We have been here before. Echoes of the US invasion of Iraq reverberate in 2026 rhetoric about “regime change” and manipulated claims about the presence of weapons of mass destruction. Echoes of the US invasion of Afghanistan reappear in 2026 rhetoric about saving Muslim women from Muslim men. Israeli state and non-state actors’ calls to invade, occupy, and settle south Lebanon echo a century of openly articulated Zionist expansionist aims that call for ethnic cleansing and genocide. Yet, this moment also feels different. As those in our field—and apparently only those in our field—know, Iran is a functioning state with complex infrastructure and bureaucratic systems and a well-established and well-equipped military. MESA members have taken to the airwaves and zoom screens in attempts to break through the distortions of echo chambers and the presumptions of experts as we all bear witness to clear shifts in the post–World War II hegemonic global order. One thing is clear: Imperial warfare is reshaping economic and political multilateral agreements and assumed norms in ways both predictable and not.