SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks as Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) listen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
Warning Against 'Another Endless War,' Ilhan Omar Says Congress Must Act to Stop Trump From Attacking Iran
"Congress has the constitutional right to declare war. The president doesn't have it. The secretary of state doesn't have it. And Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't have it."
Sep 17, 2019
With President Donald Trump firing off menacing tweets and the White House working to blame Iran--on the basis of flimsy evidence--for attacks on Saudi oil facilities over the weekend, Rep. Ilhan Omar said Monday night that Congress must act urgently to prevent Trump from launching another catastrophic military conflict in the Middle East.
"Congress has the constitutional right to declare war," the Minnesota Democrat told CNN's Erin Burnett. "The president doesn't have it. The secretary of state doesn't have it. And Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't have it."
Omar pointed to the Trump administration's decision last year to violate the Iran nuclear deal as the source of growing military tensions over the past several months, which on at least one occasion nearly resulted in a full-scale conflict.
"I think we need to make sure that the American people understand that this administration--that lies about weather maps or crowd sizes--cannot be trusted to give us the full information we need to be able to make a decision whether we should be going to war or not with Iran," said Omar. "We are not in a position to think about another endless war and I really hope that my colleagues in Congress are going to pressure this administration to take a step back and figure out how we use diplomacy in de-escalating the situation."
Watch:
Omar's remarks come a day after Trump tweeted that the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities, which American and Saudi officials rushed to blame on Iran despite scarce evidence.
As Common Dreams reported, lawmakers and foreign policy analysts accused Trump of taking marching orders from the Saudis after the president said he is "waiting to hear from the kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed."
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Monday, Trump warned the attack on the Saudi oil facilities "could be met with an attack many, many times larger, very easily, by our country."
In a series of tweets, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said the Trump administration's efforts to blame Iran for the attack in Saudi Arabia "is reminiscent of the Bush administration jumping to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction."
"We can't let another deception lead to war in the Middle East," said Khanna.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With President Donald Trump firing off menacing tweets and the White House working to blame Iran--on the basis of flimsy evidence--for attacks on Saudi oil facilities over the weekend, Rep. Ilhan Omar said Monday night that Congress must act urgently to prevent Trump from launching another catastrophic military conflict in the Middle East.
"Congress has the constitutional right to declare war," the Minnesota Democrat told CNN's Erin Burnett. "The president doesn't have it. The secretary of state doesn't have it. And Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't have it."
Omar pointed to the Trump administration's decision last year to violate the Iran nuclear deal as the source of growing military tensions over the past several months, which on at least one occasion nearly resulted in a full-scale conflict.
"I think we need to make sure that the American people understand that this administration--that lies about weather maps or crowd sizes--cannot be trusted to give us the full information we need to be able to make a decision whether we should be going to war or not with Iran," said Omar. "We are not in a position to think about another endless war and I really hope that my colleagues in Congress are going to pressure this administration to take a step back and figure out how we use diplomacy in de-escalating the situation."
Watch:
Omar's remarks come a day after Trump tweeted that the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities, which American and Saudi officials rushed to blame on Iran despite scarce evidence.
As Common Dreams reported, lawmakers and foreign policy analysts accused Trump of taking marching orders from the Saudis after the president said he is "waiting to hear from the kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed."
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Monday, Trump warned the attack on the Saudi oil facilities "could be met with an attack many, many times larger, very easily, by our country."
In a series of tweets, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said the Trump administration's efforts to blame Iran for the attack in Saudi Arabia "is reminiscent of the Bush administration jumping to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction."
"We can't let another deception lead to war in the Middle East," said Khanna.
With President Donald Trump firing off menacing tweets and the White House working to blame Iran--on the basis of flimsy evidence--for attacks on Saudi oil facilities over the weekend, Rep. Ilhan Omar said Monday night that Congress must act urgently to prevent Trump from launching another catastrophic military conflict in the Middle East.
"Congress has the constitutional right to declare war," the Minnesota Democrat told CNN's Erin Burnett. "The president doesn't have it. The secretary of state doesn't have it. And Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't have it."
Omar pointed to the Trump administration's decision last year to violate the Iran nuclear deal as the source of growing military tensions over the past several months, which on at least one occasion nearly resulted in a full-scale conflict.
"I think we need to make sure that the American people understand that this administration--that lies about weather maps or crowd sizes--cannot be trusted to give us the full information we need to be able to make a decision whether we should be going to war or not with Iran," said Omar. "We are not in a position to think about another endless war and I really hope that my colleagues in Congress are going to pressure this administration to take a step back and figure out how we use diplomacy in de-escalating the situation."
Watch:
Omar's remarks come a day after Trump tweeted that the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities, which American and Saudi officials rushed to blame on Iran despite scarce evidence.
As Common Dreams reported, lawmakers and foreign policy analysts accused Trump of taking marching orders from the Saudis after the president said he is "waiting to hear from the kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed."
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Monday, Trump warned the attack on the Saudi oil facilities "could be met with an attack many, many times larger, very easily, by our country."
In a series of tweets, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said the Trump administration's efforts to blame Iran for the attack in Saudi Arabia "is reminiscent of the Bush administration jumping to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction."
"We can't let another deception lead to war in the Middle East," said Khanna.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy