What awaits my generation is likely another war in the Middle East with countries it can’t even point to on a labeled map. Operation Epic Fury may as well be a continuation of this forever war. 

The United States is digging itself into another war with Iran and Lebanon, while our students at home prepare for a fallout that doesn’t necessarily unfurl from nuclear weapons or airstrike campaigns.

On March 16, Lieutenant General James W. Bierman sent a letter to the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, responding to the commencement of Operation Epic Fury and the flare of alleged terror attacks that occurred thereafter. 

Bierman cites the lone gunman attack on an ROTC unit at Old Dominion University that occurred on March 12. The shooter, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh — a man who had ties to an Islamic State group in Africa in 2016 — was ultimately subdued and killed by the ROTC students.

In the letter, Bierman explicitly stated, “This attack on an ROTC unit was intentional and symbolic.” In effect, the A&M University Police Department will be watching the Corps when they engage in training and formation activities.

Although we remain uncertain of whether domestic terrorism will erupt on campus and whether such instances of terrorism are genuinely connected to the war in Iran, we are bearing witness to what happens when our country goes rogue.

For one, we may be ill-prepared.

How much does it cost to increase UPD presence on campus? Who, or rather what, kind of students get protection when we are dealing with what Bierman terms as “the real and unpredictable threat of terrorism?” Where was the UPD when slews of American domestic shootings were flaring up across the country the last two decades? What kind of terrorism should we choose to respond to?

Evidently, we put all Aggies, at home and abroad, at risk. We are left with questions that will most likely go unanswered. That seems to be the recurring theme of this year’s indulgence in geopolitical conflict.

These situations point out how fragile the U.S. and its institutions of democracy are when the administration decisively backs its public into a corner. It’s ludicrous that our war with Iran isn’t even premised on the idea of stopping terrorists, but may conversely enliven them. 

Our offensive foreign policy and joint U.S.-Israeli strikes tend to ricochet back. During a temporary ceasefire, the Trump administration’s hasty attempts to push regime change in Iran forced the American public into a bulimic state of political incapacitation.

In other words, we are living in the politics of “just eat it.” Force-fed dishonesty with a tube, this administration reproduces a heinous cycle of violence we still expect others to condemn for no other purpose than political litmus testing.

Meanwhile, at least 1,830 people in Lebanon have been killed as a result of Israeli bombardments and more than 3,000 people have been killed in the war, according to our country’s forensic chief.

If Bierman is right in what we are facing now, that “homegrown terrorist attacks can emerge without warning,” what can we realistically do about it other than drill and pray it doesn’t happen to us? Who can we go to for answers and a succinct solution?

Well, what’s disturbing is that no one, especially not our U.S. representatives, seems to have a clear answer to what the country’s objective of the operation is besides vague notions of “regime change.”

Even if some U.S. congresspeople think they have a clue, the administration did not get approval from Congress to engage in this war with Iran, let alone articulate its strategic goals to the public. There were none, not even a poorly conceived exit plan, and so far, the Pentagon has claimed that 140 troops have been wounded and 13 U.S. military personnel have died as a result of Operation Epic Fury.

On February 28, at least 175 people, most of them children, were reported killed during a U.S. strike in Minab, Iran. The Trump administration attempted to sidestep and deny such allegations about the targeting of Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school until a preliminary investigation confirmed it was a U.S. strike — a mistake due to outdated intelligence data.

Unlike the war in Iraq, we aren’t even being consistently lied to about our country’s intentions. We haven’t been tossed a bone or a bundle of fallacious odes to protecting freedom across the world. There are no elaborate patronages like “Weapons of Mass Destruction” to manufacture consent for war.

The administration is also failing significantly at drumming up support from its most radical supporters in their base. As the public, we aren’t even being treated to the nationalist condescensions of “Epic Fury” — a name President Trump chose as a signature for his second-term legacy.

At the end of the day, we are still waiting for honest answers from not just our government, but from A&M. When we are met with radio silence on the national level regarding the purposes of foreign warfare, our institution faces the public responsibility of answering for the unanswerable.

However, A&M has chosen not to speak the unspeakable truth. It cannot aptly prepare us for this war nor justify our nation’s campaign.

In Bierman’s letter, he praises the young men and women who are engaging in combat operations against “the enemies of our country.” He ends the letter by stating, “Their numbers include many of our fellow Aggies.”

Indeed, brave Aggies are typically on the front lines, sacrificing their lives to protect their family, country and ideals in the American promise. After all, A&M commissions many skilled officers into all branches of the military service every year. Our reputation as a former military institution is impeccable, and we pride ourselves as the ones who can get it done.

But General Bierman, do you believe your cadets support this war? Do your cadets know why we are at war with Iran?

Sidney Uy is a philosophy junior and opinion columnist for The Battalion.