on a lie, but the Bush administration at least attempted to justify it. If anything, the war in Iran has been even more poorly justified — and lacking any coherent strategy.
And young people especially have a stake in seeing it end as soon as possible.
For Millennials, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq heralded the destruction of a future they had been promised. For Generation Z, the war in Iran is worsening the future we already worried would be bad.
Already, nearly 2,500 people have been confirmed killed in the region since the start of this war. The vast majority of those killed have been civilians in Iran and Lebanon — including over 180 people in a U.S. strike on a girls’ elementary school. American troops, the majority of whom are under 30, are also at risk. At the time of this writing, 13 have been confirmed dead, and hundreds have been injured.
The Trump administration has offered multiple explanations for this war, none of which are very coherent. Regime change? Iran’s nuclear enrichment program? Iran’s missiles and drones? The explanation changes by the day.
Sending young people to die in yet another forever war — without even telling them why — is a tragedy, especially with the president refusing to rule out a military draft. (My younger brother would be draft-eligible, so that hits close to home.)
This war has also been economically devastating. Oil prices have topped well over $100 a barrel and are expected to keep climbing — potentially to $200 a barrel, which would be apocalyptic for the world economy. Already, everything from gas to food to flights to fertilizer has been made more expensive.
For Gen Z, already less financially secure than previous generations, we face an economic shock greater than or equal to the 1970s oil embargoes — and during the prime years of our careers. We could also see hiring slow, making an already brutal job market worse.
What’s more, there are some common-sense investments we could be making in young people — like expanding health insurance, eliminating student debt, or erasing barriers to homeownership. Instead, we’re spending a billion dollars a day on this war, according to the National Priorities Project, and the Pentagon is requesting $200 billion more.
This war is also an ecological nightmare. Strikes on fossil fuel infrastructure by both sides have set refineries and gas fields ablaze, releasing millions of tons of greenhouse gases. Experts warn these pollutants could linger in the environment for decades to come.
Finally, this war is catastrophic because of the long-term implications for war and peace itself.
Throughout this war, we’ve seen the U.S. and Israel violate time-honored principles of engagement. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. will offer our enemies “no quarter,” which has been recognized in the U.S. as a war crime since the Civil War. It used to be taboo to talk about killing the civilian heads of foreign states, even ones we didn’t like, but now the U.S. and Israel brag openly about decapitation strikes in Iran.
And of course, this war is plainly illegal — a war of pure aggression, without any imminent threat, and with no approval from the UN Security Council or Congress.
When we disregard these rules, the world becomes a more violent place. This war might spell the destruction of the post-1945 system of international law, which — while flawed and unevenly applied — is far preferable to a world where might makes right.
It’s no wonder the public overwhelmingly disapproves of the war — and dissent is particularly strong among younger generations. In this time of uncertainty and tragedy, we must use every tool available to force this war to stop. Our futures depend on it.
