Democratic war veterans are calling Iran ‘Iraq 2.0’, and Trump’s own base is starting to agree with them
“Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0.
He doesn’t care. And everyone can see it.
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Democratic veterans in Congress are sharply criticizing President Trump’s recent military strikes on Iran, comparing them to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their message, summed up as “Iraq 2.0,” grew more urgent after four American service members died in Kuwait following Iranian counterattacks. These lawmakers argue that Trump’s actions are putting Americans at greater risk.
Rep. Pat Ryan, who served two combat tours in Iraq, said he lost friends to “Iran-backed terror groups,” and that honoring them means “preventing another generation of brave Americans from dying in regime-change wars.” He called Trump a “chicken-hawk” and posted on social media: “Draft-dodging chicken-hawks love to talk tough (from their fancy, gold-plated beach resorts). But they have NO CLUE what war is really about.”
According to MS Now, Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, said the U.S. attack on Iran “feels a lot like Iraq 2.0.” He argued Trump is repeating two “foundational mistakes” made by former President George W. Bush, that the Iraq War was based on a “lie about nuclear weapons,” and there was “no plan for the day after.”
Trump’s dismissive response to military deaths is making the political cost of this war much higher
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, himself a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, pushed back against the comparisons, insisting “this is not Iraq, this is not endless.” He argued that Trump “called the last 20 years of nation-building wars dumb, and he’s right. This is the opposite.” The conflict has since spread beyond Iran’s borders to Lebanon, Cyprus, and the Gulf within just 48 hours, with Trump himself warning Americans the conflict is far from over.
After the deaths were announced, Trump remarked: “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.” Ryan called these comments “incredibly tone deaf and disrespectful,” saying it was infuriating to hear such a “dismissive tone”, and for parents of deployed troops to see “essentially a shrug of Trump’s shoulders of ‘oh, well, yeah, that’s the way it goes.’”
Democratic veterans have also pointed to class divides in who bears the burden of war. Rep. Jason Crow, an Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote online: “Donald Trump’s not sending his family or the kids of his billionaire donors off to fight. He’s sending working class folks off to war.” Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Marine veteran, said “a draft-dodger who’s never worn a uniform” is “now risking the lives of working-class kids.”
Ryan noted that “The American people are wise, and they know that these regime change wars have not worked in the past, and don’t want more of them.” A recent poll found only 27% of U.S. adults approved of the strikes, while 43% did not. There are even small cracks forming within the MAGA base, which partly grew from opposition to the Bush-era wars.
Marco Rubio has said the U.S. struck Iran before Israel launched its own attack, though Democrats have pushed back hard, calling it Trump’s war. Not all veterans in Congress share these views. Sen. Tom Cotton, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has supported Trump’s strategy.
Cotton acknowledged there’s “no simple answer for what’s going to come next,” but argued Trump is fulfilling a “promise” to help the Iranian people, and that this will continue for “a few weeks” to limit Iran’s military threat to U.S. troops, regional allies, and Israel.
Published: Mar 3, 2026 12:45 pm