For three weeks, our nation has been at war. We didn’t expect this war, and we may or may not agree with the presidential decisions that made it happen.

There are plenty of reasons to worry. We don’t know how or when it will end. The situation is fluid, and news is coming at us in huge waves. But as we try to get our arms around the situation, the picture remains clouded by bizarre assertions from those more interested in political points than in America’s security.

Here are a few examples:

This war is illegal! There was no imminent threat!

According to that logic, the time to defend yourself against a violent assailant is when his gun is cocked and pointed at your head — anything before that is premature, calling only for gentlemanly discussion. Hmm, I don’t think so.

What we know for sure, given Iran’s relentless quest for nuclear weapons, its decades-long sponsorship of world terrorism, and its fanatical hatred of America, is that preemptive action on our part would be necessary at some point to preempt the global catastrophe of nuclear war.

And we know as well — from the barrages of ballistic missiles, cluster explosives, and lethal drones deployed against the U.S. and Israel in immediate response to our attack — that Iran was already armed to the teeth, ready and willing to make war.

More and more, it’s looking like our decision to attack Iran was just in time.

It’s all Trump’s fault!

President Donald Trump’s critics reflexively assert that the disruptions and difficulties we are all facing right now — spike in oil prices, stock market dip, etc. — are caused directly by his “war of choice.” Even Republicans who are now more worried about midterm election hurdles are pinning the blame on the timing of his decision.

Yes, we can agree that Trump gave the order to unleash Operation Epic Fury, and that he could have hung fire (as did four decades of his presidential predecessors).

But isn’t it a bit myopic to blame him? Maybe the fault lies with Iran for 47 years of mayhem and murder, for decades of world terrorism, and for doggedly persisting in acquiring nuclear weapons for its own use? And before we get too deep in the blame game, let’s give a moment’s thought to where we might have been, had Trump not initiated action.

Rather than blaming the president, I’d argue that he deserves enormous credit for taking on huge political risks and putting the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran ahead of all other issues.

Who needs a DHS?

Remember 9/11 — the worst terrorist attack ever perpetrated against our nation? The nearly 3,000 victims — office workers, firefighters, airplane passengers? The promises to “Never Forget”?

Evidently, the Democrats forgot.

The one compelling lesson that emerged from all of the post 9/11 soul searching was the absolute necessity that we strengthen and consolidate all of the actions needed to monitor, detect, and prevent terrorist attacks on our homeland. The aptly named Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established by Congress a year later. DHS is not perfect, but it is the central pillar of our defense against terrorism here in the U.S.

Yet here we are, deep in a conflict against the world’s number one sponsor of terrorism, and still with millions of unvetted illegal immigrants living in our midst (some surely with terrorist connections), facing the highest likelihood of terrorist attacks since 9/11/2001 — and congressional Democrats have refused to fund the DHS for four weeks and counting.

Why? Because they don’t like the behavior of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis last month, and they are holding other DHS funding hostage until that problem is fixed to their satisfaction — a wholly political, reckless, and unconscionable action.

Pete Hegseth is incompetent!

Among President Trump’s controversial choices for key Cabinet positions, none elicited more ridicule, criticism, and outrage than Pete Hegseth for DOD.

And admittedly, that one raised eyebrows even among Republicans. Although a U.S. Army combat veteran, Hegseth was better known as a Fox News TV personality — he’s an articulate but strongly opinionated young man, with zero executive experience, chosen to take over our government’s largest, most Byzantine bureaucracy. The term “in over his head” comes to mind.

Hegseth managed to squeak through Senate confirmation, and then — to the Leftmedia’s delight — he soon became embroiled in multiple controversies, such as demanding in-person attendance by senior admirals and generals at his well-publicized leadership meeting. The catcalls were deafening.

But has anyone noticed the near flawless performance of Hegseth’s War Department in the major, complex, and dangerous operations — Midnight Hammer, the Maduro extraction in Venezuela, and now Epic Fury? As of this writing, our forces have executed over 6,000 strikes on Iranian sea and land targets and defended against thousands of counterstrikes, with remarkably few casualties.

Never mind the Leftmedia and Democrat politicians’ attempts to throw shade, describing Epic Fury as an “absolute disaster,” “random potshots,” and absence of a “coherent plan.” The undeniable fact is that our military’s performance has been extraordinary, so perhaps some credit is due to the person in charge?

First things first — affordability!

Trump critics continue to trash the president for not spending every waking hour “making life better for everyday Americans,” instead of taking on the Iran problem.

As a metaphor, I’m visualizing myself sitting down at a cafe, ordering coffee. Instead of the usual “decaf or regular” question, the waitress asks, “Decaf? Or would you like that overdue brake job? Those front discs are way below spec!”

My answer: Yeah, let’s make my car safe to drive. Do the brakes. And while we’re at it, I’ll have a decaf. The bigger picture: those are not competing priorities.

Ditto with the “choice” between preventing a nuclear-armed Iran and improving affordability at home. Happily, we have a president with remarkable talent for keeping multiple balls in the air. He has solid instincts on priorities, the courage to take on substantial political risk to confront a truly existential threat, and the energy to handle the barrage of other issues on his plate simultaneously.