Skip to content 3/4/2026 A Military and Biblical Look at Just War Theory, in Light of Operation Epic Fury Mar 4 · 59 min ...more
3/4/2026 A Military and Biblical Look at Just War Theory, in Light of Operation Epic Fury
March 4, 2026 · 59 min
Today on Washington Watch: Operation Epic Fury updates, and potential NATO involvement; primary elections; FDA Abortion drug policies; global religious persecution; and Just War Theory Explained.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
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March 4, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Today on Washington Watch: Operation Epic Fury updates, and potential NATO involvement; primary elections; FDA Abortion drug policies; global religious persecution; and Just War Theory Explained. ...more Show the full description Show less Today on Washington Watch: Operation Epic Fury updates, and potential NATO involvement; primary elections; FDA Abortion drug policies; global religious persecution; and Just War Theory Explained.
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In this video 0:00 Iran Conflict Escalates: US Strikes and Political Backlash22:34 FDA's Double Standard on Drugs: Saving vs. Ending Life32:30 Global Religious Persecution and Defending Life at Home44:53 Just War Theory: Biblical Case for Action Against Iran
1:26 Israel has warned that any successor continuing aggression against Israel or the US will become a target. Combined forces have struck over 2000 targets, including
1:38 nuclear sites, air defenses, and ballistic missile facilities. Iran has hit back with missile and drone waves, striking US bases and other regional sites. Now, Tehran
1:50 has moved to block the Strait of Hormuz, threatening global oil flows and spiking energy prices. Meanwhile, president Donald Trump and the chancellor of Germany met in the Oval Office yesterday.
2:03 We are, on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran, away. There are too many bad guys in this
2:15 world, actually, and, this is an issue we have to talk about, because we all want to see this war coming to an end as soon as possible.
2:25 Trump also shared some details on why the US chose to initiate.
2:30 We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and and it was my opinion that they were gonna attack first. They were going to attack. If we didn't do it, they were going to attack first. I felt
2:42 strongly about that.
2:43 Administration officials say this won't become an endless war. But in a world already full of conflict, only time will tell if that sentiment holds true. Closer to home, a new YouGov
2:55 poll shows growing domestic division on immigration enforcement. American support for abolishing ICE has hit a record 50 percent with just 39 percent opposed. This
3:07 is the first time it's reached a majority in YouGov tracking. Democrats remain strongly in favor. Independent support has climbed to 52 percent and a record 23 percent of Republicans
3:19 agree. Large majorities also want ICE agents to wear clear identifiers and oppose face covering masks during operations despite arguments that such measures are in
3:31 place to protect agent safety. And in a final update, the 20 26 primary elections in Texas were held yesterday with results continuing to finalize today.
3:43 Here are the main highlights. In the Republican US Senate race, incumbent senator John Cornyn and attorney general Ken Paxton both fell just short of 50 percent and will face a runoff in May. On
3:55 the Democratic side, state rep James Tallarico defeated US rep Jasmine Crockett to claim the nomination outright. For governor, Republican incumbent Greg Abbott cruised to an easy primary win
4:07 while Democrat Gina Hinojosa secured her party's nomination. Rep Dan Crenshaw also lost his Republican primary to challenger Steve Toth in Texas' second district. Other house
4:19 and state races saw incumbents advance or head to May runoffs teeing up some fierce November midterm battles. And those are today's headlines. I'm Sarah Holliday. Dive deeper with
4:30 the Washington Stand, Family Research Council's outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. And for more stories that matter, be sure to tune in to the Washington Stand news brief tomorrow.
4:52 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and
5:03 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
5:10 We're gonna continue to do what we have, the greatest military in the world by far. And, that was a tremendous threat test for many years. 47 years, they've been killing our people and killing
5:22 people from all over the world. And I think we have great support. And I think if we didn't do it first, they would have done it to Israel and give us a shot if that was possible.
