n October of 2002, the night before the U.S. House voted to go to war in Iraq, my sister Beverly called to tell me a Knoxville television station had conducted a poll and found that 74 percent in its viewing area were in favor of the war, 9 percent were opposed, and 17 percent were undecided.
The next day, when I voted against going to war, I wondered if I was also voting to end my political career. This was clearly the most unpopular thing I had ever done.
About a year later, I was scheduled to give the lay sermon at a church in my district. The minister called the Monday before and very apologetically told me that a Deacon who was his largest contributor said he would leave the church if I was allowed to speak there. I told him I understood and agreed not to come.
But, very, very slowly, this very unpopular vote, much to my amazement, ended up becoming one of the most popular things I ever did.
Probably the two most respected foreign policy experts in this Country are Professors John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University.
Both men, and many others, have called the decision to go to war in Iraq possibly the worst foreign policy decision in American history. More important now, both men have said and written that going to war in Iran has been an even bigger mistake.
Many reports in the last few days have said that President Trump may be about to go to war against Iran for the third time shortly after the midterm elections. In fact, Retired General Keith Kellogg said in a television interview on Oct. 29 that the President will restart the war on the day after the election.
I hope not, and very few people have been as loyal to President Trump as I have. After Sen. Rand Paul decided not to run for President in 2016, Trump became the only national Republican running who criticized the war in Iraq.
I became one of the first Republicans in Congress to endorse him for President. I voted for him all three times and served as a Trump delegate at the 2024 national convention. I voted for his policies during my last two years in Congress and continued to support and defend him afterwards in many columns and speeches.
I was very disappointed and saddened that he supported the killing and starving of thousands of little children in Gaza, but I believe he was dragged into it by the evil Netanyahu and the almost unbelievable power of the Israel Lobby. I also was disappointed that he has not ended U.S. support for the war in Ukraine as he promised several times to do on Day One of his second term.
But President Trump saved this Country from being led by the socialist radical, Kamala Harris, who was rated further left even than Bernie Sanders. And while he has said some things that even his children wish he had not said, his Administration has brought in trillions in new investments and has done many other good things.
Many very prominent national podcasters such as Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon and many others supported the President for re-election but are strongly opposed to another war against Iran. Also, every poll shows that he has lost many in his most loyal MAGA base on the war.
I hope the midterms do not turn out as bad as the polls even in the most heavily Republican states. But it is clear now that no Democrat has ever hurt the Republican Party as much as Netanyahu has.
No one has supported Israel over the years as strongly as Thomas Friedman, the longtime columnist for the New York Times. On May 9, 2025, Friedman wrote a column entitled “This Israeli Government is not our Friend.” It said Israel “is behaving in a way that threatens hard-core U.S. interests in the region. Netanyahu is not our friend.”
He added: “On the Middle East, you have some good independent instincts, Mr. President. Follow them. Otherwise you need to prepare yourself for this looming reality: Your Jewish grandchildren will be the first generation of Jewish children to grow up in a world where the Jewish state is a Pariah state.”
President Trump was elected twice because his America First platform and his opposition to forever wars appealed to me and many, many millions. He could not have been elected on an Israel First platform.
Because of the Iran war, President Trump’s ratings are the lowest ever and gas, diesel, and food prices are the highest ever. This is a totally different situation from World War II, when the Country was unified. The Iran War, this stupid, unnecessary war, has been opposed by the overwhelming majority right from the start.
If President Trump starts massive bombing in Iran now, and heaven forbid, even uses nuclear bombs, he could end up being one of the worst presidents ever.
On the other hand, if he becomes a peace president like Eisenhower and enters a peace agreement with Iran and says No to any further wars in the Middle East, the Country would celebrate and he could start a great comeback.
I hope he will re-read and start acting on these great words from his own Second Inaugural Address: “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but by the wars we end and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”
Reprinted with permission from The Duncan Dispatch.
