Attitudes about the conflict—not surprisingly—are intensely colored by political partisanship. Gallup finds a mere 20 percent of Republicans believe the war was a mistake, compared with 64 percent of independents and 82 percent of Democrats. When asked what to do about troop levels, only 44 percent of Republicans favor the withdrawal of some or all troops, while 64 percent of independents and 81 percent of Democrats favor the same.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.