5:35 That was president Donald Trump earlier today praising the performance of the US military in its operations against Iran. Welcome to this March fourth edition of Washington Watch. I'm Tony Perkins. Thanks so much for
5:45 joining us. Well, coming up, as the White House expands the US military's presence in the Middle East, Democrats are questioning president Trump's constitutional authority. Senate took an initial vote today on the war
5:57 powers resolution, which failed. North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer joins us in just a moment to look at the senate vote and operation epic fury. Plus, as congress debates the constitutional authority for
6:09 the president's actions against Iran, we also need to consider the moral dimensions of the decision, when and under what conditions should a nation go to war. It's a question that Christian thinkers have wrestled with
6:20 for centuries in the light of scripture. Doctor Mark Lavecki joins me for that discussion. Well, the White House
6:32 is expanding the US military's presence in the Middle East as the conflict with Iran enters its fifth day. The US officials say additional forces, including naval and air assets, are being deployed to
6:44 support ongoing operations. Earlier today, defense secretary Pete Heczek said that a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, marking a significant escalation. And
6:56 by the way, this is the first time a US submarine has sunk a combatant ship since the end of World War 2 in 19 45. Joining me now is Washington stand reporter Casey Harper. Alright, Casey.
7:08 What's the latest? This, obviously seems to be developing by the moment.
7:12 That's right, Tony. We're covering every development. As you said, things are intensifying in, in Iran. In fact, we're seeing, you know, media reports now that the thousands of Kurds are actually pushing into Iran, which
7:23 is really, breaking media reports we're saying. But as you said, at a briefing earlier today at the Pentagon, secretary Hegseth made clear that the US is winning this war against Iran and that the mill US military
7:35 could fight as long as needed. In fact, today, as you mentioned, the Department of War released that video, pretty remarkable video, really, showing an Iranian warship, flying several feet into the air as it struck by a
7:47 torpedo fired by a US submarine. Now that vessel sank off the coast of Sri Lanka in international waters, which as you mentioned, the first time we've done something like that since 19 45.
7:59 Now Hegseth vowed to continued and intensifying military pressure on Iran, which is what we've been seeing. In fact, here's a clip.
8:07 We are only 4 days into this, and the results have been incredible. Historic, really. Only only the United States of America could lead this, only
8:19 us. But when you add the Israeli Defense Forces, a devastatingly capable force, the combination is sheer destruction for our radical Islamist Iranian
8:30 adversaries. They are toast, and they know it. Or at least soon enough, they will know it.
8:39 Well, general Cain, made an important point, Tony, saying that Iran has been firing fewer and fewer missiles as time has gone on. It's unclear whether they're losing the will to fight or more likely that they're just
8:49 losing the ability to launch as those sites are being taken out by the US.
8:55 Alright. We're gonna talk a little bit more about that with, senator Kramer here in just a moment. Quickly, I wanna go to, primaries. So the first of the primaries of this midterm election took
9:06 place yesterday. Voters in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas making their voices heard. What's the update? What are the results telling us?
9:15 That's right. The results are in, Tony. And James Tallarico defeated congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in Texas with about well, it's a close race. He won with about 53 percent of the vote. Now Tallarico is interesting.
9:27 Calls himself a Presbyterian seminarian but he recently said that the bible doesn't have anything to say about gay marriage or abortion. So maybe he went to the wrong seminary. But regardless, on the
9:38 Republican side, the primary for senate is headed to a runoff between senator John Cornyn and Texas AG Ken Paxton. In fact, we have a clip here.
9:47 We now head into a 12 week primary runoff.
9:50 But I think everyone in this room, everyone in Texas, and everyone in Washington knows where this is headed.
9:55 Elections are about choices, and the choice in the Republican race for the US Senate is crystal clear.
10:03 So we must stay focused. We must stay united, and we we must be ready to send a second conservative senator to Washington.
10:12 Couple other notes, Tony. Congressman Dan Crenshaw lost his primary and former Democrat former governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is facing off against Michael Whatley for that vacant senate seat in North Carolina.
10:25 It's gonna be a very interesting, election year. Casey, thanks so much for, for the update and keeping us, apprised of what's happening. Thanks, Tony. Alright. I wanna go back to the latest on the
10:37 US military operation in Iran. As I mentioned just moments ago, the senate voted, down a measure to limit president Trump's ability to take additional military action against Iran. Joining us now to
10:49 discuss this and more senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota who serves on the senate armed services committee. Senator Cramer, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
10:57 Always a pleasure. Thanks, Tony.
11:00 Any surprise, regarding the vote in the, the senate? This is not the first time the Democrats have pushed this.
