WASHINGTON – Louisiana’s two U.S. senators support the military action in Iran but say it’s time for the president explain the purpose, strategy and off-ramp.
“What we do need to do, though, is have a national dialogue, where the president comes to the American people, comes to Congress, (and) Congress helps make a tough decision,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said
“We all need to do a better job messaging,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, said adding that Trump or one of his top advisors should “either in a speech or in a long press conference, explain what’s going on in Iran. Why we went in. Why we’re still there.”
Over the next two weeks, the Senate will be considering legislation to spend more money replacing military hardware that has been used up during the hostilities that began February 28 and have continued off and on since, pausing temporarily from time to time under fragile ceasefires to negotiate a settlement.
“I don’t have enough information to know about continuing the attacks,” Kennedy said. “The president likes the daily attacks. He believes that sometimes you have to kill a few chickens to scare the monkeys. I don’t think that’s going to work with the Iranian leadership.”
The Senate passed a resolution in June urging an end to the conflict or coming to Congress for permission to continue the military action. The House passed one on Thursday. But the resolutions carried no enforcement weight and acted merely as a symbolic criticism of the war.
Cassidy in June had with President Trump during a closed-door meeting with senators over why he supported a procedural vote leading to a congressional demand for War Powers authority. He eventually voted against the actual measure when it came to the floor, saying the administration had briefed him in the meantime.
Cassidy went on to tell CNN Sunday that the U.S. would not abandon troops or agree to allow Iran to have control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil is supplied. The closures and chaos at the Strait are responsible for the dramatic increase in the price oil and thus the price of gasoline and diesel fuel.
High-cost energy is responsible for higher prices across the board. A series of polls show that up to two-thirds of the U.S. public oppose the hostilities with Iran. The Pentagon reported Monday 18 service members have been killed and another 624 have been injured.