Vice President JD Vance has become a frequent target of criticism from the left as speculation grows that he could inherit the MAGA mantle in 2028. His background as a Marine veteran and his service under President Donald Trump have positioned him as an influential voice on foreign policy, particularly as the administration works toward global stability.
A recent “Politico Magazine” article titled “JD Vance’s Tour in Iraq Taught Him His Government Lies” portrays his Iraq War experience as formative. A closer look at Vance’s remarks and writings reveals three key lessons he says shaped his worldview — lessons that may influence U.S. policy on Ukraine and Gaza:
- Democracy cannot be exported: Like regime change in Iran, it must come from within and from people living in peace, not under threat.
- Washington’s perspective can be distorted: What sounds like dishonesty from the White House may often reflect either rebuttals to intense media criticism — as Vance says Trump’s administration faced repeatedly — or a lack of awareness of conditions on the ground.
- People in war zones primarily seek safety: While democracy appeals to the West, populations under U.S. military presence often view it as something imposed at the end of a soldier’s gun.
Vance’s Iraq service has become a flashpoint for critics. Democrats such as Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., have attempted to downplay his record by calling him a “POG”—military slang for “person other than grunt.”
Despite that criticism, Vance argues his deployment gave him an unfiltered view of conflict and foreign policy missteps that continue to shape his thinking.
Those views surfaced during a high-profile Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Vance pushed back on Zelenskyy’s warnings about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s peace overtures, leading Trump to abruptly end the session with the now-famous remark: “You don’t hold the cards.”
In interviews and writings, Vance has described the disillusionment he felt in Iraq. Far from the Bush administration’s assurances, he says he encountered chaos, violence, and a society unprepared for democracy.
A pivotal moment, according to Politico, came as Vance helped secure polling stations during Iraq’s post-invasion elections.
“I’m reading this book while literally working with these Iraqi poll workers and thinking to myself, Oh, my God, these people don’t give a damn about this,” Vance said on a podcast. “They’re helping us out, and they’re all mostly nice people, but they’re really helping us out because they’re making a decent amount of money.”
What he saw as a transactional process —“ostensibly paying for votes through the guise of security”— left Vance questioning the mission.
“That was definitely one of those things [that he learned]—that you can’t force democracy onto people,” a Marine friend recalled, as quoted by Politico.
While U.S. leaders spoke of freedom and democracy, many civilians caught in conflict were exhausted by years of violence.
“They don’t really care about democracy that much; they don’t care about being able to choose their leaders; they just want a safe country,” Vance said on that podcast, according to Politico. “That is, like, all they want.”
Those lessons carried into his later writings, where he criticized what he called a “feckless and disorganized Iraqi government” and “a Middle East that is humiliatingly worse off than the way we found it.” He also accused elites of misleading Americans and failing the troops they sent to war.
“I am proud of my service and proud of those who served alongside me. But war is about more than service and sacrifice — it’s about winning,” Vance wrote.
For Vance, “winning” does not mean imposing democracy by force. Instead, his Iraq experience reinforced a belief that American leaders should speak truthfully, avoid overextending power abroad, and let local populations determine their future — while prioritizing the needs of Americans at home.
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