On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti What veterans want you to know about the war with Iran
4 snips
Apr 1, 2026 
Rebecca Roberts, Army and Air National Guard veteran turned organizer, Jeremy Harrell, Army veteran and Veterans Club founder, and Elliot Ackerman, Marine veteran and author, discuss U.S. military action in Iran. They debate unclear objectives, civilian and troop costs, the political use of force, preventing nuclear threats, and whether strikes are a limited campaign or a wider war.
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Strategic Incoherence Harms Military Campaigns
- Strategic incoherence undermines military effectiveness and public trust.
- Elliot Ackerman says unclear objectives (nuclear, regime change, missile destruction) make it hard to focus the military machine and lead to muddling in the region.
War Is A Political Tool Not A Panacea
- War is fundamentally a political act, not just a military exercise.
- Elliot Ackerman stresses the military is a tool that can change political conditions but often isn't the right instrument to build stable governments.
Condolence Work Exposed Civilian Suffering
- Condolence work in Iraq revealed the human cost of U.S. operations on civilians.
- Army veteran Chris Sarson describes civilians risking safety for small payouts and seeing children and mothers permanently harmed.