Secretary of State Marco Rubio talks about reasons behind Iran attack
Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented that the purpose of the attack on Iran was to destroy the country’s missile capabilities.
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to clarify the president’s rationale for attacking Iran, insisting the Trump administration met its obligation to inform Congress of its plans despite a flurry of criticism from Democrats over the military operation ahead of a secret March 2 meeting with lawmakers.
Rubio said the administration was determined to act quickly because it was “very clear” that Iran would retaliate against the United States if attacked by Israel.
“We knew there was an Israeli action. We knew it would provoke an attack on U.S. forces, and we knew that if we didn’t get ahead and go after them before they launched an attack, we would suffer more damage,” Rubio said. “And we will all be here answering the question, why did we know that and not act?”
Rubio said the intelligence provided enough information for the United States to take action in case of an “immediate threat.”
“No matter what, ultimately this operation had to take place,” he said. “If you look at the damage they’re doing now, this is a weakened Iran. Imagine a year from now.”
Congress prepares to vote on war powers as Americans divide
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend found that 27% of Americans support airstrikes, 29% don’t know and 43% disapprove.
“The American people have already made up their minds. We don’t want an American war in the Middle East,” Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, told USA TODAY in a March 1 interview. “And nothing we can hear from the Trump administration at this point changes the fact that the American people do not want this, and the president is doing this against the will of the American people.”
Kim, who served as Iraq director on the White House National Security Council during the Obama administration, said he believes Congress should vote to ensure that all members’ positions are on the record.
Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing for a resolution this week that would block President Trump’s ability to launch additional attacks on Iran without Congressional approval. They also said the administration needs to develop a strategy to win the war and address conflicting information about the status of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and ballistic missile program.
Rubio told reporters ahead of a Monday briefing with senior lawmakers at the Capitol that he doesn’t understand “what’s confusing” about why the Trump administration would pre-emptively strike an enemy country it has repeatedly accused of trying to restart its nuclear program.
He said the United States is conducting operations to eliminate “Iran’s short-range ballistic missile threat” and naval threat.
“That’s the clear purpose of that mission,” said Rubio, a former Florida senator.
He maintained that the Trump administration is following the law regarding the requirement to notify Congress about military actions.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) said he agreed with the Secretary of State’s opinion. He said the Constitution is “deliberately vague” about the division of war powers between the executive and legislative branches to allow the president to make important national security decisions.
President Kennedy told USA TODAY: “Anyone who thought that Iran was not and is not an immediate and clear danger to the American people, then or now, is either mistaken or they are on a very powerful drug.”
Rubio said Congressional leaders were informed of the strike before it took place. He also said the administration had met the requirement under the War Powers Act of 1973 to formally notify members of Congress within 48 hours of the start of hostilities.
“We cannot notify 535 members of Congress,” Rubio said. “Congress can vote on whatever it wants, but there is no law requiring it.”
Rubio spoke before briefing the Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group of lawmakers with high-level security powers, about the conflict, which Trump expects to last about four weeks. He argued, as he had always done, that the War Powers Act was unconstitutional.
Still, he said the Trump administration complied with the law. He briefed Congressional leaders twice. The first time was on the day of the State of the Union address, and the second time was the night before the strike. And he was trying to explain it to them again.
Democrats: No evidence of ‘imminent threat’
Democratic lawmakers were so frustrated that they stopped talking to Mr. Rubio and other senior administration officials.
“The answers turned out to be totally, totally inadequate,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the chamber. He said Rubio’s latest Gang of Eight press conference “raised more questions than it answered.”
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told USA TODAY after the meeting that the administration’s communication with Congress about the attack was “much better” than other recent military actions. But the White House continues to ignore the law, he claimed.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States,” he said.
President Trump says Iran poses an imminent threat
In the video announcing the airstrikes and again in public remarks at the White House, President Trump asserted that the United States faces an imminent threat from Iran.
President Trump justified the attack at an East Room event by saying that Iran’s ballistic missile program is also growing “rapidly and dramatically” and poses a “very clear and enormous threat” to the United States and its military at bases overseas.
President Trump said in remarks on March 2 that Iran already has missiles capable of hitting Europe and “soon will have missiles that can reach our beautiful United States.”
On the same day, President Trump indicated that the United States was preparing to launch an even larger attack against Iran.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard yet. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big wave is coming soon,” the president told CNN host Jake Tapper by phone.
On Capitol Hill, the Secretary of State made similar comments. He told reporters that the toughest phase of the campaign had not yet begun. Rubio did not provide details, but said, “The biggest blow is yet to come from the U.S. military. The next step will be even tougher punishments against Iran than they are now.”
“Somebody was screaming, ‘How long is this going to take?’ We don’t know how long it’s going to take, but we have a goal and we’re going to do this as long as it takes to achieve that goal,” Rubio told reporters. “And we will achieve those goals.”
He claimed that the goal of the regime’s operation was to destroy Iran’s navy and its ballistic missile capabilities, which Iran is using as a shield for its nuclear program.
“And while we hope to see a new administration in place, the bottom line is that no matter who is running this country, ballistic missiles and drones will not threaten us a year from now,” Rubio said.
