Online controversy struck the Carleton University Students’ Association on March 17 after the students’ union posted a now-deleted Instagram statement titled, “Carleton students say no to war on Iran.”
The statement, representing a coalition of clubs and students, condemned the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has killed more than 1,600 civilians since Feb. 28.
After receiving dozens of comments claiming its words did not represent actual Iranian voices, the statement was removed.
“We recognize that this is a complex issue with deeply held and diverse perspectives across our community,” CUSA said in a later Instagram story.
But what was so controversial and complex about the condemnation of war?
To those who support bombing Iran, including some in the Iranian diaspora, the U.S. and Israel’s actions are legitimate because they believe the Islamic Republic has created more harm and destruction in the region.
They argue intervention will bring democracy to a country toiling under authoritarianism.
But contrary to the debate CUSA’s statement generated, this view does not represent the majority. Two separate polls found 61 per cent of Canadians disapprove of the U.S. military action against Iran, and 61 per cent of Iranian Americans support diplomacy to resolve the conflict.
Moreover, interventionists rely on flawed logic, in my opinion.
Death toll estimates from the 2003 Iraq War range from 150,000 to one million killed. In Libya, mass trafficking and slavery has emerged since the 2011 U.S.-led intervention, largely due to the power vacuum it created. In the 20-year U.S.-led War in Afghanistan, more than 46,000 civilians were killed.
Additionally, since Oct. 2023, the U.S.-backed Israeli war on Gaza has killed more than 75,000 people, with some estimates suggesting the true toll is significantly higher.
It does not take much foresight to anticipate that if the U.S.-Israeli war continues, it will kill thousands more in Iran.
On the first day of the war, the U.S. was responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in which 175 people were killed, with the majority of victims being schoolgirls between seven and 12 years old.
Since the start of the month-long bombing campaign, the U.S. has launched a campaign of targeting civilian infrastructure, including bridges and universities, and has threatened to target all of Iran’s desalination plants as well as their energy facilities, which would violate international law and leave millions of people vulnerable.
What is happening now in Iran is similar to conflicts in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Palestine. Those who demand U.S. intervention are incapable of learning from the last two decades of war.
By now, we should know this: bombs do not lead to democracy.
I believe that CUSA’s removed statement was correct, and Carleton students should not hesitate to oppose the war on Iran.
As the statement read, Carleton is “embedded within the political and economic structures that sustain war” through financial investments, research partnerships and the suppression of student advocacy. According to CUSA’s divestment letter, Carleton invests approximately $9.7-million in arms manufacturers.
If students have a concrete relationship to the war on Iran — because their tuition helps fund bombs — then their voices matter, and should not be dismissed or undermined.
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