by John Catalinotto, published on Workers World, April 21, 2026
April 19 — Is the U.S. heading toward World War III or will the MAGA crowd find an “off ramp” to a settlement?
With no crystal ball available, this commentary will focus on signs the U.S. rulers are preparing a larger war. And it will describe a growing war opposition within the U.S. military.
In March, the MAGA regime met with seven corporations that are part of the military-industrial complex to get them to accelerate weapons production. On April 15, the Wall Street Journal reported that Pentagon officials have also held talks with top executives of companies, including General Motors and Ford Motor, about shifting production toward weapons.
Apparently, Iranian asymmetric warfare has already brought about a rapid depletion of U.S. weapon reserves.
Toward a wider war?
Despite the increased use of high tech weapons, the U.S. military still needs human beings. The MAGA regime recently bumped the upper age for recruits from 35 to 42 years old, increasing the available pool by about 29%.
Then in April it introduced automatic draft registration, using existing online data, for people in the U.S. classified as male and 18 to 26 years old, to begin December 2026. It changes little, but its timing raises the question: Is this a first step toward reinstating a conscription (draft) armed forces? The draft ended in 1973 following massive popular resistance to the war against Vietnam.
This also comes after the current head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, fired dozens of the Pentagon’s most experienced generals and admirals, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown and Adm. Lisa Franchetti. Hegseth rejected four colonels the Army was about to appoint as one-star generals. They included two women and two African American men, out of 29 colonels.
Hegseth’s targets have been Black or women officers, or those he considers “too woke.” Since more than 40% of today’s U.S. military are people of color, and 20% are women, his firings, done without explanation, have been a slap in the face to many active duty troops.
Opposition builds within the military
Some high-ranking officials of the U.S. Armed Forces have resigned rather than carry out the administration’s orders. Last fall, Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command in the Caribbean Sea (which was blowing up civilian motorboats, killing the crews), resigned only a year into his command.
Six Democratic senators and representatives — themselves all military or CIA veterans — produced a video last fall informing service members of their right and their duty to disobey illegal orders. Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling made the same point at a recent news interview.
The opposition from the top retired officers mainly shows their critique of the tactics of the MAGA regime, rather than opposition to the military goals of U.S. imperialism. There is, however, also opposition among the rank and file, who are workers in uniform.
No military unit could be more like a factory than one of the large U.S. warships. Sometimes there are more than 4,500 sailors on an aircraft carrier. When sailors on the USS Gerald Ford were ordered to spend up to 10 months continuously at sea in the last year, the order collapsed.
When toilets broke, sailors stuffed the pipes with T-shirts. Then a suspicious fire started and destroyed 600 bunks. The USS Gerald Ford has been in a Greek port since March getting repaired, its crew finally on land.
The Center on Conscience and War encourages and aids troops to apply for conscientious objector status. The group helps run the 24-hour GI Rights Hotline, set up to inform service members of their options for military discharge. It reports three to four applications a day instead of the three to four a month before the Feb. 28 attack on Iran. Its organizers say the service people who call often refer to the bombing of the primary school in Minab, which killed over 160 children, as the cause of their interest.
Veterans For Peace is another organization that has been reaching out to active duty troops, publicizing the troops’ right to disobey illegal orders. VFP reported that it has put up 13 billboards near military bases around the U.S. publicizing the right and duty to disobey illegal orders.
If the current administration is marching toward a cataclysmic war, the antiwar movement must find a way to stop it. One possible way is to help the troops organize to refuse the orders from the rulers. It was effective in other U.S. wars. It may be effective now under new conditions.
Catalinotto is author of “Turn the Guns Around: Mutinies, Soldier Revolts and Revolutions,” 2017.