{"id":124075,"date":"2026-04-11T13:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T08:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=124075"},"modified":"2026-04-11T13:18:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T08:18:20","slug":"conscientious-objections-to-war-rise-sharply-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/124075\/","title":{"rendered":"Conscientious objections to war rise sharply in US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON(National Times)- The\u00a0US-Israeli war against Iran<\/a>\u00a0has caused an unprecedented surge in US service members seeking information about conscientious objection, according to the Centre on Conscience and War, a nonprofit that advises troops on their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group says calls to its 24-hour GI Rights Hotline have increased by 1,000 per cent in recent weeks, with many active-duty personnel asking how to apply for discharge as conscientious objectors \u2014 a rarely used and often complex process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In interviews with various US media outlets, including National Public Radio<\/em>, the centre\u2019s executive director, Iraq War veteran Mike Prysner, said the spike reflects a deep moral reckoning among troops in the wake of the conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a typical year, we see about 50 conscientious objector applications from active-duty military personnel,\u201d Prysner said. \u201cSince this war started, we\u2019ve fielded hundreds of calls from active-duty military who do not want to participate and are strongly opposed to the war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Galvin, the centre\u2019s counselling director, said March alone brought more than 80 new clients \u2014 nearly double the organisation\u2019s usual annual caseload. On its busiest single day, 12 new clients contacted the centre, with one caller saying four other members of their platoon were also considering applying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military personnel cite a range of reasons for wanting to leave, but the war in Iran has been a \u201cpowerful motivator\u201d, Galvin said. One incident frequently mentioned by callers, according to Prysner, was the US bombing<\/a> of the Minab Shajareh Tayyebeh girls\u2019 elementary school. A preliminary Pentagon assessment later found the US was at fault for the strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prysner said the school bombing was described by many callers as a breaking point. \u201cThat was the moment where they realised, \u2018I\u2019m not going to take part in the killing of children in another country,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until the Vietnam War era, conscientious objector status in the United States was largely restricted to those with religious objections. However, the US Supreme Court\u2019s 1970 ruling in Welsh vs United States broadened the definition to include deeply held moral or ethical beliefs against participation in war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under current Pentagon policy, a service member who formally applies for conscientious objector status should be reassigned to non-combat duties while the application is reviewed. Prysner said commands are obligated to accommodate such requests during the investigation process, and that some applicants scheduled for deployment were allowed to remain in the United States after filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He estimated a roughly 99pc success rate for applicants assisted by the centre, saying the primary criterion in such cases is \u201csincerity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe investigation is about whether the belief is genuine and deeply held,\u201d Prysner said. \u201cOur clients are sincere people who believe they cannot take part in killing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A generational shift<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prysner argued that the current surge surpasses the number of applications seen during some of the deadliest years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as during the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He attributes the increase partly to a younger generation of service members who grew up during the US \u201cwar on terror.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey grew up with the lessons of those wars \u2014 wars that were disastrous and, in the case of Iraq, based on false premises,\u201d he said. \u201cMany believe the US left those countries in worse shape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some callers have also cited Israel\u2019s military campaign<\/a> in Gaza following the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas raid in southern Israel as influencing their thinking. According to Prysner, the direct US involvement in the Iran conflict has blurred what some troops previously saw as a distinction between American and Israeli military conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic developments have also played a role. Prysner said some service members were troubled by the deployment of National Guard troops to quell protests against immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the dramatic increase, those seeking conscientious objector status remain a small fraction of the more than one million active-duty US military personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prysner believes many troops experiencing moral doubts are unaware that conscientious objection is an option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON(National Times)- The\u00a0US-Israeli war against Iran\u00a0has caused an unprecedented surge in US service members seeking information about conscientious objection, according to the Centre on Conscience and War, a nonprofit that advises troops on their rights. The group says calls to its 24-hour GI Rights Hotline have increased by 1,000 per cent in recent weeks, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nConscientious objections to war rise sharply in US - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/124075\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conscientious objections to war rise sharply in US - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON(National Times)- The\u00a0US-Israeli war against Iran\u00a0has caused an unprecedented surge in US service members seeking information about conscientious objection, according to the Centre on Conscience and War, a nonprofit that advises troops on their rights. 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