The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

The illegal and ill-advised U.S. war of choice against Iran has been costly: out-of-control inflation with soaring gas, diesel, fertilizer and grocery prices as well as rising mortgage rates, crushing U.S. consumers and farmers. Worse, there have been over 400 U.S. casualties (Pentagon). How have Iranian drones and missiles been so deadly accurate?

The Washington Post reported: “Russia giving Iran targeting data to attack U.S. assets” (March 7, 2026). Conservative columnist Jim Geraghty was damning: “Trump shrugs off an attack on U.S. lives.” Geraghty referenced a Trump interview with Brian Kilmeade of Fox News Radio: Kilmeade: “You think Putin is helping (the Iranians)?” Trump: “I think he might be helping then a little bit, yeah, I guess. And he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine.” Depraved indifference by Trump.

Additional press reports only reinforced Trump’s acquiescence to Russian support for Iran and threat to U.S. troops: “Iran has hit far more U.S. military assets than reported” (Washington Post). Iranian drones and missiles have accurately struck U.S. bases throughout the Middle East, damaging or destroying “hangers, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft and key radar, communications and air defense equipment, according to a Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery. … The Post previously revealed how Russia provided Iran with intelligence to target U.S. forces.” Moreover, the NYT reported: “Russia is shipping drone components to Iran via the Caspian Sea, U.S. officials say, helping Iran rebuild its offensive abilities … .”

No Wisconsin GOP member of Congress has protested Russian military aid to Iran, which is killing and wounding U.S. troops. Given that Wisconsin GOP Representatives Scott Fitzgerald and Derrick Van Orden both served in the U.S. military this is especially egregious. Not a peep of outrage despite their unwarranted support for the Iran War. The same is true for their abandonment of Ukraine and acquiescence to Russian aggression. The NYT reported: “Russia keeps attacking U.S. firms in Ukraine. The White House is silent.” So are Wisconsin congressional Republicans. Russian drones have hit major U.S. corporations, including Boeing, Cargill, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Philip Morris.

However, Van Orden met behind closed doors with Russian lawmakers (under international sanctions) “to engage in direct discussions on peace and bilateral relations …” (Van Orden post). No discussion of Russian military aid to Iran or attacks against U.S. firms in Ukraine. But a bipartisan group of senators has condemned Russian “targeting of American corporations operating inside Ukraine … . “ But not Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson. 

Finally, many of our troops down the road will need medical care and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). They will find that the Trump administration’s drastic downsizing and ill-treatment of VA employees was disastrous: “40% of the doctors offered jobs at the VA from January through March (2025) turned them down …” (ProPublica). Nurses are also declining jobs. Wisconsin campaigning by VA Secretary Collins for Van Orden doesn’t change facts. Collins and Van Orden support VA staff cuts.

Smoke and mirrors doesn’t change the reality of the war’s costs.

Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.