US universities get millions to do military research for Israel

The projects, which often fail to disclose their funding, include efforts to create surveillance robots and improve missile guidance

Mila Halgren Alex Rewegan

Sep 03, 2026

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-military-us-universities/?mc_cid=9c7272cd77&mc_eid=944feb3e1c

See an insect crawling in the corner of the room? It might be a surveillance robot, thanks to research at Carnegie Mellon University to develop cockroach-like robots with, and for, the Israeli military.

Robot cockroaches, “terror-network” mapping, and rapid missile guidance are just three examples of at least 70 research projects U.S. universities have conducted on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMoD). Over a thousand pages of internal university and U.S./Israeli military documents reveal a sweeping, decades-long program to sponsor military research collaborations with at least 30 U.S. universities, from Cornell to the University of California at San Diego, since at least 2009.

Projects are conducted in collaboration with the Israeli military and sometimes explicitly incorporate environmental conditions in Palestine into the work. One project designed fuel cells for “distributed sensor networks” tailored to the temperature and soil conditions of an Israeli border that could monitor “potential terrorist activity” for “border security.”

Recent reports from Dropsite News, The Nation, and the Anti-War Initiative found millions of Israeli military dollars flowing into U.S. schools. Public records obtained from 13 U.S. universities reveal this money was directed via a U.S. arms export program to fund collaborations with Israeli scientists and military officials.

These projects are not funded by traditional academic grants. Instead, they are procured as “defense articles and services,” paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars via the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program – the same mechanism Israel uses to purchase F-35 fighter jets and other U.S. defense exports.

At least 11 contracts sent U.S. scientists to Israel to work face to face with their counterparts at an Israeli university and/or the IMoD, earmarking funds for U.S. professors to attend meetings and present their research to the IMoD.

The research

Though research subjects span the breadth of Israel’s military interests, including drone swarms, missile guidance, fuel cells, and quantum sensing, we highlight just a few threads to illustrate how U.S. universities support Israel’s military.

Alongside robotic cockroaches, Prof. Sarah Bergbreiter built “inchworm-like” crawlers with an IMoD scientist at the University of Maryland. Profs. Indejrit Chopra, also at Maryland, and Kenneth Breuer at Brown University were inspired by hummingbirds and bats to develop micro-drones that can search caves and demolished buildings. Columbia Prof. Hod Lipson built the Flexipod, a “soft quadrupedal robot” agile enough to do backflips and navigate varied terrain.

The IDF has used other drones to collect massive surveillance datasets that are fed into AI software to track targets and accelerate “kill-chains.” Recent Israeli innovations in this area follows years of IMoD-sponsored research at U.S. universities on this kind of technology.

In December 2016, the IDF prototyped an AI tool to “Tell You What’s Happening in a Video,” generating captions to help soldiers “keep an eye on the battlefield.”

The following year, Prof. Kate Saenko received $120,000 from the IMoD for research on “Generating Natural Language Descriptions for Video” using AI to automatically describe and classify people and objects in a video. While sponsored by a second IMoD contract on “Zero Shot Captioning,” or using machine-learning to describe things not seen before, Saenko’s group presented software for the “detection of novel objects” titled “Learning To Detect Every Thing” at a Tel Aviv conference.

Saenko told RS the conference paper was not related to her IMoD funding, but did not answer repeated requests to clarify which of her papers are.

According to an ex-IDF intelligence officer, a human eye “will go over [AI-generated] targets before each attack, but it need not spend a lot of time on them.” One IMoD-sponsored project at the University of California, Berkeley could make that process even faster.

Neuroscientist Robert Knight tested electrodes in a brain-computer-interface (BCI) for “cognitive enhancement” of “high throughput tasks requiring visual recognition.” In his internal proposal to the IMoD, but not in his published study, Knight discusses applications like “detecting ‘suspicious’ activity.”

Prof. V.S. Subrahmanian at the University of Maryland received IMoD funding to study “Targeting of Terror Networks” to “find weak points for the destabilization of terrorist networks.” He has applied these algorithms to identify alleged “sympathizers” of Hezbollah on social media.

