Nancy's Notes

One week into this conflict, and the world already feels different.

Before I go further, I want to say something clearly because from time to time it seems to need repeating.

I am not a journalist. I am not a historian. I am a citizen who writes from a human perspective. When I write, I try to ground what I say in facts. I try to look at history. I try to apply some of the objectivity that good journalism demands. But at the end of the day my writing comes from lived experience, personal reflection, and basic humanity.

That is what this space has always been.

And that is not going to change, no matter how loudly someone yells about it in the comment section.

Now to the reality we are all watching unfold. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is calling for answers following a strike last Saturday on an Iranian elementary school that reportedly killed at least 165 people. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has condemned the attack and is demanding a prompt and transparent investigation. At this point neither Israel nor the United States has claimed responsibility, although Washington says it will investigate.

At the same time the conflict that began only seven days ago with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, followed by Iranian retaliation, continues to spread across the region. It is costing the U.S. $1 Billion dollars per day. The damage is now being felt not only in Iran and Israel but across in excess of a dozan countries in the Gulf. The United Nations is warning of significant humanitarian, economic, and environmental consequences if the escalation continues.

And yet if you listen to the messaging coming out of Washington, you would be forgiven for wondering whether anyone actually knows what the plan is. Over the past week we have heard a rotating set of explanations from Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and others. One day the objective is limited action. The next day it is deterrence. Then it is not regime change. Then suddenly the message becomes unconditional surrender followed by rebuilding Iran under leadership the United States finds acceptable. That last one kind of sounds like regime change and nation-building, don’t you think?

When the stated objective of a war changes from day to day, that is not strategy. That is improvisation.

At the same time the administration is reportedly meeting with major American defence contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to increase weapons production as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies already drawn down during the opening phase of this conflict. If everything is proceeding according to a clear plan, that development alone should make people pause.

No matter what anyone eventually calls the outcome of this conflict, success, failure, or something in between, one thing is already clear.

It is going to be expensive. And not just in dollars.

That brings me back to something I tried to say yesterday when I posted about the young men and women who serve. The people who ultimately pay the price for wars are not the politicians who announce them. They are the young men and women who are asked to fight them.

For my Canadian friends, I want to say something directly. This is not a moment for us to be tearing each other apart politically. I do not care whether you like Mark Carney or whether you support another party. Some issues are bigger than our daily political arguments.

If this conflict were ever to widen to the point where NATO becomes directly involved, decisions would move far beyond the control of any single Canadian leader. Article 4 and Article 5 of the NATO treaty exist for moments when allied security is threatened. If those mechanisms were ever triggered, the decision would not simply belong to the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition, the Canadian Armed Forces, or anyone else sitting in Ottawa.

That is not how alliances work. Once those commitments are activated, the response becomes collective.

And it certainly will not belong to the families whose sons and daughters wear the uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces.

I am not suggesting that NATO involvement is inevitable. But I am saying that we should understand the world we are living in and stop pretending that events happening across the ocean cannot affect us.

So here is my request. Pay attention and step back from the constant political shouting and recognize that the world is moving through a dangerous moment. Hope that diplomacy finds its footing again. Hope that cooler heads prevail.

Because if this conflict widens and alliances are triggered, the arguments happening online tonight will not matter very much.

The people who will answer that moment will be the young men and women wearing the maple leaf on their sleeve. And when we remember that, the least we can offer each other right now is a little more humanity and a little more empathy.