Rep. Brown: Escalation With Iran Has Echoes Of Iraq, We Cannot Repeat Past Mistakes

Statement

Congressman Anthony G. Brown (MD-04), Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and Iraq War veteran, released the following statement after receiving a classified briefing on the escalating tensions with Iran this afternoon, his third on the subject.

"Iran has been, and remains a hostile actor in the region. However, before President Trump took office, we were confronting Iran through an effective, multilateral effort using our economic, diplomatic, and military power. Our current unilateral approach lacks strategic focus, makes addressing Iran's behavior more difficult, increases the threat of direct conflict, and ensures any military action will not have the support of our allies, the global community, and most importantly the American people.

"Iran's behavior has not dramatically changed so as to warrant the rushed deployment of significant US military assets. There is simply no justification for war with Iran, and this escalation, coupled with the administration's fishing expedition to find novel and tenuous justification for its actions, has alarming echoes of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. We cannot repeat the same mistakes that led to grave consequences at home and abroad that we are still dealing with today.

"The President does not have Congressional authorization to strike Iran, and I am deeply alarmed by the administration's obvious layering of spurious reasons to engage in open armed conflict. If the administration believes the use of military force is merited, then they must make that case to Congress and the American people in pursuit of a new AUMF. If they refuse, they can be sure Congress will act immediately.

"We cannot afford another quagmire in the Middle East; we cannot lose more Americans to a war started under false pretenses; and we cannot strengthen our national security without a strategy, or by resorting to military force to compensate for the lack of a strategy. The escalating tension with Iran only increases the threat of miscalculation, thereby increasing the chance of armed conflict. I urge the administration to course-correct, strategically consider all options with our allies to confront Iran, and prevent the needless deaths of American servicemembers."

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