Another of Subrahmanian's IMoD contracts on “Massive Social Networks” involved analyzing “1.04 million person-days” of cellular location data for tracking population flow in Israel and its Occupied Territories. The study notes its algorithms are “related to… monitoring for evading targets by a flock of unmanned air vehicles.”

Other IMoD-sponsored projects studied drone swarms directly.

“Human-Robot Interaction Design for a Single Operator with Many Robots” was the IMoD project of Prof. Holly Yanco, the director of the University of Massachusetts’ Lowell’s Robotics Center. MIT Prof. Emilio Frazzoli devised “trajectory optimization” algorithms for groups of quadrotors, emphasizing his results are “easy to implement and may be used directly.”

When reached for comment, Frazzoli stated his research was on a “very basic/generic problem in robotics: how to generate a path to move one robot from point A to point B,” and that there was “nothing specific to defense” about the work.

Frazzoli’s IMoD-sponsored contract was titled “Rapidly Exploring Random Trees for Missile Guidance.”

Prof. Joaquim Martins at the University of Michigan optimized “package delivery UAV” fleets for the IMoD, given “mission requirements” with “various package weights and delivery distances.” He found that quadrotors are best for “long-range missions with small numbers of customers,” and thanked Israeli arms company Rafael’s CTO of Multi-Domain Warfare for help with “research methodology.” Martins’ published paper only lists civilian applications like delivering “medical supplies” despite its IMoD sponsorship.

This is not the only seeming example of a gap between an IMoD proposal and the published paper that followed it. In 2015, Profs. Alexander Yarin (University of Illinois Chicago) and Eyal Zussman (Technion) submitted a chemical sensing proposal telling the IMoD their “Overall research objective is to develop [a] fundamental understanding of sampling and detect[ing] buried explosives,” elaborating that “the detection of buried improvised explosives and mines [is] a major challenge in the battlefield.”

But a public-facing paper detailing experiments nearly identical to their internal application only listed civilian applications like “mining,” without any references to "explosives" or the "battlefield." The paper did not acknowledge any funding sources, including the IMoD. Neither professor responded to a request for comment.

The funding pipeline

The research is purchased by the IMoD Mission to USA, the Israeli military procurement office that spends roughly $3.3 billion in annual U.S. aid to buy defense goods and services.

As analyst Christian Sorensen of Eisenhower Media Network explained over e-mail: “US taxpayers give money to the US government. The US government then sends billions of dollars to Israel. Israel uses that money – there’s not a strict accounting – to purchase goods and services from US war corporations and research from US academic institutions."

To receive IMoD funds, universities like UC Irvine certified they were “entering into an agreement to sell defense articles … to the foreign government listed above,” and that the payment would be made “under the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act.” The projects are classified as Direct Commercial Contracts (DCCs), or sales from a defense contractor to a foreign military, subsidized by the U.S. government. Because only DCCs of over $100 million to Israel require legislative notification, the program has no public reporting mechanism or granular congressional oversight, and we do not know if any other countries use DCCs to sponsor U.S. science. In an e-mail to the IMoD, one university administrator called this funding arrangement a “departure from standard process.”

For over 35 years, Israel was one of just ten countries authorized to use DCCs, spending over a billion dollars annually on defense exports from private entities such as these research projects. But in April 2026, the Pentagon extended this privilege to over 50 countries.

A bureaucratic carve-out known as the Fundamental Research Exclusion allows the IMoD to bypass export controls for defense research it sponsors if the results are eventually “published and shared broadly.”

Both MIT and the University of California systems censored their funding databases after student activists discovered their schools’ IMoD contracts. In July 2025, an MIT professor canceled a proposed IMoD contract due to public backlash.

A spokesperson for the State Department referred questions about this purchasing arrangement to a fact sheet on U.S.-Israeli Security Cooperation. The sheet notes that the U.S. participates in “a variety of exchanges with Israel,” including research and weapons development.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense declined to comment.

Evidence confirms US munition directly struck Iranian wedding, killing five: Report

The US military became known for bombing wedding parties in Afghanistan and Yemen during its so-called War on Terror after 9/11

News Desk

SEP 4, 2026

https://thecradle.co/articles/evidence-confirms-us-munition-directly-struck-iranian-wedding-killing-five-report

Video and images from the scene of a US airstrike on a wedding in Iran show that the explosion was caused by a direct hit from a US munition, according to a Reuters analysis published on 4 September.

