‘Tired of the Endless Wars’: GOP Congressman Tells CNN Americans Are ‘Right to be Skeptical’ of Trump’s Iran Operation

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) said that Americans are right to be skeptical of the ongoing U.S. military operation in Iran during a Tuesday afternoon appearance on CNN News Central.

Anchor Boris Sanchez kicked off the interview with the following query: “I want to start by asking you about something that we heard from President Trump earlier today, who said that it was his opinion that Iran was going to launch a strike against Israel and U.S. allies and assets in the Gulf. I wonder what evidence you would need to see to believe that opinion was well-founded?”

“Well, you know, I’ve asked for a classified briefing for, you know, well over a week at this point, and I haven’t seen that kind of information yet. And frankly, only a handful of members of Congress have so far,” replied Davidson. “So I’m looking forward to today’s briefing and going into it with an open mind. You know, we know President Trump has been reluctant to embrace war, he campaigned on on avoiding wars, and has a great track record of promoting peace. So he found something compelling and I look forward to seeing the intel.”

“It is somewhat dubious, only at least on the surface, given what the administration has released publicly, because the Pentagon assessed that Iran was not going to attack unless it was hit first. Also, it was the defensive intelligence agency’s view that Iran is a decade away from the ICBM that Trump said would be targeting the U.S. mainland potentially imminently. Further, the IAEA said that there was no imminent threat of Iran developing a nuclear Weapon. Even Secretary Rubio has frequently said that it would have been a year or more past the point of immunity with conventional weapons for Tehran,” argued Sanchez before following up: “So, why was this an imminent preemptive strike if there was no clear threat of a risk to Americans?”

“Well, look, I think the public’s right to be skeptical, and, frankly, that’s part of why President Trump’s, you know, no new wars kind of campaign mindset resonated with the public. I mean, you look at war-weary people who’ve seen just endless wars really in this century so far, post 9/11, the U.S. has kind of been in a continual state of war. Really in the 90s, I mean, we used air power with hopes of regime change in, you know, the former Yugoslavia in Serbia and in Kosovo. And what we ultimately found, even in a smaller place like that, is to change power, you needed to put people on the ground. And so really in that timeframe, you’ve seen a continual use of military force. So I think a lot of the country is sort of tired of the endless wars framework,” answered Davidson, who continued:

And nevertheless, they seem to be popular with certain circles. Lindsey Graham, I don’t think, has ever found a war he doesn’t like, so that Lindsey Graham would say, “Oh, we definitely have to go attack Iran” isn’t exactly breaking news. It is kind of breaking news to see President Trump say, “Hey, I think this is the kind of war we need to engage in.” He called out Barack Obama for engaging in a war with Iran. So I think I’m going into the briefing hoping to hear the same kind of information President Trump found persuasive. And we’ll see because we’re supposed to vote later this week, and I think, look, the idea that Congress doesn’t vote isn’t unprecedented. Congress never voted on the Korean War, but it was a war, you know, even though they tried to say it was something other than that while it was being waged, it was a de facto war and I think that’s the reality is we’re in a de facto state of war with Iran right now. The question is: what is Congress going to do about it? And it’s not unprecedented that hey do nothing.

Watch above via CNN.

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