WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) released the following statement marking the sixth month anniversary of President Trump’s war against Iran.
“It has been six months since Trump unilaterally launched his catastrophic war of choice against Iran and so far, he has failed to achieve any of his administration’s constantly changing strategic objectives. This includes ending Iran’s support and use of terrorist proxies, eliminating its ballistic missile program, removing its highly enriched uranium, or changing the ruling regime. Instead, Iran has gained greater leverage, continues to destabilize the region, has a younger and more hardline Ayatollah, and we are being forced to negotiate and pay for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before Trump launched his war.
“Losses continue to accumulate, including 19 American service members killed and over 750 wounded, while thousands of innocent civilians have been killed across the region. Tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money is being wasted while driving up the cost of gas, utilities, and groceries at home and throttling economies around the world. All of this is happening as we face a $2 trillion deficit, and Trump continues to demand $1.6 trillion for defense spending while slashing critical critically important domestic programs and slashing taxes for the rich.
“It has also become clear that in the opening days of Trump’s war, the United States inadvertently struck a girls’ school in Minab, Iran. Over 150 people were killed, most of them children. DoD has failed to complete its investigation into the tragedy and congressional Republicans have yet to hold DoD accountable for its failure. The lack of transparency and responsibility shown in the wake of this horrible mishap is the antithesis of who we are as a country and a democracy and threatens to undermine our standing with allies and partners as well as adversaries.
“Trump’s war has put extreme stress on our military’s munitions and platforms. Crucially, American service members continue to serve valiantly while being forced to grapple with unnecessary strain from extended deployments. The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group was deployed for 11 months, the longest deployment since the Vietnam war, and the USS Abraham Lincoln continues to face extreme challenges as it makes its way home from the Middle East after numerous unplanned extensions of its current deployment. Service members across all branches of the military have had to shoulder the burden of an unchecked and unprepared executive branch and the failure of congressional Republicans to do their jobs and exercise appropriate oversight of the Trump Administration. This situation also further highlights the Trump Administration’s lack of cooperation with Congress and honesty with the American people.
“The American people, and a majority in Congress, have made it overwhelmingly clear that Trump’s war must end now. The longer Trump waits, the more likely the U.S. will find itself embroiled in another decades-long foreign conflict, which is precisely what Trump promised voters he would never do when he ran for office.”
“It has been six months since Trump unilaterally launched his catastrophic war of choice against Iran and so far, he has failed to achieve any of his administration’s constantly changing strategic objectives. This includes ending Iran’s support and use of terrorist proxies, eliminating its ballistic missile program, removing its highly enriched uranium, or changing the ruling regime. Instead, Iran has gained greater leverage, continues to destabilize the region, has a younger and more hardline Ayatollah, and we are being forced to negotiate and pay for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before Trump launched his war.
“Losses continue to accumulate, including 19 American service members killed and over 750 wounded, while thousands of innocent civilians have been killed across the region. Tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money is being wasted while driving up the cost of gas, utilities, and groceries at home and throttling economies around the world. All of this is happening as we face a $2 trillion deficit, and Trump continues to demand $1.6 trillion for defense spending while slashing critical critically important domestic programs and slashing taxes for the rich.
“It has also become clear that in the opening days of Trump’s war, the United States inadvertently struck a girls’ school in Minab, Iran. Over 150 people were killed, most of them children. DoD has failed to complete its investigation into the tragedy and congressional Republicans have yet to hold DoD accountable for its failure. The lack of transparency and responsibility shown in the wake of this horrible mishap is the antithesis of who we are as a country and a democracy and threatens to undermine our standing with allies and partners as well as adversaries.
“Trump’s war has put extreme stress on our military’s munitions and platforms. Crucially, American service members continue to serve valiantly while being forced to grapple with unnecessary strain from extended deployments. The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group was deployed for 11 months, the longest deployment since the Vietnam war, and the USS Abraham Lincoln continues to face extreme challenges as it makes its way home from the Middle East after numerous unplanned extensions of its current deployment. Service members across all branches of the military have had to shoulder the burden of an unchecked and unprepared executive branch and the failure of congressional Republicans to do their jobs and exercise appropriate oversight of the Trump Administration. This situation also further highlights the Trump Administration’s lack of cooperation with Congress and honesty with the American people.
“The American people, and a majority in Congress, have made it overwhelmingly clear that Trump’s war must end now. The longer Trump waits, the more likely the U.S. will find itself embroiled in another decades-long foreign conflict, which is precisely what Trump promised voters he would never do when he ran for office.”
###