Weapons experts who reviewed Reuters-verified footage said the damage pattern of the 2 September strike in the city of Kuhestak in Hormozgan Province near the Strait of Hormuz was consistent with a direct strike by a US precision-guided munition.

The strike on the wedding party for a fisherman’s daughter initially killed four people and wounded nearly 70. A fifth victim, a 22-year-old woman, died of her injuries in the hospital a short time later.

Among those killed were two children, four-year-old Amir-Mohammad Karimi and 16-year-old Mohammad Malahi.

A man injured in the strike told the Iranian Red Crescent that “Blocks were falling and hitting people’s heads. And many small children and women that were there were terribly injured. So many.”

On Thursday, mourners in Kuhestak tossed petals over flag-draped coffins during funerals for the victims.

“If it was a military location, it wouldn’t be so painful. This was a wedding ceremony, but they turned people’s joy into mourning,” a resident told Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

The finding comes as US Vice President JD Vance admitted that Washington is investigating the attack.

On Thursday, Vance stated that “sometimes things happen” when asked whether the US military was responsible for the massacre.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei described the strike as the “true face of the war crime,” stating that a wedding ceremony was “brutally bombed as part of America’s desperate struggle to conceal its failure.”

The US military became known for carrying out drone strikes on wedding parties in Afghanistan and Yemen during the so-called War on Terror. The strikes often killed dozens of civilians, including brides, children, and entire families.

Kuhestak is located about 30 kilometers from the town of Minab, where US forces targeted an elementary school, killing more than 160 schoolgirls and teachers on the first day of the current US-Israeli war on Iran in late February.

US President Donald Trump repeatedly denied responsibility for the Minab massacre, even though a preliminary Pentagon investigation also pointed to US responsibility in that case. The outcome of the investigation was never made public.

Following the wedding massacre in Kuhestak, Iranian officials “promised that such crimes will not go unanswered and that the United States will be held accountable for its systematic targeting of civilians,” Iran’s Mehr News Agency wrote.

Tehran vows ‘faster, harder, more painful’ strikes after IRGC responds to US attacks

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the ‘rules have changed’ while stressing that the ‘era of proportionate responses’ has ended

News Desk

SEP 6, 2026

https://thecradle.co/articles/tehran-vows-faster-harder-more-painful-strikes-after-irgc-responds-to-us-attacks

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on 6 September that Tehran will strike back harder and faster in response to any new US strikes, following the latest exchange of fire between Washington and the Islamic Republic. 

Washington must “understand” before it is “too late” that “the era of ‘proportionate responses’ is over,” the parliament speaker said.

“From now on, any aggression against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” he added. 

Ghalibaf was further quoted as saying that the “rules of the game have changed.”

He described Tehran’s latest military operations targeting US military bases across the region as “only the beginning.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted US warships in response to attacks on Iranian vessels. 

The operation involved several ballistic missiles, according to the IRGC.

“The two warships, after sustaining damage and fearing another attack, were forced to flee the area of engagement,” it said. 

The aircraft carrier and US destroyer had been “harassing” Iranian vessels.

“The enemy, which had for years roamed the region with false pride and hollow claims, is now forced to officially acknowledge that two US Navy warships came under attack. CENTCOM’s acknowledgment confirming this operation is living evidence of the enemy’s strategic defeat and proof of the offensive power of the IRGC.”

The night before, the IRGC said it struck three oil tankers in response to US attacks on Iranian vessels that were carried out by Washington in “desperation.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) released a statement on the exchange of fire, saying it "struck three Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 5, after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships patrolling regional waters.

It claimed the IRGC operations were “failed attacks,” and added: “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours.”

According to reports from IRIB, the US military carried out missile strikes targeting three Iranian oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

An IRIB correspondent stationed on Kharg Island, Bushehr Province, reported that an Iranian oil tanker was struck by US forces near the strategic island. Onboard cooling systems successfully contained and extinguished the resulting fires within the hour, and no casualties were reported.

