Washington, March 9
US Senator Tim Kaine has warned that the ongoing conflict involving Iran risks repeating the mistakes of decades of American wars in the Middle East, calling the military action "illegal and profoundly unwise" while raising concerns about the safety of US personnel and civilians.
Speaking on CBS News on Sunday, the Virginia Democrat said the return of the first American casualties had deepened concerns about the direction of the conflict.
"With the arrival of the first American casualties back home yesterday, including a Virginian, I worry that the answer to that is no," Kaine said when asked whether the US had learned lessons from past wars in the region.
"That's just one more reason why I've been asking the question, have we learned nothing from 25 years of war in the Middle East?" he added.
Kaine said the security situation around American diplomatic posts had deteriorated amid rising tensions linked to the conflict.
"There are threats," he said, noting that embassies and consulates had faced demonstrations that were "merging toward violence or at least frightening to our diplomats".
The Senator said thousands of Americans remain stranded across the Middle East after travel disruptions caused by the conflict.
"It's thousands and thousands," Kaine added.
"Not every American chooses to come home. So there's hundreds of thousands, if you just add them all up, who is coming home."
Kaine said his office had been assisting constituents trying to return to the United States.
"We were able to facilitate one Richmond area resident getting home from Dubai on a flight a couple of days back," he added.
He also expressed concern that some diplomatic personnel remain stationed in high-risk locations.
"Some of the professionals at embassies and consuls are not being told to come home," Kaine said.
"And they're sort of there, and often their security presence is not what we wish it would be."
The Senator said the US Congress had yet to receive clear information about the potential financial cost of the conflict.
He noted that analysts have estimated the first 100 hours of military operations cost billions of dollars.
"We don't know that the White House is sending a supplemental," Kaine said, referring to a possible emergency budget request to fund the war.
"What I can say, and it's not classified, is the administration said they haven't made a decision."
Kaine said his immediate priorities were to protect US troops and push for an end to the conflict.
"My goals right now are two-fold, stop this war, which I view as both illegal and profoundly unwise, and protect our troops," he added.
He suggested the Trump administration might delay requesting additional funding to avoid Congressional debate on the war.
"They may not want to ask for a supplemental because they're trying to avoid debates and votes in Congress on the Iran war right now," Kaine said.
The Senator also voiced concern about Americans detained in Iran, including Journalist Reza Valizadeh and 70-year-old Kamran Hekmati.
"I do not, and I fear about that," Kaine said when asked whether there were assurances about their safety.
"If school kids are being killed in bombing, likely US bombing... I worry about the fate of US citizens, who are being held prisoners there."
- IANS
Reader Comments
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.