US Democrats step up attack on Trump’s Iran war

WASHINGTON: Senate Democrats stepped up their attack on President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, calling the conflict illegal, costly, and constitutionally unsound, while pressing for public testimony from top administration officials.

The sharpest criticism came from Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, who said the United States had been drawn into a war without congressional authorisation and with growing costs at home and abroad.

“America has been at war with Iran for 12 days. The costs to our troops, to everyday Americans, and to innocent Iranian civilians – even school children – are dramatic,” Kaine said. “The war is deeply unpopular.”

Speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Kaine argued that “the war is illegal” and said the Constitution makes clear that only Congress can declare war. He added that the President “has escalated his use of our military to carry out hostilities all over the globe without Congress while threatening military action against many more nations”.