Civitas Outlook
Topic
Politics
Published on
March 4, 2026
Contributors
Richard Epstein
Charles C.W. Cooke
Episode 16
The Libertarian

Iran, Regime Change, and the War Powers Act

About this episode

Richard Epstein defends the U.S. strike on Iran as a necessary act of preemptive self-defense, arguing that waiting for an “imminent” attack would have been reckless in the face of a hostile regime pursuing nuclear capability. He also dives into the War Powers Act, executive authority, regime change, and what “victory” would actually mean—while weighing the risks of escalation against the dangers of hesitation. Is this decisive statecraft or constitutional overreach? Epstein makes the Libertarian hawk case.

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