11:06 Boy, it's not now is it not the first time. It's not the second, third, or fourth time. They just keep doing it. It's a way that they try to take over the the, the floor of the of the United States Senate. And and,
11:18 frankly, Tim Kaine has made that crystal clear by admitting it that this is a tactic to try to absorb the floor time to to prevent us from doing other things. Unfortunately, for for him, I guess,
11:30 but fortunately for America, we once again rejected it, and I think we always will. It's a terrible time to bring up a a resolution like this while our troops I mean, here we are, what, 4 days in,
11:42 while our troops are in harm's way fighting for the freedom, of of the of the region, for the for our country, for our very good friend and ally Israel, obviously. And,
11:54 at a time like this, we would try to put forward a resolution saying that, no. You shouldn't be doing it. It's it's backwards. And and, frankly, I I really appreciated the reporting that you guys are doing because
12:05 what Pete Hake Seth and and general Kane did this morning in their short briefing was spectacular. It was informative, and, I think it made every member of the United States Armed Forces feel like they were doing
12:17 something meaningful, and and they are.
12:22 You know, you and I actually talked about the Venezuela and what took place in Venezuela, and, you know, there was support for that. I I would say this is even a more clear cut case, than what
12:34 took place. I know that what took place in Venezuela was described as, more of a law enforcement operation. But this 1 to me seems to be clear cut with the president operating with the authority based upon the
12:46 information we have and what we've seen in the pattern of the Iranians that they were, in fact, a threat not only to Israel, but eventually to us.
12:53 Well, that that's right, Tony. Let's not forget. There's a lot of presidents before this 1 that said they wanted to do something like this. They would do something like this. We can't allow them to have a nuclear weapon.
13:03 All the right rhetoric and never the right action. And what I love so much about president Trump's decision here was that he's not going to wait for them to fire their first missile at us. He's gonna make sure they never
13:14 get to fire the first missile at us, and there's more than a little bit of evidence. There's abundance of evidence that that's what they're aiming to do. They even say as much. Their goal is to wipe out Israel and then
13:25 wipe out the United States. So, no. This was clearly both in his it's both in his in his moral high ground, but also in his legal high ground to do and that's why these
13:37 I'm not even sure the War Powers, frankly, War Powers Act is constitutional. There's that is an open question in of itself, but we certainly can't have 535, you know, commanders in chief.
13:49 Right. Now under the current structure, like you said, many question the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, but the president has first a 48 hour notification, to Congress. He's done
14:01 that.
14:01 He did that.
14:02 Congress has been notified. You've been briefed. You were briefed yesterday. Then there's a 60 day clock, where the president has the authority to operate, and he must either obtain congressional authorization
14:14 or terminate the hostilities according to the War Powers Act. He's saying that this could be wrapped up within 4 to 5 weeks, so that's clearly within that 60 day time frame.
14:23 That that's correct, Tony. And and even if he comes up on the 60 days and feels it needs to be extended, he has the he has the option of extending it another 30. So it's it really ends up being 90 days. And to that
14:34 point, to your point, Donald Trump, 1 thing he has demonstrated is when he takes action, he takes it quickly and he gets out. Venezuela was a great example. That was a 1 day,
14:45 situation. Midnight hammer, which by the way, when you consider what our bombers and what our military were able to do in conducting that, obliteration
14:57 of of Iran's nuclear capabilities at midnight hammer, if that didn't convince the Ayatollah and the regime that Donald Trump's serious when he when he says he'll do do something specific, if you don't
15:09 meet, his timelines, I don't know what more they could have asked for for for evidence. But so, yes, you're right. I think the timeline is gonna work out just fine.
15:19 Senator, I know you can't get into the classified elements of the of the briefing, but was there anything that was presented you by the administration regarding the trigger triggering US action
15:31 that was a surprise to you?
15:33 There was not, Tony. And what I think is interesting that there's been a little bit of, controversy or at least the creation of controversy over the statement that somehow, it was Benjamin Netanyahu or or Israel's,
15:46 you know, commitment to attack that triggered our necessity to join them in that fight as though they were, you know, they were the guiding principle. To which I say, okay. I
15:58 don't think that's true. I definitely don't believe that's true. But I thought the president was totally fine when he said, maybe maybe my encouragement or maybe, you know, some of
16:10 my words gave the Israelis the confidence to move forward. But, Tony, let's make no mistake. Israel is important enough for us to work on this with them together. And if they chose a time to go forward
16:22 when we were planning to go forward anyway, why wouldn't we why wouldn't we do it with them? The 2 greatest air forces in the in the history of the world working together on on a noble cause like taking
16:33 down Iran. I don't know why we wouldn't wanna do it with them.
