Congress Must End Trump’s Illegal Acts of Aggression Against Iran after Saturday Strikes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This morning, President Donald Trump illegally ordered the U.S. military to strike Iran, in concurrence with strikes by the Israeli government, killing dozens of people and threatening security across the Middle East.
Public Citizen Co-Presidents Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert issued the following statement.
“The president who so pathetically claims to be deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize has launched a deadly and unconstitutional regime change war.
“There is no Congressional declaration of war nor authorization for the use of force in Iran, making Trump’s actions transparently unconstitutional and illegal.Importantly, Trump’s actions in Iran would be illegal under international law even if there were Congressional authorization. Iran poses no imminent security threat to the United States. Exactly like the Iraq war Trump untruthfully claimed to have opposed, this is a war of choice driven by arrogance and imperial ambition. And exactly like the Iraq war, the risks are manifold — with needless short-term deaths inevitable and long-term consequences unknowable.
“War is to be expected from authoritarian rulers, who are inclined to demonstrate their power by deploying force and who by nature may tend to view genuine diplomacy as weakness.
War is also the default move of weakened political leaders, who hope that a call to rally behind the flag can overcome their unpopularity and flagging control. Congress must act immediately to end this illegal and unconstitutional aggression.”