Skip to main content

← The Ground-Troops Debate

The Unlikely Coalition: Megyn Kelly, Ana Kasparian, Steve Bannon and Others on "Dying for a Foreign Country"

Evidence rating: CONFIRMED that each commentator said the words quoted, from posted clips and outlet reports (marked). These are opinions. They matter because of who is saying them, to how many people, and because they say the same thing from opposite ends of American politics.

The Iran war did something unusual. It put a conservative former Fox host, a progressive YouTube host, and Donald Trump's former chief strategist on the same side of one question: should American soldiers die in a war they believe serves Israel? Their audiences together run to tens of millions. Here is what they said.

Megyn Kelly: "they died for Iran or Israel"​

After the first four American service members were killed in the war, Megyn Kelly said on her show: "I don't think those 4 service members died for the United States. I think they died for Iran or Israel." The clip was posted with the caption that she says U.S. soldiers "should not die for a foreign country" (post on X, March 3, 2026, 300,000 views). In June, a clip from her interview with Vice President JD Vance was captioned as her confronting him over the conservative base feeling "completely betrayed" by the war (post on X, June 16, 2026); the transcript was not captured.

Ana Kasparian: "U.S. soldiers will risk their lives. It won't benefit the United States, but Israel"​

A week before the war, the progressive host of The Young Turks:

"The only reason we have a bad relationship with Iran is because of Israel. If Israel gets its way, the U.S. will pursue regime change in Iran. Americans will pay for it and U.S. soldiers will risk their lives. It won't benefit the United States, but Israel." (clip on X, February 20, 2026, 766,000 views)

In April she took the argument onto Megyn Kelly's show, against Mark Levin (see Levin). In September, as Mario Nawfal quoted her under his own line "America buried 4,000 soldiers in Iraq. Israel sent zero": "Where is Israel right now? They're up to bombing and destroying public schools in southern Lebanon" (Mario Nawfal on X, September 9, 2026).

Steve Bannon: "in the first wave"​

On his War Room show, Trump's former chief strategist said Arab allies should commit forces, and that Netanyahu's son, "who reportedly resides in the United States," should be deported and placed "in the first wave," Newsweek reported. The same article noted a website created on February 28 urging the President's 19-year-old son, Barron, to enlist, and observed: "With thousands of Marines and Army paratroopers now deployed to the Middle East, the possibility of boots on the ground is no longer theoretical" (Newsweek, March 31, 2026). The point, made sharply: the families arguing for a ground war are rarely the ones who would fight it.

Caitlin Johnstone: "Today in dystopia"​

On September 3, Johnstone read aloud the Jerusalem Post column proposing to recruit up to 1.5 million Americans with debt forgiveness: "Today in dystopia, war pundits have begun suggesting that the US could recruit sufficient troops for a ground invasion of Iran by offering young Americans debt forgiveness in exchange for enlisting" (Caitlin Johnstone on X). See the Jerusalem Post plan.

The public, in its own words​

Ordinary posts drew huge audiences for the same idea. "Reports from the Pentagon are that a conflict with Iran could cost us 10,000 soldiers. Who thinks American soldiers need to die for Israel? What is this madness?" (February 17, 94,000 views, on X; the Pentagon figure is the poster's). "Indian soldiers die for India / Russian soldiers die for Russia / Ukrainian soldiers die for Ukraine / Iranian soldiers die for Iran / But American soldiers are sent to die for Israel" (March 31, 243,000 views, on X). And after Netanyahu's "ground component" remark: "Netanyahu is sending American Soldiers to be inside Iran for battle while keeping his own Soldiers safe" (March 22, on X).

The case for the war, as its supporters made it​

Supporters answered on camera too. A widely shared reply argued: "Under Article II, the President has authority as Commander in Chief to respond to imminent threats and protect U.S. forces and interests," and "A targeted strike to degrade military or nuclear capability is not the same as a 20-year ground war" (post on X, February 28, 2026). Ben Shapiro, as one critic framed a clip of him, said American soldiers should accept "sacrifice for the greater good" (post on X, September 13, 2026; the framing is the poster's). The argument that a "targeted strike" is not a ground war was made in February. By March the Pentagon was planning weeks of ground raids.

What the coalition shows​

When a conservative host, a progressive host, a former Trump strategist, combat veterans and hundreds of thousands of ordinary posters all say the same sentence, "American soldiers should not die for a foreign country," it is no longer a fringe view. It is a large part of the country, looking at the same record this section documents, and reaching the same conclusion. Plato's image of the chariot explains why so many still look away, and what it takes to speak: see the black horse.

Status: Megyn Kelly, Ana Kasparian, Steve Bannon, Caitlin Johnstone, JD Vance, Ben Shapiro, and Mario Nawfal are alive. Characterizations are reported as each speaker's opinion.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

Last updated on