WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall responded to the latest threatening statement from the Trump administration, this time from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, amid escalating tensions with Iran:
“I hope and pray that all U.S. troops and personnel overseas stay safe, and am confident we will strongly defend ourselves if attacked anywhere. But the current tensions are a direct result of the Trump administration’s failed Iran policy—withdrawing from the nuclear deal, ratcheting up sanctions, designating part of their military as terrorist, selective intelligence leaks, and saber-rattling rhetoric, all of which seem designed to spark conflict, not resolve differences through diplomacy. It is apparent that some influential voices within the Trump administration would welcome a military conflict with Iran and are provoking it, but the Constitution says they must seek approval from Congress first. Those who learned the lessons of Iraq cannot allow such a debacle to happen again. The time to speak out and take action to prevent an unnecessary and unauthorized war is now—not after a conflict starts.”
###
