Amid Alarm That Trump Has No Plan for Iran, Critic Contends None 'Could Possibly Justify This'

Several Senate Democrats on Tuesday came out of a classified briefing about the US-Israeli assault on Iran warning that President Donald Trump "can't defend this war in public" and top officials have even failed to explain behind closed doors "what the endgame is or what their plans are."

Media critic and political analyst Adam Johnson responded to such comments on social media early Wednesday, reminding leaders on Capitol Hill and beyond that "the war is wrong and illegal and needs to stop now—that's it, that's the line."

Experts around the world have argued that the US assault is unconstitutional, given congressional authority to declare war, and runs afoul of the United Nations Charter, which bars the use of force unless it is a "necessary and proportionate" act of self-defense or is authorized by the UN Security Council. Despite that, nearly all Republicans and a short list of Democrats in Congress have blocked war powers resolutions in both the GOP-controlled Senate and House of Representatives.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) voted for the resolution and was among the senators sounding the alarm after Tuesday's briefing. He wrote in a five-part thread on X that "the war goals DO NOT involve destroying Iran's nuclear weapons program," and Pentagon and White House officials "confirmed 'regime change' is also NOT on the list."

The primary goal of Trump's war on Iran seems to be "destroying lots of missiles and boats and drone factories," according to Murphy. "But the question that stumped them: What happens when you stop bombing and they restart production? They hinted at more bombing. Which is, of course, endless war."

"And on the Strait of Hormuz, they had NO PLAN," he said of the key waterway Iran has shut down, cutting off the flow of fossil fuel exports and other products. "I can't go into more detail about how Iran gums up the strait, but suffice it say, right now, they don't know how to get it safely back open. Which is unforgivable, because this part of the disaster was 100% foreseeable."

Responding to Murphy in a pair of posts, Johnson argued that "we don't need 9,000 tweet threads consternating over an alleged lack of 'plan.' We also don't need another take criticizing the regime change war for not being sufficiently regime change-y."

"Criticizing Trump for a lack of a 'plan' implies the existence of a plan that could possibly justify this," he continued. "There isn't any, so what does a plan, or lack thereof, have to do with anything? The war is fundamentally unjust, illegal, and immoral regardless of nominal 'aims' or 'goals.'"

Since disrupting diplomatic talks on a new nuclear deal by bombing Iran a dozen days ago, Trump and his top officials, including Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have publicly sent mixed signals on aiming to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, regime change, how long they expect the war to last, and how much it will cost US taxpayers.

As The Washington Post reported, the Pentagon told Congress on Monday that it "burned through $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the first two days of its military assault on Iran."

That disclosure came after a Washington, DC think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, put the estimated cost of the war at $891.4 million per day, but also said the figure may drop if the US moves to "less expensive munitions."

Casualties have swiftly stacked up, with over 1,300 Iranians slaughtered—including around 175, mostly children, killed in an apparent US bombing of a girls' school—according to Iran's government. The Lebanese prime minister's office said that Israel's related bombing of Lebanon has killed 570 people and wounded 1,444.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks on Gulf nations and US military bases in the region. The Pentagon confirmed that seven US service members are dead and around 140 have been injured. Additionally, The New York Times reported Tuesday that "at least 12 civilians have been killed in attacks across the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain."