‘The United States turned him into a martyr’: Rep. Massie Pushes for Congress Vote on Iran War
Rep. Thomas Massie from Kentucky is among the few Republicans opposed to President Donald Trump’s strikes against Iran. In a speech uploaded from his YouTube channel, he debates the use of the War Powers Resolution.
“The Constitution is clear: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11, provides Congress initiatory powers of war. Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 of our Constitution gives our president operational powers to wage that war,” Massie explains. Through this, he implies that the president should not have bypassed congressional consent to start the military operation.
“Even if this body were to pretend that the 1973 War Powers Resolution supersedes the clear language of the Constitution, the president hasn’t met the conditions required by the law itself,” Massie claims.
He notes that the president may only introduce troops into hostilities under three conditions underlined by the War Powers Resolution.
“Either one, a declaration of war; two, specific statutory authorization; or three, a national emergency created by an attack upon the United States,” Massie argues that none of the cited conditions exist.
Dousing gasoline into a fire
Massie proceeds to ask the most important question on the agenda: “Why are we going to war with Iran?”
Will it help lower the cost of living? Is it going to make people feel safer in their homes and schools? In essence, Massie asks, how would a war with Iran be beneficial to the American public?
“Have we learned nothing from the laundry list of wars and regime changes we sparked across the Middle East?”
Massie claims that the cost of wars spent in the Middle East managed to inflate America’s debt to eight trillion dollars. Additionally, he believes that a sustained war with Iran will not stabilize—rather, it will ignite the whole region. As a result, more displaced people will be flocking to Europe and the United States.
“Iran is not Venezuela. The Ayatollah was not a president; he was a religious leader from a region notorious for radical Islamists. And the United States and Israel turned him into a martyr.”
The chilling reminder from Massie echoes the unrest from several countries after the Ayatollah’s death. Although the late leader is undeniably a repressive authoritarian figure, protests in India and Iran have broken out.
No clear answer for the war
Massie pointed out that the Trump administration’s reasoning behind the war has been incoherent. But he believes the most candid answer is the one Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave out.
“I think the most candid answer came from the Secretary of State, who told the press that Israel forced our hand and dragged us into this war. Again.” For that reason, Massie believes that Congress should be the one deciding on war and not the executive branch.
While the Trump administration sorts its official excuse for igniting yet another conflict in the Middle East, citizens from both sides of the political spectrum are railing against this war.
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