[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 82 (Thursday, May 16, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  Iran

  Madam President, on Iran, this has been a chaotic week in the news 
about the Trump administration's position on Iran. We have gone from 
reports that the Trump administration's national security team was 
discussing possible troop deployments--one newspaper, the New York 
Times, reported 120,000--to coverage now of infighting among the 
President's staff about the credibility of the threat from Iran.
  As usual, the signals indicate chaos coming out of the White House--
individuals fighting with each other, no real plan, no real pattern, 
and no discussion with the American people or with the Congress.
  Yesterday, personnel were evacuated from our Embassy in Iraq, and 
Republicans in Congress have now started to echo the same saber-
rattling we typically hear from folks like Ambassador Bolton. At this 
moment, the only thing that is abundantly clear about the 
administration's Iran policy is its lack of clarity and the lack of 
consultation with Congress and with the American people.
  Congress has not been fully informed about the intelligence. We have 
not been properly consulted about the administration's strategy, to the 
extent one exists.
  More importantly, the American people deserve to know what is going 
on here. They are rightfully skeptical and tired of wars in the Middle 
East--a skepticism many of my Republican friends across the aisle don't 
seem to share. We need to get a better public understanding of what 
President Trump and Republicans in Congress plan to do.
  Yesterday, I called on Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan and 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dunford to testify publicly before the 
Armed Services Committee so that the American people can at least get 
an idea of what is being cooked up here. We have learned, sadly, in 
Iraq, when things are done behind closed doors and the American people 
aren't fully informed, it can lead to significant foreign policy 
blunders. So they should come up here--General Dunford, Acting 
Secretary Shanahan, as well as Secretary Pompeo--and I hope that 
request will be granted.