Posted on 05/15/2019 7:39:35 PM PDT by be-baw
Frustrated Senate Republicans say the Trump administration has largely kept them in the dark about a possible military confrontation with Iran.
What GOP lawmakers already know, however, has them on edge. Trump has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group, a Patriot missile defense battery and an Air Force bomber task force to the Middle East, while the State Department has ordered a partial evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
A few legislators have received briefings, but many can only guess at the extent of the threat and where a ramp up in combat forces may lead.
“I don’t think it’s fair for us to walk around wondering,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the Senate’s leading voices on global security issues.
Graham, the chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, said he’s concerned about the evacuation of personnel from the Baghdad embassy given the regular attacks that facility endured during the height of the Iraq War.
“We’re clearly moving people,” he said. “This is a big deal.”
“We had people there during the height of the war,” he added of his experience at the Baghdad embassy. “I was there a bunch of time getting rocketed. If we could stay in operation then, it must be some kind of real threat.”
Republican senators say they don’t know whether Trump is really contemplating the deployment of 120,000 troops to the Middle East to deter attacks by Iranian-backed militants, which The New York Times first reported on Tuesday.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who is up for reelection next year in a state Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, said he wants more information from the administration and is worried the conflict with Iran could escalate.
“There should be more briefings. I think we should have that sooner rather later. I’ve talked to the administration about that,” he said, referring to conversations he had in the previous 24 hours.
Gardner, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that lawmakers don’t have an administration assessment on news reports that Iranian proxies were given the green light to attack U.S. personnel in the Middle East.
Asked if he was worried about a rapid escalation of military hostilities, Gardner responded, “Anytime you’re dealing with a regime like Iran that has painted ‘death to America’ on missiles that have killed American soldiers throughout the Middle East, it’s a grave concern.”
One alarming scenario is that Saudi Arabia, which is waging a military campaign in Yemen’s civil war, could launch a retaliatory attack against Iran and draw U.S. troops into a regional conflict. Saudi officials stated Tuesday that Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, have carried out multiple drone attacks on Saudi oil pumping stations.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said, “I’m always leery to get us more heavily involved anywhere. If we’re going to go to war somewhere, Congress ought to approve it.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he has warned the administration that it does not have congressional approval to go to war with Iran.
“I think it’s important that the administration know that they do not have the permission of Congress to go with Iran. The Constitution is very clear. Congress must declare war. I told the administration that today in our hearing. We had the undersecretary for policy from State. We want to be very clear to them they don’t have the prerogative to go to war without our authority,” he said.
Republicans said they asked last week for an all-senators briefing, but it wasn’t possible because of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to Brussels and Sochi, Russia. Meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi Wednesday, Pompeo said the United States wants Iran to behave like a “normal country” but warned that U.S. forces will respond if American interests come under attack.
Lawmakers have questions about the intelligence the Trump administration is using to justify the military deployment, which Britain, a close military ally, has called into doubt.
A senior British military official told reporters Tuesday that he did not see an increased risk of attack from Iran or connected militant groups. Major Gen. Chris Ghika, the deputy commander of a U.S.-led coalition battling ISIS, told The New York Times that “there has been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq or Syria.”
GOP lawmakers say they are more inclined to trust American intelligence sources but feel frustrated that the administration hasn’t shared their information with the vast majority of them.
“We know that we need to have the most accurate intelligence available, that we can determine, that we can arrive at, before we make any decisions about the use of military force. We know that from history. We know that just as a practical matter,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).
He called for senators to have a full briefing, arguing, “I think there’s a lot more to be known before decisions are made.”
A congressional official said the Gang of Eight, a group that includes the top Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate and House and the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House Intelligence committees, will get a briefing on Iran Thursday.
A briefing of the entire Senate is expected next week, though some Republicans contend that could be too late given the speed at which events are moving in the Middle East.
“My understanding is there will be [a briefing] by early next week, but I don’t know where we’re going to be by early next week. I hope I’m wrong, we could be full blown into this thing. It’s a much more urgent situation than I think is being reflected. I’m surprised there isn’t more talk about it,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“I’ve been here eight years, this is by far the single most imminent potential conflict of this significance,” Rubio added. “I pray that it changes. I don’t want us to have a war in that region. I hope it doesn’t happen that way, but we have to respond if attacked.”
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) is calling on acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and the Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to testify before the Armed Services Committee in an open hearing before the end of the week.
Democrats say they have been kept adequately informed.
