18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 5-11, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Bombs Away Ideological responses do not help the people of Iran. War and hope can (and do) coexist. By Ava Homa FORUM Airstrikes on Iran have created two predictable reactions abroad. One is an anti-war absolutism, rooted in the history of sobering precedents. After 20 years of American presence in Afghanistan, women’s rights have rolled back to Taliban-era restrictions. The other is the celebration of the fall of the dictator Ali Khamenei, responsible for the execution, mass arrest and the violent suppression of dissent. People in Iraq also danced when their dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled. It was a brief relief before chaos ensued. My family’s intermittent messages are delayed by internet disruptions and in their voices I hear something Western debates rarely make room for: simultaneous relief and terror. The unimaginable relief of parents who buried their children shot during uprisings. Terror because the Revolutionary Guards, the Army and the Basij are still armed and political prisoners are still languishing. One death at the top does not dismantle a system fortified over 45 years. Wars promise resolution and deliver wreckage. I was born into one (with Iraq) that lasted eight years. Civilians have been and will be caught in the crossfire, like the schoolgirls killed on day two of the war, Saturday, Feb. 28. When the United States killed General Qassem Suleimani in January 2020, Iran’s air defenses shot down the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, killing 176 civilians. When Israel attacked Iran in summer 2025, the regime expanded arbitrary arrests and deported Afghan migrants. Civilians bear the cost of both domestic repression and international escalation. To acknowledge that history, however, is not to deny another truth. After two decades of periodic protest and brutal crackdowns, many inside Iran have concluded that peaceful mobilization alone cannot topple an armed state. Many now weigh the uncertainty of escalation against the certainty of suffocation. That is a desperate calculation. It is also the reality. Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince, positions himself as a transitional leader, but his proposals would concentrate authority rather than distribute it. Durable democracy in a multiethnic country requires coalition building and respect for regional rights. The divisions are not only inside Iran. In Los Angeles, a portion of the diaspora have aligned themselves with Republican politics and hard-line Israeli positions. Some seek not democracy, but a restoration of monarchy-era hierarchy that marginalizes ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ citizens. Regime change and democracy are not the same thing. Regional powers will also calculate their interests. Russia, Saudi Arabia and others may view a democratic Iran as a strategic threat. For all these reasons, the international community must resist ideological reflexes, whether blanket opposition or uncritical enthusiasm. This is a time of both possibility and peril; the outcome can be renewal or collapse. To honor those who have paid with their lives, we must hold both truths at once. Ava Homa is a lecturer at CSUMB and the award- winning author of Daughters of Smoke and Fire. OPINION Wars promise resolution and deliver wreckage. Camp Quien Sabe Overnight Camp >> Whispering Pines Day Camp >> Tiny Tots Summer Camp >> Summer Fun Playground Program >> Sports Camps >> Specialty Camps >> LEGO® Camps >> Gymnastics Programs >> And so much more! SUMMER REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! MONTEREY.GOV/REC WHERE SUMMER BUILDS MORE THAN MEMORIES. Scan here for more info + online registration. Whispering Pines Day Camp and Camp Quien Sabe Overnight Camp ADVENTURE good vibes good vibes o v Camp Counselors at Summer Programs LEADERSHIP POSITIVITY CONFIDENCE THE CITY OF MONTEREY friendship friendship f h COMMUNITY
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