By launching military action against Iran, President Donald Trump has chosen a “war” — his word — that could have lasting and disastrous consequences for Americans’ well-being. He decided against an approach of diplomacy alongside our allies, pressure on the regime and support for the Iranian people that would have been sustainable and positioned us for long-term success.
Congress must step in, immediately, to halt the military action. In both the House and Senate, there are war power resolutions ready to be voted on. My fellow members of Congress and I have power here; we should use it.
Let’s be clear on how Americans feel about a war of choice with Iran. Only 27% of Americans support using military force against Iran, according to a YouGov poll released Feb. 24. At a recent town hall in Asbury Park, I asked attendees to raise their hands if they wanted the United States to launch military strikes against Iran. Not a single hand went up. I asked people to raise their hands if they oppose military strikes. Every hand went up. People across our country see the threat of this administration leading us down the path to another ill-advised and open-ended war in the Middle East, and they’re not on board.
I was in college when our nation decided to invade Iraq. After I graduated, I became a career public servant in national security. During my time at the Pentagon, the National Security Council and the State Department, I worked to counter Iranian terror groups, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Quds Force and its leader, Qasem Soleimani. I saw the destabilizing influence Iran has had around the world.
My fellow members of Congress and I have power here; we should use it.
The Iranian regime poses a substantial threat to the Middle East and to U.S. interests. Iranian influence must be confronted and checked, and the regime’s brutal oppression of its own people should not be tolerated.
But U.S. military action is not a viable or lasting response to these challenges.
Smart policy would be an aggressive pursuit of diplomacy alongside U.S. allies, sustained pressure on the regime and meaningful efforts to support the Iranian people. Instead, the Trump administration has assembled massive military forces in the region while cutting off some of our strongest assets to confront Iran. Recent efforts at diplomacy have been half-hearted, with little coordination with our allies and partners, and programs such as internet freedom efforts that support the Iranian people have been reduced.
Whether to use military force and risk Americans’ lives is the weightiest decision any president can make. Yet the Trump team has not made a serious or consistent case to the American people about why military strikes are necessary. In his recorded comments posted early Saturday, Trump called the threat from Iran “imminent;” neither Congress nor the American people have been shown how that threat to our national security is imminent. U.S. service members deployed to the region deserve a clear articulation of why the use of force is necessary and what their objectives are. I have seen none of that seriousness from this administration.
The flaws in the Trump approach — limiting our non-military options, overreliance on military force, unclear objectives for American service members in harm’s way — are why the American people are skeptical of military strikes. Here are a few more reasons why Americans should be concerned.
This administration has been inconsistent on its objectives. Targeting Iran’s nuclear capability and decapitating the regime are different things, and removing today’s leaders could create a dangerous power vacuum. It’s hard to tell whether we have the right forces in the region to achieve U.S. goals and even keep our service members safe. Retaliatory strikes were immediately reported across the region. Hostilities could escalate with the use of Iranian advanced drones and ballistic missiles and their proxy groups that operate throughout the region.
U.S. and Israeli strikes last summer did not end Iran’s nuclear program, despite the president saying those strikes had “obliterated” it. The president’s statement Saturday that Iran attempted to rebuild its nuclear program — without any proof shown to the American people — effectively sets us up for a cycle of whack-a-mole-type attacks against Iran’s nuclear sites. Military strikes alone, without inspectors on the ground, can only delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions — and potentially force it further underground.
By failing to build a broad coalition to address Iran, the administration is further isolating the U.S. from our allies and partners, several of whom have already stated concerns or objected to the U.S. military using its territory for such an operation. That isolation will make it harder to protect our forces, sustain operations or ultimately achieve any lasting success against the Iranian military or regime.
And all this is happening during a time of great global change. The “might makes right” geopolitical approach of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping is one we’ve seen Trump emulate in his threats to take Greenland by force and his operation to oust Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela. We should not forget how the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq in 2003 did lasting damage to America’s reputation and spawned new threats while weakening our ability to engage globally.
Finally, a protracted war would be costly in terms of American lives but also dollars. At a time when Americans are already struggling with rising costs, we should be investing our resources at home.
Sustained military action against Iran would be a disaster for the American people and their security, and even after thdeath of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, we have zero certainty about what is to come next. My fellow members of Congress and I should act before our country becomes even more entrenched. I am fully supportive of the bipartisan efforts of my colleagues Sens. Tim Kaine and Rand Paul. We should come back into session at the Capitol immediately and put this to a vote. I know how the American people want us to vote. It’s time we give them a voice in what could be a disastrous decision for our service members and the future of our country.
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