16:37 Well, the the level of preparation and planning that's required for an operation that we've seen in the last 4 days is hard to imagine that Israel drug us into this. We we we had to be
16:49 very well prepared and positioned to to do this. It it was a cooperative effort. I mean, I think anybody with half a brain would see that. I I I wanna go back to something you just said a moment ago. We just got a little
17:00 about a minute and a half left. That the the the sheer force that the president has been using. And and he's he even this goes back to his first term that he talks about victory. He doesn't talk about containment. This
17:11 is a major shift in military philosophy for the United States going back to, to to to Korea, where we fought wars of containment, not wars to win. This is big
17:23 this is a big change.
17:25 It is a big change, Tony. It sends a very strong message. A lot of people say, well, what's what are we gonna do in these other theaters? We can't afford to have wars in multiple places. The the there's also a
17:36 geopolitical shift as a result of this change in philosophy in the United States and our projection of power. I I think we've pretty much proven to everybody that we're we actually are better
17:47 than you thought, that our military is still the very, very best, and we're capable and willing to use it for the right causes. And I think I don't think Xi Jinping woke up this morning and thought, gee, I think today
17:58 would be a good day to do something bad. I don't think that Vladimir Putin thought, gee, the United States, you know, maybe we can try something now that we know they're weaker. No. They're all looking going, oh my
18:09 goodness. This is serious. And I think it's changed. It's reshuffled the entire deck.
18:15 I I think you're absolutely right, senator. I think the the the the thing that people see that is probably most pronounced is the willingness to use the strength that we had. I think the strength was pretty
18:27 well un understood, but it's the willingness to use it that I think has sent a strong message
18:32 to the people.
18:33 And what the and what Donald Trump has done is we're no longer just the peace keeper. We're now the peacemaker, and I rather like that position.
18:41 Senator Kramer, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks so much for joining us.
18:44 Thank you.
18:46 Alright, folks. Stick with us. We're coming back with more Washington Watch on the other side of the break. When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 1 people
18:58 To dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another. And to assume among the powers of the earth
19:04 The separate and equal station to which the laws of nature
19:07 And of nature's god entitle them.
19:10 A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
19:15 Which impel them to the separation.
19:17 We hold these truths to be self evident.
19:20 That all men are created
19:22 equal. That they're endowed by their creator.
19:24 With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. Deriving their just powers
19:36 from the consent of the governed. Happy 200 and fiftieth. Happy 200 and fiftieth.
19:42 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
19:44 Happy 200 and fiftieth birthday, America.
19:46 May god bless America. See, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living
19:58 by that purpose today? See, the founders understood we as a nation would be accountable to God for what he had granted to us. They sought freedom
20:10 for a purpose, and that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same purpose to serve God, to honor him, and to live as a people under his authority.
20:23 At the 20 26 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance in Washington DC, members of Congress, state leaders, evangelical leaders, and intercessors from across the
20:34 nation united as 1 voice in prayer.
20:38 Heavenly father, thank you so much for this gathering. We do repent, and we ask for your continued favor and blessing over our nation even when we don't deserve it.
20:47 I thank you that because of the shed blood and the glorious righteousness of your son, Jesus Christ, a sinner such as myself can boldly approach your
20:59 throne. You said that you helped the humble, and we're asking just now that you would help us, Lord.
21:20 We pray that you humble us, help us to follow after you with all our hearts so that we can see righteousness exalted in this nation and this nation restored to you. We know this is not by our power. It's not by our
21:32 might. It is by your spirit.
21:33 Freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. We pray that we would return to that purpose.
21:56 Amen. Welcome back to Watch. Let me, remind you, regarding the prayer initiative for the situation in the Middle East. Hundreds of you have, signed the the pledge to
22:08 pray, and we've sent you the prayer points. And you can join us, and I encourage you to do so. We need to be praying for leaders, praying for our men and women in the military, praying for the people of Iran, the
22:17 innocent people there, praying for our friends in Israel, praying for these spiritual strongholds to come down there in the Middle East. So text the word Iran to 6 7 7 4 2, Iran to 6
22:29 7 7 4 2. I'll send you a link. Get your prayer points. You can sign that pledge. Alright. The US Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, has received notable criticism over its inconsistency inShow more
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