No One Voted for Trump's War of Choice on Iran

I have spent my career studying the consequences of US military action. I teach about international conflict and diplomacy. I have lived in communities still scarred by the legacy of US nuclear testing. I do not romanticize war or underestimate how quickly “major combat operations” can become a global catastrophe.

Early Saturday, President Donald Trump ordered US military strikes against Iran in coordination with Israel. He warned that Americans could face “casualties that often happen in war” as if the human cost of war were an unavoidable fact of life rather than a choice made by him.

We have seen a version of this story before.

In 2002, Congress made a historic mistake by authorizing President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. That decision was rooted in deception, fear, and a desire for vengeance. That war cost the lives of thousands of American troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. It also shattered trust in government and left a legacy of instability that the entire world is still living with.

Only two months into the new year, Trump has already invaded or attacked two countries. As Americans, we must treat this moment with the gravity and urgency it demands.

Constraining a president’s ability to launch needless, open-ended war is one of Congress’ most important constitutional responsibilities. Congress failed to meet that responsibility in 2002. It must not fail now.

There is a dangerous myth in American politics that time will solve what leaders refuse to confront. That if we just “wait and see,” crises will cool and accountability will take care of itself. But as Martin Luther King Jr. warned, time is neutral. If Congress stays silent, time does not become an ally of peace; it becomes an ally of escalation, destruction, and death.

Today, the stakes are higher than they were in 2002. The international diplomatic infrastructure that once constrained conflict has been eroded by the Trump administration. We no longer have the nuclear arms agreements we did a decade, or even a month, ago. And our military is integrating and using artificial intelligence for military operations faster than our lawmakers’ ability to make laws and provide oversight.

We are entering a period where the speed of decision-making is accelerating, while the guardrails that prevent catastrophic miscalculation are weakening. This combination should terrify every American.

Only two months into the new year, Trump has already invaded or attacked two countries. As Americans, we must treat this moment with the gravity and urgency it demands.

The greatest responsibility of our federal government is to protect the welfare of the people who call this country home. As a member of Congress, I’ll fight to make sure that no president—Democrat or Republican—can drag the United States into needless wars based on lies or their own capricious arrogance, and I will never relent in my commitment to securing our country and the world from the threats posed by the weaponization of emerging technologies and the continued risk of nuclear war.

The timing of Trump’s attack on Iran poses unprecedented risks to global security. Friday night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled a Defense Department contract with the AI company Anthropic over its refusal to authorize the use of their technology to spy on Americans and direct lethal attacks. Anthropic came under scrutiny earlier this year after reports that its AI chatbot, Claude, was used during Trump’s reckless and unconstitutional invasion of Venezuela.

This week, one of the sticking points in the negotiations was whether AI could be used to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike. Anthropic refused, and Hegseth canceled the contract. Within hours, Anthropic’s rival, OpenAI reached a deal with the Pentagon. It’s a profitable deal for OpenAI and its shareholders, and a disturbing development for anyone who cares about peace and the future of humanity.

Congress must immediately pass legislation limiting Trump’s ability to take further military action against Iran. That is just the beginning of the work that must be accomplished with all deliberate speed. Congress must also pass legislation limiting national security agencies from using AI technology to launch lethal strikes, and prohibit the Pentagon from any use of AI in its nuclear weapons program.

Now is the time to act.

This op-ed first appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader.