“Look What History has Taught Us”: Senator Murray Speaks to NPR about Her Vote against the Iraq War and Escalating Tensions with Iran

In an interview with NPR affiliate WBUR, Senator Murray, who voted against going to war with Iraq in 2002, reflected on lessons learned from the past with regard to President Trump’s escalation of tensions with Iran

During the interview with “On Point” host David Folkenflik, Senator Murray called on President Trump to come to Congress before taking any further escalatory actions, cautioned against impulsive leadership by tweet 

Senator Murray: “It is a very serious discussion when you talk about putting American lives at risk. We are asking men and women to go to war and we have seen…what happens to soldiers when they go to war, and their families”

More from Senator Murray: “Certainly we all want peace in the Middle East, it is a goal we need to achieve. How do we get there? By killing a general and bragging about it on a tweet?” 

ICYMI: Following Attack on U.S. Forces in Iraq, Senator Murray Demands Congress Have a Say in Decisions of War – MORE HERE

***LISTEN TO SENATOR MURRAY’S INTERVIEW HERE***

(Washington, D.C.) – Following her speech on the Senate floor yesterday calling for Congress to reassert itself in decisions of war, today U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) talked with NPR affiliate WBUR about how her vote against the Iraq War in 2002 impacts her view of the situation in Iran today. In the interview with host David Folkenflik for NPR’s “On Point” news program, Senator Murray highlighted that President Trump has not taken the necessary steps to come to Congress for approval before engaging in military action, and has provided even less justification for his actions than the Bush Administration did in 2002. Additionally, sharing the lessons she learned from the Iraq War, Senator Murray emphasized the tremendous costs of war—both in terms of human life, and the impact it has on veterans and their families—and made clear that the United States must seriously weigh these considerations when debating foreign policy and national security decisions.

See some excerpts from Senator Murray’s interview below:

“When we were discussing this 18 years ago the president came to Congress to present his reasons and testimony and all of what he felt were facts about the facts on the ground to ask for our authority to go to war. This is a very different time. The president tweeted to us after he had made a very dangerous decision to say that this was his intent. That is not how our country should ever put our men and women’s lives at risk, our economic security, and the future of this country.”

“It is a very serious discussion when you talk about putting American lives at risk. We are asking men and women to go to war and we have seen… what happens to soldiers when they go to war, and their families. What happens to them in the immediate, both mental and physical wounds of war, loss of life, families who’ve had to deal with it, what happens to them when they come home and try to get back into civilian life and a job, the cost to our country. So when you take a serious step like going to war provocatively, you have to answer all those questions before you go.”

“Let me take you back again to when we were discussing the war in Iraq. And there were people in the room who were saying to us, ‘Oh, America’s power is so great, this war will be over in five days, we will overpower them,’ look what history has taught us. There are members there today who understand that and know that, and know that making a decision like this by a tweet or by an overreaction or being bellicose about it, can cost our country lives and has economic stakes far into the future.”

“What are the goals of this action and putting our military in a conflict in a very serious way… that has not been outlined. Certainly we all want peace in the Middle East, it is a goal we need to achieve. How do we get there? By killing a general and bragging about it on a tweet? Or do we do it by using our allies and everyone in the region to try and bring calm to this and to solve the problems as much as we can through a diplomatic strategy.”

For Senator Murray’s full interview, visit HERE.

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