The United States and Israel combined forces for a preemptive attack on Iran on Feb. 28. The strike on Tehran, Iran’s capital and largest city, left many of the country’s top leadership dead including Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the Independent, the attack was a “massive operation to destroy the country’s military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon.”
The Independent also reported, “Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it would defend its homeland and its Revolutionary Guard said it launched counterattacks, firing drones and missiles at Israel and strikes aimed at U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.”
Kirkwood Community College students said they have been following the conflict closely, with many getting their information from TikTok, Discord and other social media platforms.
In addition to learning about it online, Hannah Blanchett, Liberal Arts, said she has also heard a lot of people sharing information by word of mouth at the gas station where she works.
Nev Sloan, nursing, said she has been trying to look at the conflict from Israel’s point of view because she knows someone who lives there. “I have a friend who has been having to go back and forth between the bomb shelters and home and school,” she said.
She said she believes it is important for students to pay attention to the conflict and consider who they are voting for. “I feel like it’s important to know who you’re voting for and what they stand for and to know the allies that we have with other countries along with those we are not allies with.”
Nimbus Dick, engineering, said students are the next generation of people and should stay informed. “We’re of the age where many of us may be joining the military, maybe getting involved in military, which, of course, then might lead to people getting sent to fight in the Middle East,” he said. “If we don’t know what’s going on now, how are we supposed to help in the future when we’re potentially in positions of power in our generations, the people at the helm of the world? Gotta learn from the past and present in order to help build a better future.”
Several students said they are concerned about how the conflict could affect people in the United States.
Moustafa Jame, psychology, said he believes the conflict is already creating fear. “People are pretty scared right now. They’re thinking we’re about to go into World War III,” he said.
Jace Dunn, business, agreed. “I think it could have a big effect because I feel like a lot of people are going to have a lot of different views on it. Not everybody’s going to agree on it,” he said.
Blanchett agreed the conflict with Iran could affect people in a lot of ways. “There’s a lot of bias in the world already. I mean, it can affect people emotionally and physically. I think it will cause a lot of riots, and a lot of arguments between people,” she said.
Students also shared their views on U.S. military involvement.
“Personally, I don’t like the thought of war,” said Blanchett.
Jame also said he does not believe the U.S. should be going to war right now but agreed with Sloan that students should stay informed. “I think it’s very important for us to pay attention to conflicts like these as we are young adults, and we’re in a very crucial period of learning to develop ourselves through knowledge,” he said.
Although many students agree they did not want to go to war, some students had mixed feelings.
“You could say most of the things that we do are justified, but quite a bit of other stuff we do is not so good,” said Dunn.
Dick said he sees both sides. “I don’t necessarily like how interventionist the U.S. is under President Donald Trump, but on the other hand, Iran is a case where they have been sponsoring terrorist organizations throughout, not just the Middle East, but the world. And their government’s not exactly the most popular with their people. I’m just not a big fan of the methodology,” he said.
Des Moines news station KCCI reported the U.S. military has confirmed the deaths of six American service members. Four of the six were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines.
Categories: News