“You can’t make foreign policy and national security decisions while flying in the blind. And right now because of the administration’s unwillingness to come and brief members of the Senate, particularly to the committees of national security of which Foreign Relations is one, that’s what we’re doing — flying in the blind,” said Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said he received a briefing from administration officials on the Iran threat but acknowledged many of his colleagues have not been kept up to speed.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said “the American people need to be told why the administration is moving an aircraft carrier group, bombers and other assets into harm’s way” and warned of a repeat of the military buildup that led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“There’s a saying that history doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. The talk about secret information concerning Iran’s aggressive while refusing to give us information certainly smacks of Iraq,” he added.
Schumer also drew a comparison to Iraq on the Senate floor.
“The lessons of history teach us that when things are done in secret, behind closed doors, mistakes can be made and momentum built for a course of action that the nation ultimately regrets,” he said.
Exactly
You think it an odd coincidence that a few months ago Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was added to the terrorist group list?
No, Iran is beset upon by divine providence. Massive flooding, economic turmoil, civil unrest, and swarms of locust by the millions from Saudi Arabia have rendered their food supply nil.
And Trump off their horizon with Hell on Earth at his fingertips.
The Mullahs are shatting themselves right now.
Trump, unlike the leaders you mentioned, does not shed American blood with blatant disregard.
You voted well in Trump.
Funny, I didn’t hear crap from the gopE as obumber and hillary took out the entire Libyan military. Or during the whole arab spring.
I don’t think Trump is anybodies fool - least of all Bolton.
With that said, I would guess Iran thinks Trump is very serious. After all, the biggest fool the Iranians know, John Kerry, is telling them the opposite.
Who would you believe?
THIS is what gets the GOPe upset? F them.
Ok
“You voted well in Trump”
I’ll be voting for Trump in 2020, no matter what he does.
Telling Congress anything is a national security risk.
Not bloviating nonsense from a computer like you're doing.
might have something to do with this:
The remarks about Iran’s nuclear program by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came Tuesday night in Tehran at an iftar, the traditional dinner Muslims have when breaking their daily fast during Ramadan.
Tehran is threatening to resume higher enrichment on July 7 if no new nuclear deal is in place, beyond the 3.67% permitted by the current deal between Tehran and world powers.
Iranian officials have said that they could reach 20% enrichment within four days. Though Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, scientists say the time needed to reach the 90% threshold for weapons-grade uranium is halved once uranium is enriched to around 20%.
“Achieving 20% enrichment is the most difficult part,” Khamenei said, according to the newspaper. “The next steps are easier than this step.”
It was a telling remark from the supreme leader — Iran is not known to have enriched beyond 20% previously and it’s unclear how far Tehran is willing to go in this process.
Reagan won the cold war without firing a shot. But he showed strength. I remember everyone wringing their hands saying he was provoking the Russians and was going to get us all killed.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said “the American people need to be told why the administration is moving an aircraft carrier group, bombers and other assets into harm’s way” and warned of a repeat of the military buildup that led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Heck, “Silver Star Dick,” the American people with any brains and just a smidgen of knowledge of international affairs and history, can pretty well guess what is going on. BUT, if the Senators come out and and say they are greatly relieved after their briefing and then leak additional info, all the pressure evaporates. I kind of like them thinking Trump will nuke ‘em if they act badly. Enemies thinking Trump (like Reagan before him) is half crazy helps him immensely.
Oldplayer
What nonsense am I bloviating, please be specific?
I love seeing these RINOs wetting their pants.
LOL. Like the stupid Brits have any major assets in Iran. Israel is the only nation with a major presence on the ground. Their agents have carried out at least 8 targeted assassinations of Iranian scientists via motorcycle. Incredible hits where one person in a limousine is killed by a bomb stuck on the door, while the other occupants of the vehicle remain mostly unharmed.
Israeli intel is the only source I trust. It was Israel who corroborated the Russian intel warning Obama's FBI about the Boston Marathon bomber Tsarnaev (which Robert Mueller ignored).
Maybe not Graham and Gardner. But surely Da Nang Dick and others would. Those Dems aligned with Iran and loyal to Obama and Jarrett, and the money flows which fund their expense accounts.
That is why the administration has said nothing.
I thought that part about the locust swarms must be fake news. So I did a search.
The first result was hilarious - an ad to get your locust swarms on eBay! I’ll bet the Saudis clicked on that one../ (/s)
Then it got more serious. The Iranians ARE being beset by locusts.
A small swarm might be 20 million locusts, and cover half a square mile. A big, dense swarm might be 20 BILLION locusts, and cover a couple hundred square miles. That latter is Biblical type stuff. Granted it provides, at least briefly, a lot of crunchy protein.
The Iran tar baby belongs to S.A. and the IDF.You are constantly tap dancing around your anti-Semitism. Most certainly anti Israel.
Some of us aren't fooled
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