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Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey wasted no time condemning President Donald Trump after U.S. strikes targeted Iran’s regime and military infrastructure and killed the Ayatollah. Their statements were swift, sweeping, and shameless. Warren declared that Trump was “single-handedly starting another war with Iran” and claimed “‘America first’ doesn’t mean dragging the United States into another forever war built on lies.” Markey called the operation “illegal and unconstitutional” and warned that it “holds dangers for all Americans.” He insisted that “A diplomatic solution remains the best way to permanently and verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.” Notice what is missing. There is no acknowledgment of what the Iranian regime actually is. No mention of its decades-long sponsorship of terrorism. No reference to its open hostility toward the United States and Israel. No serious reckoning with the regime’s nuclear ambitions or its repeated threats against its neighbors. Iran’s ruling clerics have presided over a government that oppresses women, jails dissidents, crushes protests, and funds proxy militias across the Middle East. Its leaders have led chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel.” The regime has enriched uranium, advanced missile capabilities, and repeatedly destabilized the region. Yet in the face of that record, Warren and Markey present Tehran as a victim of American aggression. Warren warns against “another forever war built on lies.” Markey says, “Americans do not want another endless war in the Middle East.” These are familiar talking points. They are politically safe in Massachusetts. But they are also morally shallow. There is a difference between reckless nation-building and confronting a regime that openly seeks nuclear leverage and regional dominance. Nation-building wars are not the same as targeted strikes that cripple a hostile regime. Neither senator makes that distinction. Instead, both default to the assumption that American force is the primary danger in the situation. Markey insists that “There was time for diplomacy before this attack, and there still is.” Western leaders spent years pursuing diplomacy, signing agreements, and offering concessions. Iran continued enriching uranium and supporting armed proxies. We cannot achieve peace by pretending that hostile regimes will moderate if given enough patience. For Christians and conservatives who take moral responsibility seriously, foreign policy is not a cartoon. No president should enter war lightly. Lives are at stake. Prudence and restraint matter. But prudence does not mean blindness to evil, and restraint does not mean paralysis. The Iranian regime is not a misunderstood partner. It is a theocratic government that suppresses its own people and threatens others. Ignoring that reality while issuing press releases about “forever wars” may score points with progressive activists, but it does not reflect sober leadership. Massachusetts deserves senators who can speak honestly about threats to American security and to allies facing annihilationist rhetoric from Tehran. Instead, Warren and Markey chose predictable outrage over serious analysis. Their statements were not courageous. They were not balanced. They were not even new. They were shameless.
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