As the president mulls U.S. strikes in Iran, lawmakers in Congress displayed concerns about whether the U.S. is capable of executing a mission that would eradicate the country’s nuclear program.
The 79-year-old commander-in-chief teased on Wednesday he is keeping his options open when it comes to military action regarding the Israel-Iran war, now in its sixth day.
Israel has requested that Trump get involved, specifically asking for the use of a 30,000-lb American-made bunker buster bomb. The longtime U.S. ally says it needs the bomb – which can penetrate more than 200 feet of concrete – to disable Iran‘s nuclear capability.
However, at least one Republican senator questioned whether U.S. military might could truly eviscerate Iran’s technology.
‘Everybody has an opinion about whether we should do something, but the first question to be answered is, could, and that’s what I’m interested in at the moment,’ Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy told the Daily Mail. ‘I mean, do we have a bomb that could destroy the underground labs? Would our bombs do it?’
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy pilot, expressed concern over the president’s Cabinet’s ability to orchestrate a potential military offensive.
‘He doesn’t have a good team around him,’ Kelly said. He told reporters he was ‘very concerned’ as Iran has ‘a lot of medium-range ballistic missiles that could hit our bases in the region.’
It’s unclear which top congressional leaders, if any, have been briefed on the brewing situation in the Middle East.
Left hanging in the air was the question of whether lawmakers would support using American-made planes with American pilots in a strike, an escalation that would firmly push the U.S. into another war in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump talks with reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. He has been contemplating whether or not to get the U.S. military involved in the emerging Israel-Iran war
Arizona Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut, expressed concern about the president’s advisors as the Republican weighs striking Iran
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., brought up questions over whether the U.S. ‘could’ strike Iran’s nuclear enrichment labs as Israel has requested
‘I don’t have confidence in the DNI,’ Kelly said of Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s intelligence chief. He also expressed worry about Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying ‘this person is trying to do two jobs at once,’ running the State Department as serving as national security adviser.
A defiant Iran has pledged it will not heed the U.S. president’s demands, despite the saber-rattling. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed Wednesday in a televised address that he would ‘never surrender’ despite Trump’s demands for an ‘unconditional’ end to hostilities.
The Ayatollah also chillingly warned Americans that ‘any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them.’
I don’t have any confidence in DNI.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona
The possibility of a conflict that could metastasize out of control with an uncertain outcome has some Capitol Hill lawmakers uneasy.
‘If we did that, would that cause a regime change in Iran,’ Kennedy asked. ‘If there was a regime change, what kind of new regime would we get? Would it be better or worse? I mean, these could questions matter.’
The Republican repeatedly stressed that he’s not seen any intelligence on whether the U.S. really ‘could’ carry out the strikes the Israelis are asking for, though he doesn’t doubt Trump has all the necessary reports.
‘I don’t want us fighting a war,’ Missouri Republican Josh Hawley told CNN. ‘I don’t want another Mideast war … I’m a little concerned about our sudden military buildup in the region.’
Hawley said he’d be ‘concerned’ about the U.S. going on the offensive. ‘I don’t think there’s a need for the United States to affirmatively insert ourselves.’
Iranian missiles heading towards Israel over the weekend
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The Senate’s top Pentagon official, Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker told the Daily Mail he does not believe the president needs approval from Congress to carry out strikes in Iran.
He did not respond when asked by the Daily Mail whether an airstrike could lead to a larger regional conflict.
The Mississippi Republican said his constituents ‘probably are’ for the strikes,’ but acknowledged he did not have any analysis to back up that claim.
West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice was confident his voters would be ok with Trump striking Iran, saying his constituents are supportive of Israel.
‘We don’t like the fact that somebody is trying to say ‘we’re going to extinguish Israel,’ he said.
Devout Israel supporter John Fetterman, increasingly at odds with his own party, urged Trump to bomb Iran.
‘It’s like it’s not breaking a nation, we’re just destroying their nuclear capabilities.’
‘I think that’s entirely appropriate,’ the towering Pennsylvania Democrat told the Daily Mail, arguing ‘that’s not war-mongering, that’s actually peace-mongering.’
