Welch voted today to end illegal war with Iran
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today voted in favor of a War Powers Resolution to end President Trump’s unauthorized and unconstitutional war with Iran.
This is the Senate’s 14th vote to end this illegal war, which has killed at least 19 U.S. service members and injured over 800 more, caused instability across the Middle East, and raised prices of gas, household goods, and groceries for millions of American families.
“This is a day-to-day catastrophe, and the man who started this must end it. But we, as U.S. Senators, with the responsibility and the trust given to us by the people who elected us, have a say. And it’s time for us to say, end this war. End this war now,” said Senator Welch. “Arrogance is not a substitute for good judgment. Arrogance is not an expression of toughness and resolve. It’s time to end this war.”
Watch Senator Welch’s remarks here:
Read and download a transcript of the Senator’s remarks:
“This war in Iran, absolutely, immediately, must end. And it will only end if the person who started it with the unilateral decision to go to war, decides to end the war.
“We in this Senate have voted numerous times to end this war. We can’t do it unless we get votes from the other side of the aisle. But it is absolutely disgraceful that the United States is in this war. It was a decision of two men—not two legislative bodies, not two votes of the American people, two men—Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu was in the situation room, making his case that we should go to a war with Iran. Any of the advisors to the president said it was a bogus claim that it would be done overnight, which is essentially what the assertion was.
“So, our president made a decision—and it was a unilateral decision by him—a unilateral decision, that we go to war. And he told the American people that it would be over in a couple of days, just like Venezuela; hat the people of Iran would rise up and take out the ayatollah. Many Iranians did rise up, and they got slaughtered.
“The president bragged about the military might—and we do have a strong military — but his strategic thinking was totally flawed and foolish. He thought bombing could resolve something that it couldn’t. So, yes, we bombed. Yes, leadership in Iran was wiped out. But then, Iran did what military advisors knew it would do, but the president could not listen. They used asymmetric response, drones, to close the Strait of Hormuz.
“The impact here has been going on for over six months. And the only way we can assess what has happened is come to the conclusion that the president’s policy was a complete failure. It is not working. The president continues to promote a non-policy, asserting we’re putting the squeeze on Iran.
“Mr. President, you’re putting the squeeze on farmers in Iowa. You’re putting the squeeze on the tourism industry in Vermont. You’re putting the squeeze on manufacturers in Wisconsin. You’re putting the squeeze on the American people. You know, for a farmer in the Midwest who wants to fill up his combine with diesel, it’s $1,500 extra a day.
“And for what? For what? For the ego of a man who capitulated to the pressures of Benjamin Netanyahu? That’s what he did. And who does not have the leadership ability, or the character, to assess what’s happened in these past six months? And acknowledge it’s time for a change? This is a day-to-day catastrophe, and the man who started this must end it. But we, as U.S. senators, with the responsibility and the trust given to us by the people who elected us, have a say. And it’s time for us to say: end this war. End this war now.
“Arrogance is not a substitute for good judgment. Arrogance is not an expression of toughness and resolve. It’s time to end this war.”
Learn more about Senator Welch’s work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.
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