ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – A Salem veterans group leader and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine are raising concerns about the U.S.-Israel joint military strikes in Iran, questioning both the planning behind the conflict and whether the White House has followed the Constitution in authorizing military action.
Richard Small, commander of the American Legion in Salem, post 3, served in Vietnam and Korea. He also assisted in preparation for ground troops entering Iraq when he was under special assignment. Small said he is concerned the conflict mirrors past military engagements in the Middle East.
“I’m concerned a lot that we’re into another Afghanistan-Iraqi war,” Small said. “You got rid of the top echelon, but you still have a strong military over there. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, they’re a lot alike.”
Small said the stated mission appeared to shift after strikes began.
“The way it was put out, we were going in there to get rid of the nuclear capabilities,” Small said. “And then you’re finding out that part of the real reason they’re going there was to change the regime.”
Small, who worked in emergency rooms during Vietnam, also questioned the pace of diplomacy before the strikes.
“I don’t think we gave enough time to negotiate — to see if they could get anywhere,” he said. “I don’t know that Iran would want to come back to the negotiating table, because we weren’t honest with them in the first place.”
He said he is not in favor of Iran developing nuclear weapons or expanding its missile capability, but added that he is not sure the conflict was adequately planned.
“He led the American public to believe that it was going to be weeks away, and then all at once it’s done overnight,” Small said. “I’m not sure that we’ve planned this conflict out.”
Three U.S. service members have been killed in the conflict as of Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a shame that we lose a lot of people,” Small said. “How many more are we going to lose?”
Kaine said the Senate has not been fully briefed on the conflict, with information limited to a select group of congressional leadership called the “Gang of Eight”. He described the administration’s briefing process as inadequate.
“They don’t give you any information in advance,” Kaine said. “They give us an hour, and then the briefers take up 45 minutes or so. Then 100 senators, who all have questions; just a few of them get their questions answered. Then they walk out.”
Kaine also questioned the timing of the strikes during Ramadan and ongoing negotiations.
“Was there a real negotiation, or was it just a delay tactic to lull Iranians into a sense of complacency?” Kaine said. “The Constitution does not say Congress should just be an interested observer that gets a briefing after the fact.”
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war. Neither the White House nor Congress has issued a formal declaration.
Under the War Powers Act of 1973, the administration has up to 60 days to brief Congress after initiating military action.
Kaine said he is pushing a new war powers resolution that would require a congressional vote before any further military action in Iran is taken.
Even though some of his constituents are in favor of the military action.
“Popular opinion can’t change the constitution,” Kaine said. “I have explained that position often to Virginians over the course of my 13 years in the Senate, and overwhelmingly, I get a strong, ‘you’re right, stick to your guns.’”
Kaine added: “We can celebrate the possibility of a new chapter for them without wanting our soldiers to go to war without a congressional debate and vote. We shouldn’t be sending our kids into war without doing the homework.”
Kaine said the resolution should reach the Senate floor for a vote Tuesday or Wednesday.
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