Washington, DC – Several Democrats in the United States emerged from a classified briefing on the war on Iran with little clarity about President Donald Trump’s justifications and ultimate goals, even 11 days into the conflict.
“I emerge from this briefing as dissatisfied and angry as I have from any previous briefing in my 15 years,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said after Tuesday’s briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Recommended stories
List of 3 itemsEnd of list
His remarks marked the latest wave of condemnation from congressional Democrats, who hold slim minorities in the Senate and US House of Representatives.
Party members in both chambers recently voted equally on resolutions to end the war launched by the US and Israel on February 28.
But his efforts to pass a “war powers resolution” to rein in Trump failed amid widespread Republican opposition.
More recently, Democrats have vowed to delay proceedings in the Senate unless top officials at the State Department and Pentagon swear in the war.
After Tuesday’s briefing, Democrats like Blumenthal argued that the Trump administration owes the US public more clarity about the war.
Blumenthal added that the meeting sparked concerns that U.S. forces could be deployed to Iraq or Iran.
“I have more questions than answers, especially about the cost of the war,” he said.
“I am more concerned about the threat to American lives than potentially deploying our sons and daughters in Iraq. We are well on our way to deploying American troops on the ground in Iran to accomplish any potential objectives.”
Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren said the Trump administration “can’t explain the reasons we entered this war, the goals we’re trying to achieve and the means to do it.”
He pointed to the high cost of military operations against Iran, which some have estimated exceeded $5.6 billion in the first two days.
Warren pointed out that Republicans cut health care subsidies last year in an effort to reduce federal spending, but have no problem approving military spending.
“While the 15 million Americans who lost their health have no money,” he noted, “there is a billion dollars a day to bomb Iran.”
When contacted by reporters, Senator Jackie Rosen indicated that she was limited in her ability to comment on the classified briefings. However, he offered brief remarks to express his frustration.
“I can tell you what I heard, it’s just not concerning. It’s disturbing,” she said. “And I’m not sure what the end game is or what their plans are. They certainly haven’t made their case.”
‘On our timeline and our choice’
The latest round of criticism came shortly after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged to carry out the “most intense day” of strikes since the war began.
As of Tuesday, the war had killed at least 1,255 people in Iran, 394 in Lebanon, 13 in Israel, six in Iraq and 14 across the Gulf.
Trump has repeatedly said the war won’t last long, but his officials are changing the timeline. Hegseth, for example, said that the fight would not stop until “the enemy is completely and decisively defeated.”
“We will do so on our timeline and at our option,” he said.
The Trump administration has also offered an array of justifications for starting the war, which comes amid indirect talks with Iran over the future of its nuclear program.
Trump has blamed Iran’s nuclear ambitions for the conflict, although Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and his administration says the war is necessary to end Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Experts said the available evidence does not support the Trump administration’s claims that it poses an immediate threat to the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last week that the US attacked because its close ally Israel planned to attack Iran, which would lead to retaliation against US assets.
Rubio and Trump subsequently backed away from the circular reasoning, with Trump claiming last week that Iran was planning to strike first.
The Trump administration offered that the totality of Iran’s actions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution represented a threat to the US, necessitating the attack.
Trump and his top officials have not provided evidence for any of their claims.
Calls for inquiry, investigation
Democrats have been largely sidelined since the war began. Only a handful of Republicans have joined the left-leaning party in trying to rein in Trump through legislative means.
Under the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war. But the president can still use the military to respond to imminent threats in instances of self-defense.
However, there are limits to how long such operations can continue. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president must withdraw troops within 60 to 90 days of an unauthorized military operation or obtain congressional approval.
However, Trump has denied that congressional support is needed for the military operations he has carried out since returning to office.
Recent attacks on Iran have sparked widespread public opposition, with polls indicating that most US citizens oppose the war effort.
Earlier this week, six Democratic senators called for an investigation into a strike on a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran. Several investigations have suggested that the US was responsible for the attack, which killed at least 170 people, mostly children.
Last week, about 30 members of Congress called for an investigation into reports that US military leaders have used biblical motivations to justify war to subordinates.
Some reportedly invoked “religious prophecy and apocalyptic theology” in statements to other enlisted personnel.
On Monday, Senator Cory Booker said Trump had “collectively agreed” to use an array of procedural mechanisms in the chamber to block legislative business until officials agreed to testify under oath.
“Each senator has a tremendous amount of power to interfere with the normal functioning of the Senate, as well as certain privileges that we can exercise,” Booker said.
“And what we have now agreed is that we cannot let the Senate continue business as usual, which seems to be ignoring the urgent issues that the American people are dealing with.”
(tags to translate)news
