By Jacob G. Hornberger
The Future of Freedom Foundation
April 3, 2026
President Trump, in your televised address to the nation tonight regarding your illegal and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran, you should declare victory and announce that you are now bringing home all U.S. troops involved in this "excursion," as you call it.
Oh, sure, battalions of right-wing armchair warriors here at home will criticize and condemn you. They'll accuse you of "chickening out" when it came to opening the Strait of Hormuz, seizing Iran's nuclear materials, and achieving genuine regime change.
Pay them no mind, Mr. President. Those right-wing warriors get their courage vicariously - through the troops. That's why they always use the pronoun "we" when it comes to U.S. foreign "excursions." "We need to be tough." "We need to attack Iran." "We need to open the Strait of Hormuz." "We need to seize Iran's nuclear material and bring it home." "We need to achieve regime change." "We need unconditional surrender."
But the "we" to which they are referring means U.S. soldiers. They, not the right-wing armchair warriors, are the ones who do the fighting, the killing, and yes, possibly even the dying. But that's how these armchair warriors get their toughness and their courage - by using the pronoun "we," as they write their op-eds and do their podcasts in the comfort of their easy chairs here at home.
Pay them no mind, Mr. President. You've already won. You've decimated Iran's army, navy, and air force. That was your goal in initiating this war - well, at least one of your ten or so goals. Never mind that Iran, as an impoverished third-world country whose regime has been hollowed out by decades of U.S. sanctions, didn't have much of an army, navy, or air force to decimate. What matters is that "we" decimated what they had.
Mr. President, your win against Iran will most definitely go down in history as one of the greatest military victories of all time. After all, "we" have achieved total military superiority while losing only a "few" U.S. personnel to death and injury. Coming on the heels of your recent great naval victory in the Caribbean against those infamous alleged narco-traffickers, which conjured up images of the U.S. naval victory at the Battle of Midway against Japan, you have definitely earned your place among the greatest of wartime presidents.
Why, your glorious military achievements might even end up garnering you the Nobel Peace Prize - that is, in addition to the Nobel Peace Prize that you already received from Venezuelan dissident Maria Corina Machado.
Pay those critics no mind, Mr. President. So what if the Strait of Hormuz remains controlled and regulated by Iran. Hey, if Panama can control who goes through the Panama Canal, what's wrong with Iran doing the same with the Strait of Hormuz?
Anyway, what U.S. soldier wants to die for the sake of opening the Strait of Hormuz ? Indeed, what U.S. soldier wants to die for the sake of oil ? Those are not exactly glorious things to die for - or, for that matter, to kill for.
Anyway, Mr. President, that Hormuz problem is not your problem. We've got enough oil here at home. Hormuz is Europe's problem. Let them deal with it. You gave them the chance to cooperate with you in re-opening that waterway. They turned you down, claiming that this was your and Israel's war, not their war. Well, now just leave that Hormuz problem for them to solve all on their own.
In fact, this would be a perfect time to retaliate against these disloyal and unpatriotic members of NATO by withdrawing entirely from that old Cold War dinosaur. Like the Warsaw Pact, NATO should have gone out of existence when the Cold War ended. Instead, the Pentagon used its NATO racket to expand eastward, with the aim of provoking the Russian invasion of Ukraine, thereby renewing Russia as an official Cold War II enemy, opponent, rival, and competitor of the U.S. Empire.
It's time to end this destructive Cold War dinosaur. In fact, it's time to bring all U.S. troops home from Europe. World War II is over. And, no, contrary to what all the fear-mongers tell us, Russia and the Reds are not coming to get us, especially given that Russia can't even defeat Ukraine.
To be sure, if Iran continues to limit the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Americans will continue to have to pay a bit more for gasoline. But they'll get used to it. Heck, by the mid-term elections several months from now, I'd be willing to be that most Americans will have forgotten that it was your war that caused them to have to pay more for gasoline.
And yes, there is a possibility that Iran could continue attacking U.S. imperial bases in Middle East countries that have become members of the U.S. Empire. After all, we shouldn't forget that just because you've ended your war on Iran, that doesn't necessarily mean that the war is over, given that no peace treaty has been signed.
But there is a good solution to that problem. Just close all U.S. imperial military bases in the Middle East and bring all those troops home. And discharge all of them into the private sector. They are not needed.
American interventionists will say that you failed to achieve regime change in Iran, especially after you exhorted the Iranian people to rise up and take control over their government. Balderdash ! You tell them that you did achieve regime change by assassinating their leaders as well as those who replaced their leaders. If that's not regime change, what is ? Maybe the new regime will agree to partner with you, just like the socialist-communist, narco-terrorist regime in Venezuela has.
This is your chance, Mr. President - your chance to get America back on the right track - the track toward non-interventionism, anti-empire, anti-militarism, and anti-national-security state. This is your chance to strike a blow in favor of draining the swamp and taking a firm stand against the Deep State. This is your opportunity to stand against out-of-control federal spending and debt. Pay no mind to your critics, who will accuse you of weakness and a lack of patriotism. Stand fast, Mr. President. Declare victory and bring the troops home. All of them.
This article was originally published on The Future of Freedom Foundation.