Over the weekend, President Donald Trump ordered Operation Epic Fury — a bold strike on Iran, conducted in tandem with the Israeli Defense Force. 

Some 40 members of Iran’s most senior political and military leadership were taken out in short order — including brutal dictator, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

For Democrats, this was a grievous sin. Few have given Trump credit for taking out an Islamist dictator who’d subjugated his own people, especially women — and who’s killed at least 30,000 of his own people amid protests, crossing a redline Trump has now enforced. 

One of the most outspoken critics is U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a retired Army Ranger and combat veteran. 

“Trump is plunging us into another war in the Middle East,” Crow said in a statement. “He’s learned nothing from decades of failed conflicts. It’s a war of choice with no clear end game, no authorization from Congress, and little support from Americans.” 

Except Crow’s framing collapses under scrutiny. This isn’t Iraq. We haven’t sent ground forces. He doesn’t intend to — let alone to occupy Iran in another nation-building quagmire. 

Rep. Gabe Evans, another Army combat veteran, captured the situation far more accurately. 

“For 47 years, the Iranian regime has terrorized its own people and supported terrorist groups that killed Americans and our allies,” Evans said. “Repeated efforts from the U.S. to negotiate in good faith and halt the expansion of Iran’s nuclear weapons program were met with deception and defiance, as the radical regime rejected every opportunity for peace.”  

On KDVR, Evans warned Iran has been massively expanding its ballistic-missile manufacturing capacity, potentially into the tens of thousands, presenting “an absolutely unacceptable risk.” 

Iranian-American political activist Babak Behzadi shares that assessment. Behzadi, who escaped Iran in 1984 at the age of 16, five years after the Islamic Republic seized power, maintains contacts inside Iran. 

Behzadi credits Trump with learning from the Iraq War’s central mistake: “De-Baathification,” which totally dismantled Sadaam Hussein’s political apparatus and required a prolonged ground occupation. 

“He doesn’t want to destabilize Iran that severely,” Behzadi said. “That would be a huge mistake.” 

Iran, he said, is different — describing the regime as a tent whose “central pole” (the Supreme Leader and core ideologues) must be removed. The “smaller poles” — pragmatic officials down the chain of command — can remain to maintain stability and negotiate changed behavior and nuclear disarmament. 

That’s how you get regime change without occupation. As War Secretary Pete Hegseth put it, “This is not a so-called ‘regime change war.’ But the regime did change, and the world is better off for it.” 

“Iran is not Syria. Iran is not Iraq,” Behzadi said. “It has 64 million young, educated people who want a normal life. There is far more reason for optimism about Iran than about any other country in the region.” 

Contra Crow’s claim, there is a clear objective: remove and destroy the destabilizing elements — top leadership, nuclear infrastructure and missile systems. 

That’s an endgame — one that doesn’t envision ground troops, an occupation or dismantling the entire state. 

Crow is also among a chorus of Democrats demanding congressional authorization. Congress hasn’t formally declared war since World War II. Of America’s roughly two dozen direct military conflicts since then, only five were authorized by Congress. Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya and Syria — launched under Presidents Clinton and Obama — were not among them. 

The president has 60 days until Congress can invoke the War Powers Resolution to halt military action. Why does congressional authorization suddenly matter only when a Republican is commander-in-chief? 

At the same time, Crow and Colorado’s other congressional Democrats are refusing to act on funding the Department of Homeland Security — stalled over illegal immigration enforcement — even as terrorist threats are growing. 

Unlike 15 years bogged down in Iraq, Behzadi believes America should be able to reach an agreement and wrap up within 30 days. Former military intelligence contractor Keith Nobles thinks the time frame may be shorter. 

“Expending munitions at a terrific rate and aircraft maintenance alone means we can’t continue at this pace for too long,” Nobles told me. “It seems right now Iran’s plan is to have the mullahs and IRGC outlast the munitions clock.” 

Behzadi agreed. “If you’re the Iranian government, your position is: ‘Let’s absorb as many bombs as they drop, because Trump is on a limited timeline,’” he said. “Our job is to take out that main core as quickly as possible. Morale is going to drop in the days to come. Somebody is going to say, ‘Let’s negotiate.’ It’s a race against time.” 

Jason Crow knows the difference between a ground war and a strategic, targeted operation from the air and sea — which makes it harder to take his statements seriously, not politically. 

For Behzadi, it’s cause for celebration. “What we’ve been waiting 47 years for is finally beginning,” he said. “This is the beginning of the end of the Islamic Republic. I do not see it surviving this.” 

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.