Simultaneously, a separate IRIB report confirmed that US forces targeted two additional oil tankers off the coast, comprising one loaded vessel and one empty carrier. Emergency rescue teams successfully evacuated both crews to the shore unharmed.

Ghalibaf’s Sunday warning echoed a statement made by the Iranian military over the weekend. 

“Mischief, insecurity and harassment of Iranian ships” will be met with “more severe strikes than before,” said the Iranian army’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. 

Late on Tuesday, Washington carried out a new and massive escalation, launching a series of strikes on the Islamic Republic, including a strike that killed and wounded dozens at a wedding in the country’s south.

Tehran has responded with heavy missile and drone attacks on US military infrastructure across the region in recent days.

The escalation follows the declaration of a US economic war of illegal sanctions against Tehran.

US Congress passes bill punishing universities that boycott Israel

The legislation threatens to cut federal aid to universities that engage in any form of boycotts against Israel

MEE staff

Published date: 4 September 2026 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-congress-passes-bill-punishing-universities-boycott-israel

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican-led bill that aims to penalise universities that engage in boycotts of Israel or attempt to prevent students from participating in exchange programmes in Israel.

The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act passed by 237 to 169 votes.

The act would solely apply to universities that are part of federal student aid programmes. Further, it instructs institutions receiving federal funding for international study and foreign language programmes to verify annually that they do not restrict students participating in programmes in Israel or students from Israel participating in programmes on their campus. 

Thirty-three Democrats, most of whom are up for re-election and have a history of supporting Israel, went against their party to vote for the bill. Two Republicans opposed. The fate of the bill now depends on a Senate decision. 

The presentation of the bill by House Republican leaders is seen by some as an attempt to exploit divisions among Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, where voters will decide who controls Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s term. 

“Our universities should not use taxpayer-funded federal programs to discriminate against Israeli students, faculty, institutions, or businesses simply because they are Israeli,” Tim Walberg, the Republican chair of the House education committee, said on the House floor. 

Pro-Palestinian activists deny that protests at US campuses are antisemitic in nature and maintain that critics intentionally conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism to shut down dissent.

Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx described anti-war protests on university campuses as antisemitic.

“The antisemitic rot that has corroded college campuses must be eradicated,” Foxx said.

“Today, the House sent a clear message: if an institution of higher education chooses to capitulate to the caustic BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement, there will be consequences - starting with this bipartisan legislation.”

The war in Gaza has destroyed most of the Palestinian enclave since Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people during an attack on 7 October 2023. Israeli attacks since then have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

In the wake of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, student and faculty groups at several prominent universities have strengthened the call for administrators to engage in the BDS movement. 

At most universities, the call either remains unanswered or is firmly rejected. 

Bobby Scott, the senior Democrat on the education committee, criticised the bill as inessential and potentially interfering with the First Amendment’s protections of protest. 

“No college or university has embraced the BDS movement anyway. So, we should combat antisemitism wherever it occurs, but we should not do so by punishing protected speech or conflating a student’s view with university policies,” said Scott on the House floor. 

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, said before the vote that he opposed the BDS movement but would vote no because he supported Americans' right to free expression.

"It is the only way to ensure speech I do agree with is equally protected," Nadler said.

The bill's proponents argue that their aim is not to police speech on campus but rather to counter discrimination.

The divisions and contradictions in the Democratic Party’s stance on Israel have surfaced in recent months. In July, more than 100 House Democrats endorsed a bill scrapping some military aid to Israel.

Rights groups press lawmakers to scrap provision to merge US and Israeli militaries

The controversial defence bill measure would permanently integrate US and Israeli military tech advancements

MEE staff

Published date: 3 September 2026

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/rights-groups-press-lawmakers-scrap-provision-merge-us-and-israeli-militaries

On Thursday, 56 civil rights and advocacy groups urged Congress to scrap a defence bill provision that would strengthen US-Israeli military technology ties, according to a letter seen by Reuters. 

Section 219 of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) intends to institute frameworks for joint ventures, licensing agreements and US-based co-production partnerships. It passed in the House of Representatives in July and is pending Senate approval. 

Thursday’s letter addressed leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. 

Reuters reported that some of the letter's signatories include Amnesty International and the National Lawyers Guild, as well as Arab and Jewish groups.

“At a time in which American interests are increasingly diverging from those of Israel, and American public opinion is turning increasingly against unconditional support to Israel, creating new points of influence for Israel in the US defense-technology ecosystem is exceptionally dangerous,” read the letter. 

The letter criticises Israel for its genocide in Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, condemning it for its violations of international humanitarian law. It stresses that these developments should prevent any discussion of military ties. 

A memorandum of understanding that secures $3.8 billion in annual US military aid to Israel is nearing its expiry in 2028, prompting conversations on how Washington’s assistance to Israel will evolve. 

Several members of Congress have tried to scrap the provision from the fiscal 2027 NDAA. Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California introduced an amendment to intervene, though it did not make it into the House. 

After the House of Representatives and the Senate draft their respective versions of the NDAA, members of the two chambers will negotiate a compromise version, which must be ratified by both chambers at the end of the calendar year, before it heads to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature or veto. 

It's important to note that in the Senate version of the NDAA, Section 219 is labelled as Section 1217, with some notable differences. 

It was introduced in a bipartisan manner by New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and North Carolina Republican Senator Ted Budd. 

While the House version would require the Secretary of War to designate an "executive agent" responsible for synchronising efforts between the US and Israel, the Senate version goes further by spelling out that the Israeli minister of defence would be consulted on an ongoing basis. 

Should the Senate's NDAA language in the provision pass later this year, lawmakers will have to come together and agree on one set of rules to guide the “United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative”.

What does Section 219 say?

The controversial provision would permanently integrate US and Israeli military tech advancements in a way that would - as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it - turn Israel from a foreign aid recipient to a full-scale partner. 

Future presidents would not be able to simply withdraw from such a project. 

The NDAA is must-pass legislation, as it is needed to fund all of the Pentagon’s operations in the year to come. 

Much of what is being codified through Section 219 is already how the Pentagon functions vis-a-vis Israel, which is the largest recipient of US foreign military assistance to the tune of billions of dollars a year, thanks to agreements signed under the Democratic administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

But now there is profound collaboration being proposed that allows Israel to have a say in US defence and national security mechanisms.

The move was first introduced by Texas Republican Representative Ronny Jackson, who was Trump’s White House physician during his first term as president. Jackson’s senior navy rank was demoted during Biden’s presidency after a series of accusations involving sexual comments and alcohol, but last year it was restored.

Section 219 establishes the United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.

The project would identify jointly developed or Israeli-origin technologies with the utility for potential integration into US systems; ensure collaborative research initiatives involving government, private sector and academic institutions in both countries protect “sensitive technology”; and ultimately align military efforts with the Department of War that include the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate, the Defense Innovation Unit, the Missile Defense Agency and the United States Space Command, among others. 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is effectively being ordered to formalise US-Israeli integration relating to counter-drone systems, missile and air defence, quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence systems, and cyber and electronic warfare, in a bid to reduce Israel’s dependence on US foreign aid. 

Within a year of the adoption of Section 219, the secretary of war would be obligated to present Congress with a report on what activities were carried out, and how they are being assessed.

A New Policy, a lobbying group co-founded by whistleblower Josh Paul, strongly advocated for voting against the US-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative on the grounds that it would harm US national security. 

"This approach exposes sensitive US capabilities to counterintelligence risk, normalizes technologies developed in contexts of occupation and civilian harm, disadvantages US defense companies ability to compete with Israeli competitors, deepens US legal and reputational exposure without clear strategic necessity, and aims to hide continuing US military support to Israel from Congressional and public transparency," it wrote in a policy brief.  

Ben Gvir set to unveil $20bn plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza within seven years

The far-right leader will make the plan a condition for joining any future Israeli coalition

Elis Gjevori

Published date: 3 September 2026 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ben-gvir-set-unveil-20-billion-plan-ethnically-cleanse-gaza-within-seven-years

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will unveil a plan on Thursday to "encourage voluntary emigration from Gaza", making it a central plank of his election campaign and a key demand for joining any future coalition.

Ben Gvir, who leads the Jewish supremacist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, has called the ethnic cleansing plan “Disengagement 710”.

Israeli media reports that the far-right minister has spent months developing the proposal, which aims to force 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza during its first year.

