The war with Iran is in its second week, and while the fighting appears to be intensifying, questions about why the U.S. began military operations continue.
Administration officials have offered various — and sometimes conflicting — justifications for the war, referencing Iran's growing ballistic missile program, its naval fleet, its network of terror proxy groups across the Middle East and its nuclear ambitions.
"Look at how much gas has gone up," said U.S. Representative Dina Titus, a Democrat from Nevada. "About $1 a gallon since last week as a result of this war ... and we'll see what the impact on tourism is. We no longer have TSA being paid, and then threats internally by terrorist cells that always make airplanes a target. So I think absolutely people will feel it directly right here at home."
For Iranian Americans, the war also means immediate disconnection from the families still living in Iran. Shahab Zargari's parents fled Iran just ahead of the 1979 revolution, but he still has family living in the country. Zargari, a member of UNLV's faculty and independent filmmaker, told State of Nevada that it's been difficult to reach family in Iran.
"When we do get a hold of our family members, they can't really say much, because they're saying that people are listening in," Zargari said. "They've resorted to writing things on paper and showing us on the screen. We're not really getting much."
As for the war's outcome, Zargari is unequivocal in his desire for regime change.
"I have so many family members there, and they're just sick and tired of almost 50 years of this repressive regime, where no one has enough to eat, and yet the government, under the guise of Islam, is feeding money to terrorist cells all over," he said. "They're just sick of it."
However, the outcome that the Trump Administration is seeking remains unclear. If it's regime change, College of Southern Nevada Social Sciences Professor Matthew Weiss said, then it's worth noting America's history of mixed success.
"One can scarcely think of any U.S.-led military intervention in modern history that has gone as intended," Weiss said. "One that has resulted in the establishment of a mature democracy that ,you know, engages in good governance, that respects its citizens' fundamental human rights."
As a notable example, Weiss points to Iran itself, where Islamic revolutionaries overthrew the Western-backed Shah in 1979.
Guests: Rep. Dina Titus, democrat, Nevada's 1st Congressional District, Shahab Zargari, independent filmmaker; Matthew Weiss, professor, College of Southern Nevada
