The Cost of War

The United States is once again at war. Last week, in cooperation with Israel, the United States military launched an offensive assault against the nation of Iran. In the initial hours of the operation, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader was killed. His death triggered both joy and sorrow to Iran’s 90 million inhabitants.

Some citizens were relieved that the clerical leader was dead, hoping that his removal from leadership would usher in an age of greater freedom and prosperity for the country. Over the past few months, thousands of Iranian protesters have been murdered by the government. The hope is that the Ayatollah’s death will bring peace to the region and allow Iran to amicably coexist with other Arab states.

Not every Iranian shares this view. Millions have mourned the loss of their spiritual guide and fear that his death will bring political and economic turmoil, maybe even civil war to the country.

As American and Israeli bombs and missiles fall on the people of Iran, no one is quite certain how this conflict will end. President Trump has said he wants Iran’s unconditional surrender and regime change. Easier said than done.

President Trump launched the war believing that the theocratic regime of the Ayatollah was on the verge of collapse, especially after the brutal deaths of so many of its citizens earlier in the year. Then, too, the country faces severe economic problems and the president sensed, probably correctly, that the people were restless for change.

In negotiations with Iran before the war, the president demanded that Iran’s leaders acquiesce to his demands or face war. When the Ayatollah’s government failed to comply, Trump ordered the attack. Almost immediately, the Ayatollah was killed.

The barrage of missiles and bombs on Iran by American and Israeli forces have already destroyed significant portions of the Iranian capacity to wage war. Much of Iran’s leadership has been killed, and the nation is reeling from the overwhelming military superiority of America’s might.

*An Iranian flag is planted in the rubble of a police station, damaged in airstrikes on March 3, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Getty*

So what will the future bring for the citizens of Iran? While the military outcome seems clear, the political picture is still hazy and may remain so for years. We learned from the early 2000s that America’s military campaign in Iraq led swiftly to the defeat of Iraqi forces, but political instability lasted for well over a decade, resulting in millions of Iraqi citizens being displaced. Are we destined for a similar fate in Iran?

Experts hold widely divergent opinions on Iran’s future. The president’s desire to see regime change is fraught with difficulties. Iran appears unlikely to accept a pro-American puppet. The country still remembers how in 1953 the British and Americans staged a coup and put Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the seat of power, ending Iran’s fledgling democracy. The Shah’s rule was marked by corruption and in 1979 he was replaced by a theocratic government with Ayatollah Khomeini as Iran’s supreme leader.

Many experts believe that foreign interference in Iranian politics will only further destabilize the country. The Iranian people are a proud nation and committed to their religious faith and will not tolerate outsiders making decisions for them.

There is fear that if America continues to interfere in the country, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard will take control of the government, resulting in another strongman ruler. And, of course, there is also the possibility the country will erupt into civil war, and if Iran collapses, the entire region may devolve into chaos. Millions of citizens will desperately seek to escape, flooding and then overwhelming Iran’s neighbors and other regions. Once again Europe will be faced with a migration crisis.

As America has learned over the past several decades, wars are far easier to start than end. There are no guarantees that the outcome of the war will be favorable to either the United States or Israel. Continued missile strikes and bombs on the cities and villages of Iran may foster a new generation of young people who see America as an evil empire.

The Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman knew well the brutality of war. He said, “War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it. It is only those who have never fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.” Sherman made these remarks over 150 years ago. The war machines of advanced countries have become only more lethal, and the horrors of war more hellish.

It is not just the actual war that is hell but the aftermath. The destruction of cities, homes, lives, institutions, political structure, culture, education, and moral and ethical values wreak havoc on a society. It will take years, perhaps decades for Iran to recover. And, unfortunately, given Iran’s religious culture, the likelihood that the country will become more amenable to American interests is remote.

There is strong consensus that Iran was poised for political change. Tensions in Iran were running high before the war, and the people were palpably frustrated and angry with their government. It was clear that the end of clerical rule was in the wind. The one thing that might alter the fall of the regime was foreign interference. If foreign powers attempted to take advantage of Iran’s internal instability and force political compliance, incompatible with Iranian values, the people might turn their anger away from their own government to enemy outsiders.

There are reports from world-wide news services that we are seeing that now. Many of the citizens who celebrated the death of the Ayatollah are becoming increasingly resentful at the continued bombardment of its cities, the deaths of its citizens, and the American demands to control its future.

The cost of war is immense. Is our country willing to help rebuild Iran? Are we willing to let the Iranian people decide for themselves who will govern? There are many unanswered questions.

One question regarding the cost of war, though, can be answered. Stanley Hauerwas, Professor Emeritus of Ethics at Duke University, writes, “The most considerable sacrifices war demands is not the loss of life, but the loss of our reluctance to kill.”

War, as the Christian ethicist notes, degrades human values. War makes savages of us all. It makes brutal acts acceptable. It normalizes the death of innocents as merely collateral damage. In following the teachings of Jesus, we are taught that violence against others is never holy.

America Can Change