Within three years, Israel would forcibly transfer 1.11 million Palestinians from their land. By the end of the seven-year programme, that figure would reach about 1.86 million.

Israel has already paved the way for such a plan by destroying or damaging more than 80 percent of Gaza’s homes, businesses, schools, universities and hospitals, while also withholding food and water.

Israel also continues to kill Palestinians in Gaza every day, despite a ceasefire signed in October.

Against this background, Israel seeks to portray the departure of Palestinians from Gaza as “voluntary”.

Under Ben Gvir’s plan, Israel would work to expel Palestinians to countries including Turkey, Ethiopia and Congo, as well as several Arab states.

The proposal would require “international partnership”, with participating countries accepting Palestinians expelled under the plan.

The Jewish Power leader will also set out the projected cost of his programme, which is likely to draw international condemnation.

The plan would cost more than $3bn in its first year and about $20bn in total over seven years.

Ben Gvir is expected to make the proposal a condition for joining the next government. He currently serves in a coalition led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Ben Gvir will also demand the appointment of a minister to oversee the forcible transfer of Palestinians, supported by a director general, a dedicated budget, extensive powers and an international negotiating team.

Ben Gvir’s announcement follows similar remarks from Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday.

“There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without migration,” Katz said at a conference hosted by Israeli outlet Ynet in cooperation with the Israel Democracy Institute.

“What’s delaying it is that the accepting countries want US support. Every country that is willing wants American backing. Currently, President Trump didn’t cancel this; he froze it. All the Arab countries came to him due to their pressure on this matter,” Katz said.

At the end of June, Israel renamed its plan to forcibly transfer Palestinians from Gaza, abandoning the term “voluntary migration” in favour of “Freedom of Movement Plan”. The framework lacks provisions or guarantees for a right of return.

The Definition of Insanity

by Ron Paul | Sep 2, 2026 

https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/09/01/the-definition-of-insanity/

Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Whether he actually said it or not, the definition stands.

This definition also very well describes the Trump Administration’s war with Iran. According to media reports, President Trump was cajoled by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that this would be an “easy war,” like Venezuela. Just assassinate the Iranian leadership, he promised, and the regime change would bring in a pro-America regime in Iran.

The CIA disagreed with the assessment, but Trump went with Netanyahu and the rest is history.

The “decapitation strikes” did not change leadership in Iran. As was the case in the US after the 9/11 attacks, the people rallied around the flag. The new leadership was less interested in a compromise than their murdered predecessors.

So the bombing began. Weeks of bombing. But that didn’t work – it only depleted our already-low weapons supplies.

Then “diplomacy” was substituted for bombs and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by both sides. The US side immediately broke the agreement by attempting to open a new ship corridor by force and the bombs started flying again.

For the past month the bombs stopped only to start up last weekend, with a US strike on an Iranian island. This was followed again by multiple Iranian strikes on US bases in the region.

Bombs then diplomacy, bombs then diplomacy. President Trump has told us dozens of times that us the war is over, and we have won, but no one believes it any longer. He claims that the US completely controls the Strait of Hormuz while the shipping corridors are empty.

The US military has been stretched to the breaking point. US sailors and Marines endured a record-breaking deployment with terrible conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships at sea. But this past weekend we saw the most telling sign of a military pushing back against orders that make no sense. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned his position, reportedly due to disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the toll the war is taking on military readiness. Driscoll follows several high-ranking US Army officials who have resigned. It seems clear that US Military leadership does not believe in the mission.

Maybe President Trump should listen to them instead of his “War” Secretary Pete Hegseth?

Doing the same thing and expecting different results may be the definition of insanity, but another definition might be starting a war halfway across the globe against a country that has neither attacked nor threatened you. Insanity might be starting a war based on the self-serving lies of a foreign leader who just happens to benefit from the fighting. Insanity might be further depleting the US arsenal of missiles and other weapons after years of proxy war against Russia through Ukraine. Insanity might be burdening future generations with a national debt of $40 trillion and climbing.

It is time for some very difficult decisions to be made. This war will not be won with more bombing, and the Iranians no longer trust us as negotiating partners after broken agreements and false claims. The only course of action is to pack up and come home. Let the people of the region solve their own problems.