“Not only is it illegal, but it is likely destined to fail.” –Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
One week into President Trump’s war against Iran, members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation paint a bleak picture of the campaign.
Appearing at a Hartford press conference, Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Rep. John Larson (D-CT1) called the campaign illegal and unpopular, lacking definitive goals and plagued by bleak operational options that could get thousands of U.S. troops killed.
They also argue that the State Department failed to preestablish evacuation plans for thousands of Americans in the Middle East.
They even say America itself, with Trump’s refusal to present his war plans for congressional approval, has descended into an autocracy.
“The American people see this clearly: When you have someone who ignores the Constitution and takes it simply as a suggestion that he may or may not follow, there is a crisis with our democracy,” says Larson.
“We have yet to see a plan from this administration that achieves any of their objectives,” says Murphy, “whether simply through an air assault or with a ground invasion. And that, to many of us, is why this war seems so dangerous. Not only is it illegal, but it is likely destined to fail.”
Murphy says some of the varied goals presented by the White House—from regime change to elimination of Iran’s nuclear program—can’t be achieved by air power alone. (Trump added another goal on Friday: Iran’s “unconditional surrender.)
“There is no history that an air campaign by itself can lead to the toppling of a despotic regime… nor the eradication of Iran’s nuclear program.”
“The alternative, of course, is much worse: a U.S. ground invasion of Iran, which would result in thousands of Americans dying and trillions of our dollars being wasted.”
NBC News reported Friday that Trump “has privately expressed serious interest in deploying U.S. troops on the ground inside of Iran.”
“If the president of the United States wants to choose the next leader of Iran, it can’t happen without boots on the ground,” says Blumenthal, “without Americans bleeding and dying in another forever war, which this president promised he would never start.”
Murphy also joined other senators Friday in demanding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio ramp up efforts to evacuate American citizens from the region. He says frightened Americans are receiving conflicting guidance from the State Department while airports and airspace remain closed.
Blumenthal says officials had time before the war to establish an evacuation plan: “Even though (the military) stationed about half of our naval strength in that region for weeks beforehand, it knew what was coming, and it failed to save Americans trapped overseas. Just one sign of the chaos and confusion.”
The Trump administration has pushed back against criticism that the U.S. response was too slow. And two State Department officials said 30% to 40% of private Americans who had been offered seats on available charter flights had either declined the seats or had not shown up for the flight.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.