Sen. Chris Coons: Saudi Oil Attack ‘May Call For Military Action Against Iran’
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) said Monday that if there is intelligence that shows Iran is responsible for the attack on a Saudi Arabian oil refinery, the U.S. could launch military action against the country.
Before he used his Fox & Friends interview to ask Trump to act on gun reform, Coons was asked by Brian Kilmeade for his response to the drone attacks that targeted Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company, Saudi Aramco. As Coons ruled out the possibility that Yemeni rebels could’ve been responsible, he said that “my hope is that the president will consult with his generals, his diplomats, his advisors, will look hard at the intelligence.”
“Iran is one of the most dangerous state sponsors of terrorism,” Coons continued. “This may well be the thing that calls for military action against Iran if that’s what the intelligence supports.”
Coons went on by touting America’s “global network of alliances,” even as he acknowledged the tenuousness of America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
“But this is a moment where Iran is really pushing our resolve and is really testing to see whether we’re actually going to stand up. And if there’s attacks by Iran on our close allies like Jordan, Israel or the Saudis, we need to take seriously taking action against them,” Coons concluded.
As it were, Coons is getting a rough reception from liberals who accused him of promoting a new military engagement in the Middle East.
I would love to know the decision-making process behind a Blue State (my state!) Senator going on Fox and Friends to float supporting an unauthorized military action against Iran by Donald Trump https://t.co/Dwd86CEHk1
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) September 16, 2019
Imagine, just imagine!, a Democratic Senator going on Fox News, of all places, to make the case for another disastrous Middle East war, this time on behalf of a monarchy that murdered a Washington Post journalist and then covered it up. https://t.co/cgBtmJWhmN
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 16, 2019
Nope. https://t.co/948wig6G1i
— Matt Duss (@mattduss) September 16, 2019
Just a Democratic senator going on the president’s favorite morning show to beat the drums for yet another Middle East war.
Very cool and normal stuff right here. https://t.co/FqSnYtbQQ5
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 16, 2019
Democrats falling for ”intelligence” that allows Republicans to rush into a Middle East war. How could this possibly go wrong? ?♂️ https://t.co/Twro343wQy
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) September 16, 2019
1. I’ll bring this up again. GW Bush, Rumsfeld, and Cheney took out the biggest counter-check to the spread of Iranian dominance in the region in 2003 (Saddam). The security vacuum created by the U.S-led invasion in Iraq allowed AQI to evolve into ISI and ultimate ISIS. https://t.co/dFQQixzZMx
— Mikey Kay (@MikeyKayNYC) September 16, 2019
They’re so stupid https://t.co/pVQKv2yX2l
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) September 16, 2019
If world war three starts on Fox News all the squares on my dystopian hellscape bingo card will be full. https://t.co/PMdY9SmJXm
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) September 16, 2019
To my knowledge, there is no congressional authorization for US military retaliation on behalf of Saudi Arabia, no treaty that calls for it, and no reason to think escalating the conflict by having a superpower intervene directly would do anything positive for anyone.
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) September 16, 2019
Why isn’t Sen. Coons asking for the intelligence and the decision to be put before Congress, the branch of government with the constitutional responsibility of deciding when we go to war?
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) September 16, 2019
Watch above, via Fox News.
