We Oppose Illegal, Immoral Wars.

Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) strongly condemns the U.S. and Israeli war in Iran that is bringing obscene and unnecessary death and destruction to its people while injuring and killing U.S. service members. All of our loved ones signed up to protect country and Constitution, not to be used as pawns in illegal, immoral wars of choice and aggression. 

Many of us remember with indescribable grief the days our loved ones were deployed to another war of choice and aggression in Iraq, only to have them return with devastating physical, invisible and moral injuries; or in flag-draped coffins. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children, women and men were killed and many more injured in that immoral conflict. 

Now a new generation of military families suffers from the deployments of their loved ones to a war that should never have started. Billions of dollars that are so needed for healthcare, education and jobs are being expended each day on war crimes – the bombing of a girls’ school and targets that bring torrents of black, acid rain down upon the people of Iran. The war has destabilized the entire region, with a growing death toll in Lebanon and other countries.

Once again there was no Congressional Declaration of War as required by Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Soon Congress will be asked to vote on funding for this abomination, being told that funds are required to support our troops. Military Families Speak Out needs Congress to understand deeply that funding an illegal and immoral war is not supporting our troops, it is killing them. Members of Congress must know in no uncertain terms that any vote supporting funds to continue the war on Iran will make them complicit in this most horrendous military misadventure.

End the war on Iran, bring our troops home NOW, and do not re-deploy them to the Caribbean, Venezuela, Cuba or our cities! 

Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is a national organization of post 9-11 military families founded in 2002, speaking out to prevent and end forever wars in the Middle East. MFSO welcomes the voices of military and Gold Star  families speaking out against the misuse and abuse of service members in today’s military misadventures, including deploying the military to U.S. cities and towns, Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Long Beach, CA. January 9, 2026 

Contact: Pat Alviso, 562-833-8035, mfsooc@earthlink.net 

Military Families Speak Out Opposes U.S. Attack on  Venezuela 

Military families across the country are once again devastated by our loved ones being  used as pawns in a military operation that has nothing to do with their oath to protect  country and Constitution and everything to do with oil markets and asserting dominance  in the Western Hemisphere. 

Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) condemns the latest actions involving Venezuela by  President Trump. To violate a country’s airspace, bomb their airports, kill over 80 civilian  and military personnel and kidnap their head of state is a declaration of war, a criminal  kidnapping, and a blatant violation of international law These actions occurred without  Congressional authorization. The Constitution clearly assigns these powers to Congress.  No debate took place. No vote occurred. The American people were denied a voice.  Untold harm has and will come to the people of Venezuela, and to our loved ones in  uniform. 

Two decades ago, the US invaded Iraq, lying about weapons of mass destruction, and  putting our loved ones and the people of Iraq in harm’s way. Today the lies are different  but the horrific results will be the same. 

“We military families know firsthand the true cost of war,” said MFSO member Alissa M.  “My husband lost a lot of his battle buddies in Afghanistan and afterward. Some lost  limbs, many suffer from PTSD, and far too many have been lost to suicide. Back then we  were told the mission was to capture terrorists. I can’t even imagine the carnage and  moral injury our troops will suffer as a result of being given orders to invade another  country, which is no threat to us, and control another country’s oil.”  

Military Families Speak Out demands an end to this attempt to overturn the government  of a sovereign nation, using our loved ones as cannon fodder and threatening the lives of  the people of Venezuela. We demand, and our troops and the American people deserve, lawful orders grounded in the Constitution and respect for international law. 

Congress must immediately reassert its authority over unlawful military acts and halt  military action against Venezuela or any other sovereign nation. Our troops are not  expendable. Their lives and their sacrifice demand lawful leadership rather than the misuse and abuse they will suffer being deployed to an unlawful military misadventure. We’ve seen this playbook before. We know how this will end. We simply cannot allow a new generation of service members and the people of Venezuela to be sacrificed for  another illegal, immoral war for oil. 

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Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is a national organization of post-9/11 military families founded in  2002, speaking out to prevent and end the forever wars in the Middle East. MFSO welcomes the voices of military families speaking out against the misuse and abuse of service members in today’s military  misadventures including deploying the military to U.S. cities and towns, and currently to Venezuela. 

Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, the MFSO Board was asked to write a position statement. Since then, thousands of Ukrainian citizens have died and  six million civilians have been forced to flee their homes. Thoughtful input from our members, a review of our mission statement along with recent developments have moved us to update our previous position statement. Please keep in mind that MFSO is not a pacifist organization and understand that the issue of self-defense can be complicated, but MFSO will continue to speak out against unjust wars where the US military is involved. Our opinions on the war in Ukraine should only reflect the possibility of the involvement of US troops. Therefore, we believe:

•           There is no military solution to the war in Ukraine.

•           We support any and all efforts to end the war in Ukraine through diplomatic means

•           The US/NATO should not declare a “No Fly Zone”

•           The US should continue to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine and support the current medical, nutritional, shelter and other needs of the Ukrainian people now.

Again, we are in a very precarious position in the Middle East.

MFSO believes that every effort should be made to resolve this issue with no military intervention.  We need to bring all our troops home and utilize diplomacy to solve any conflicts with Iran.  We strongly oppose the presence of our military troops in the area, which only serves to increase tension   If Iraq wants the U.S. to leave their country, we should honor that request.

It is clear, with the release of the Afghanistan Papers last month, that our government has no truth, accountability, or strategy in conflict zones. We perpetuate violence, confusion and chaos.

Our presence in Iraq only deepens the suffering of the ordinary citizens and do nothing to make peace with those governments. 

We call upon President Trump and Congress to deflate this aggressive posturing and bring our troops home now.