The various news and political talk shows have pretty much responded as expected to the massive naval and air attack by combined American and Israeli forces on the Iranian Islamic Republic this weekend. As have the various national leaders around the world. But in doing so, we find some oddities, and how divided the American people and many around the world are: great joy and absolute horror across a wide range.

With a few exceptions, it seems. For example, although no one is surprised by SC Senator Lindsey Graham’s loud applause and celebration, PA Senator Fetterman (perhaps shocking many) abandoned his fellow Democrats (once again) and praised The Donald and the attack. On the other hand, both KY Senator Rand Paul and Representative Thomas Massie maintained their principled opposition to going to war without a declaration of war. They have joined VA Senator Kaine in pushing for a war powers resolution. We are not surprised to see those who fled from Iran or have family there happy about the attack, just as we expected the hatred demonstrated by Islamists and hatred of The Donald!

Various sources, such as Politico and The Hill, and the even more Regressive outlets (The Daily Beast, CNN, MSN (or whatever they call it now), British and American newspapers, are against it. And of course, the standard mainstream media (ABC, CBS, NBC. NPR, CBC, BBC, etc.) condemn the attack (and the FedGov and Trump, of course). In fact, MSN parroted The Daily Beast’s proclamation in a panic-inducing headline that “First missile hits Europe as Trump’s war spirals out of control.” (It was actually a British base in Cyprus: part of the Middle East and generally considered part of Asia, not Europe.) The Brits are not happy about the FedGov attack, did not join in it, and support it only to the extent that the British Crown did not ban the US from using bases on British soil. (The Spanish Crown, on the other hand, did ban the US from using American bases on Spanish soil.)

Libertarian outlets also join with Paul and Massie in opposition to the new war. Anti-war.com, Reason.com, EricPetersAuto.com, and others again point out their principled opposition to the war. To the surprise of some, a couple of big-time talk show hosts agreed: notably Glenn Beck (who believes that Iran is evil but points out the same things as Kentucky’s senators: if we must (need to/want to) go to war, do it the way we are supposed to).

Consider headlines and stories about how Israel is expanding the war by attacking targets in Lebanon. Even though those attacks are truly defensive, in response to rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel!

Meanwhile, both sides are really idiotic: liars and more. Today, more than ever, it is possible for a reader to find out when government agencies, media, or advocates are lying. But sometimes, as in the Cyprus example above, it doesn’t take much.

(And we do not forget that American and Israeli actions led to the original enmity: that there is some justification for IIR and Hezbollah actions for decades.)

Here is another Daily Beast headline: “Even Republicans don’t support Trump’s new war.” But when you read just a couple of paragraphs down, you find that only 69% of Republicans backed the attack in a quickie poll on Saturday. As contrasted with 93% of GOP types for W’s Iraq war or 96% for the invasion of Afghanistan (both more than 20 years ago).

Goodness! Maybe we lovers of liberty, and folks like Rand Paul and Tom Massie, are actually getting through to some people – at least some Republicans! And perhaps the GOP is fracturing over this (and many other things). But truth?

A 2/3+ approval does not equal “Republicans don’t support.” We have a lot more teaching to do, don’t we? Nor, really, do polls that say that a third or more of GOP voters (or people who voted for The Donald in 2024) are “unsure.”

TPOL does not believe that there are lovers of liberty (libertarians and Libertarians and free-market anarchists) who believe that the gang that has run Iran since 1979 (47 years) are good people and supporters and practitioners of liberty and freedom. Not in the least. They have tyrannized their own people. Nor do we suspect that most of us are exactly eager to see yet another government get nuclear weapons and delivery systems.

We do believe that the IIR is a threat to American concerns, commerce, citizens, and property. Clearly a half-century has demonstrated that. Not an “existential threat,” but certainly Iran has supported and controlled various organizations and individuals who have attacked and destroyed Americans and their property. But preemptive strikes are seldom if ever reasonable responses to either past or feared threats.

And of course we agree that The Donald has (again) broken his word, when in 2024, he proclaimed “no new wars.” (Yes, we understand, that the FedGov’s conflict with Iran is not exactly a “new war” – as many have already explained to us. We disagree. And so do many supporters of Trump, not just never-Trumpers. And conservatives (such as Tucker Carlson and Majorie Greene), not just lovers of liberty.

At the same time, we believe that Trump and too many other politicians have a problem with being faithful to commitments to European nations and to Israel that should have never been made – or should have been ended long ago when the threats were no longer so horrendous. (We do not believe that Israel is the only reason for this attack as some claim. But it definitely is one of the reasons.

But perhaps the bottom line is that American politicians, as individuals but especially in groups, are no longer capable of understanding and protecting liberty and even the concept of limited government: they exhibit the mentality, the mind-set, and the actions of imperialists who refuse to do the right thing. In virtually anything.