Ed Flaherty of Veterans For Peace addressing about 75 people gathered to protest the military action in Venezuela over the weekend.

This letter to the editor by our friend Ed Flaherty, a veteran and tireless peace activist, was originally published in Little Village April 13, 2026.

By Ed Flaherty, Iowa City

The Iran war is not going well for the U.S. And please call it war, not a conflict, not a military operation. This war began on Feb. 28, with no congressional approval and with no notification to the U.S. public. I believe Iowa’s senator Charles Grassley is uniquely situated to stop this U.S. war on Iran.

Senator Grassley is the oldest and longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate. He has the well-earned respect of his fellow Republican senators. His voice could be instrumental right now in putting an end to this ill-conceived, illegal, ill-fated war. He must vote FOR a proposed resolution that prohibits further U.S. military action in Iran. He must vote AGAINST any proposal authorizing additional spending for the war. He must REMIND the president and his fellow senators that any military action on Iran after April 25, unless specifically authorized by Congress, would be a violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

Grassley, on Jan. 12, 1991, was the only Republican senator to vote against the first Gulf War. In 2018 he reflected on that vote. He said,

Make no mistake. It’s not easy to vote against the vast majority of your party and your president. Based on my feedback from Iowans and after many hours of deliberation, my gut told me to vote “no” against military action. I felt the people were not fully behind it. And I didn’t want to risk dividing the country like Vietnam.

Ironically, a Gallup poll a week before that vote indicated 57 percent of respondents agreed it was time to go to war, and 37 percent wanted more time for sanctions to work. In contrast, polling from early March to April 6 this year on the Iran war has consistently shown that 54 percent of Americans disapprove of the war, with 39 percent in favor. Other polls show similar results.

So, if Senator Grassley had the courage to vote against a war in 1991 that had a majority of public support, how much more should he feel it his duty to voice opposition to a war that the people do not want? Wars are easy to start. Witness the surprise and unauthorized beginning of the current Iran war. Wars are difficult to end, and the longer they go on, that much harder to end. Senator Grassley has the unique opportunity and obligation to use his voice and his vote to stop this war now.