What kind of leadership takes us into an international conflict without an explanation of cause and without an exit plan? Without clarity and transparency, we can only guess as to the reasons for this incursion into Iran. Intelligence admits that Iran was no immediate threat to the US. So how can we account for the hemorrhagic flow of money to this war and the vast number of lives lost - lives lost including 175 children in an elementary school due to ‘flawed intelligence data’ along with US service members?
When and how will this war end? “I’ll know when I feel it in my bones”, said our president. What?
The consistent lack of transparency found in this war forces us to come to our own conclusions as to why we are involved in this meaningless war. So let’s try to pull together some of the unspoken, foundational puzzle pieces and figure out why we are where we are and how these puzzle pieces ultimately lead us back to US Christian nationalism.
The first piece of the puzzle is simply that President Trump is in trouble. His friends at the DOJ (that’s a whole different problem) have thrown themselves under the bus to protect Trump from the release of incriminating information in the Trump Epstein files that would detail his association with Epstein. In an effort to create a diversion and delay the release of these files until at least after the midterm elections, Trump doubled down on his domestic immigration policy by attacking a Muslim state. Historically, when there is conflict in the middle east, Islamophobia in the US rises. When US Zionism is on the rise, domestic Islamophobia rises too, particularly against Shia Muslims whose populations are concentrated in both Iran and Lebanon.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has reported over 100 complaints by service members that they were told that the war in Iran was ‘Biblical end times’ and is intended to “cause Armageddon”. MRFF reported that a commander was quoted as saying, “to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelations referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.” The second piece of the puzzle that would lend credence to a Holy war, is clearly articulated by the US command and reported to MRFF by soldiers fighting this battle. Apparently, this commander told troops that Trump “has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth. Personally, I’m not going to hold my breath for ‘his’ return.
The third piece of the puzzle involves our Christian evangelical ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. In a February 21, 2025 interview with Tucker Carlson, Mr Huckabee was asked whether Israel had a biblical right to take over land in the Middle East. Mr. Huckabee responded, “It would be fine if they took it all”. Zionism rooted in US politics acts to destabilize the Middle East. To publicly affirm the fact that Israel's rights supersede all other countries in the Middle East is beyond reprehensible. It is simply US Christian nationalism being rolled out on an international scale.
Our Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is no mystery when it comes to his loyalty to the right’s Christian Nationalist movement. In his mind, he is the crusader who is going to bring about biblical end times. The Latin ‘Deus vult’, which is interpreted to mean ‘God wills it’ was the battle cry for the Christin Crusaders of the 11th to 13th centuries. Deus vult is tattooed on Mr. Hegseth’s bicep. Mr. Hegseth also has the tattoo of the Cross of Jerusalem on his chest. This was also the cross used by the Christian crusaders of old. Mr. Hegseth belongs to a church affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC). CREC was founded by Doug Wilson, a self proclaimed Christian nationalist pastor based out of Moscow, Idaho. Mr. Wilson was invited to the Pentagon to lead Christian prayer services. In this fourth piece of the puzzle, Mr. Hegseth is acting out his Christian nationalist spirit resulting in lost lives, wasted tax dollars and squandered international relationships. In Mr. Hegseth’s world, might makes right - hardly.
What I’ve learned about Turning Point USA since Charlie Kirk’s assasination is simply that Turning Point USA thrives on conflict and confrontation in the name of Jesus as the son of God and the Bible as the word of God. That’s sure not the Jesus who I grew up with who simply asked that you love your neighbor and comfort those in need. In the spirit of Mr. Kirk, his wife Erika has now taken on control of the organization. I was lucky enough to receive a fund raising solicitation in the mail from Erika one week following the death of her husband. And now, Mr. Trump has appointed Erika to the board of the US Air Force Academy Board of Visitors. The Board of Visitors reports directly to the President to make suggestions for the future of The Academy. This was an appointment surely made in the spirit of Christian nationalism and is simply one more facet of this puzzle.
Look closely and you’ll see that the elephant in the room is wearing a crucifix. Pandering to the religious right is not a new phenomenon but is often on display when the right is in need of votes. Need an enemy to rally against? Easy. Brown skin and black skin have been an easy target throughout the history of our country. George Washington warned in his 1796 farewell address that a love of power and partisan factionalism (aka religion) could lead to a President becoming a despot, subverting liberty to establish permanent tyranny. He warned of overstepping constitutional boundaries on the road to tyranny.
We need no longer wait. The despot and his pet elephant who wears a crucifix have arrived.
So much for E pluribus unum.