What’s the plan in Iran, asks retired colonel running for Congress | Opinion
I am a retired colonel, having served 31 years in the United States Army and Air Force, and what I am seeing in the Middle East is wrong.
Over the past several months, I have traveled across Kansas’ 4th District speaking with people in our communities.
From small towns to neighborhoods in Wichita, high school students to 95-year-old ranchers, I keep hearing the same concern: Kansans support a strong national defense, but they do not want the United States drifting into another open-ended conflict without a clear plan, wasting valuable resources that are desperately needed at home.
And these concerns are growing as the conflict with Iran escalates.
My military career included planning operations and preparing troops for combat environments.
For four years, I was directly involved at U.S. Central Command strategically planning for potential conflict with Iran, and the current situation bears no resemblance to that.
In the military, you start with the end in mind. You define the objective and the conditions for success before the mission begins.
And, right now, the endgame for Iran is not clear. It is not clear to Congress, it is not clear to the American people, and it doesn’t seem to be clear to the administration since every official has been quoted with a different version of both the reason and the objective.
The administration is using the Authorization for Use of Military Force Act to justify its strikes on Iran, to avoid the need for Congressional approval.
Under this resolution, military action must be tied to a specific and imminent threat to the United States. This requirement has not been met and the American people deserve to know what objective now justifies continued strikes and additional risk to American troops.
I fail to see this specific and imminent threat since the June 2025 attack when the White House claimed that Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated.”
So which is it? Did we totally “obliterate” the program or is the nuclear program still viable enough to warrant this operation?
It can’t be both and the fact that they say that it is both means that something is not right.
U.S. counterterrorism director Joe Kent resigned Tuesday, because as he says, “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Instead of asking the necessary questions, Congress continues to shirk its crucial duty of oversight. As usual, all of our Kansas representatives, except for Democrat Sharice Davids, have unquestioningly given their full support.
Kansans deserve representation that asks hard questions before supporting decisions that could send Americans into combat.
I also speak as the father of an Army infantry officer — whose service I am immensely proud of — when I say this: When Washington orders military action, it sends someone’s son or daughter into danger.
Over a dozen American service members have already been killed, and the administration says more casualties are likely.
Never in my 31-year career in the military have I witnessed an administration publicly refer to potential loss of life with such callousness and flippancy.
These losses are not abstract. They are real to the families, friends and colleagues of those service members. And they all deserve honesty about the mission their loved ones were sent to carry out.
In addition, what about the families of those 300,000 stranded American citizens? How is it that our government has declared war without making a real plan to evacuate its citizens from harm’s way?
Conflict overseas doesn’t just stay overseas, it also reaches our communities at home.
Global markets are reacting and oil prices are rising, pushing gasoline prices higher for all Kansans.
When fuel prices rise, the cost of nearly everything rises with it. Families already stretching every paycheck will feel that impact immediately. Our government is failing its people. The American Dream which I was lucky to have benefited from is out of reach for most now. That is also not right.
I’ve spoken with local farmers in district 4. The conflict in the Middle East disrupts supply chains, and when key shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz are affected, it drives prices up for crucial resources like fertilizer here at home. Those higher costs are creating a domino effect that is putting real pressure on family farms.
A midterm election is the test by which the American people can voice their dissatisfaction with White House policies. If your representative is not serving you, then they must be replaced.
I encourage every Kansan to register to vote and practice the right and privilege given to us by our Constitution to have our say over our government’s actions.
Only through this participation can America become a place where freedom, justice and opportunity is available to all.
— Chris Carmichael is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and a Democratic candidate for Kansas’ 4th Congressional District.
