By Robert Weiner and Griffin Cobb
Originally published in the Oberlin Review.
To the Editors:
While President Donald Trump claims an easy fix to the situation in Iran, the reality is more complicated and more familiar. Iranian officials have promised "crushing, broader, and more destructive" attacks in response, an attitude frighteningly reminiscent of Vietnamese resolve during the United States' disastrous involvement in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials have directly contradicted the White House's public claims about the goals and progress of the war -- the same pattern of misstatement and misrepresentation from the Department of Defense that drove the U.S. deeper into Vietnam.
It has now been over a month since the Iran conflict escalated. According to Pete Hegseth a month ago, "We are just getting
started."
We have heard that before.
Robert McNamara called it "the light at the end of the tunnel." Hegseth calls it an "un-limited stockpile" of arms. The language is different, but the confidence is the same.
The parallels are not coincidental -- they are a pattern:
Public Outrage at Oberlin
The echoes reach back to Oberlin. In October 1967, Oberlin College became a flashpoint of student resistance to Vietnam. When a Navy recruiter arrived on campus, students surrounded his car for four hours. The next day, protesters staged a sit-in blocking the placement office in Peters Hall where interviews were to be held. Author Weiner was among those protesting.
History is repeating itself with Oberlin students once again speaking out by holding teach-ins on the Iran War.
"I was very upset -- I think many people were -- and I think that is the correct response to be deeply angered at what our country has the gall to do," College second-year Ezra Rudensky said regarding the war ("YDSA Hosts Teach-In On Iranian History in Wake of U.S., Israeli Attacks," The Oberlin Review, March 13, 2026). Shontel Brown, Ohio Democratic U.S. Rep. of Warrensville Heights, put it plainly.
"This President promised to end wars, not start new ones."
No Congressional Approval
Under Johnson and McNamara, there was no congressional approval for the war. After the disputed Gulf of Tonkin attack in 1964, Johnson stated, "I further announced a decision to ask the Congress for a resolution expressing the unity and determination of the United States in supporting freedom and in protecting peace in Southeast Asia."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
