America is at war

This weekend, three U.S. service members were killed, two in an Iranian strike on a U.S. military base in Jordan and one in northern Iraq trying to contain the fallout from a downed Iranian drone.

17 Americans and thousands of Iranians have died due to the war in Iran.

This is what I wrote in the NH Union Leader the day after Trump started this war with Iran in March:

The fact is, Trumpʼs war in Iran is no less dangerous today than the day he launched it. As I wrote at the beginning of March:

The international diplomatic infrastructure that once constrained conflict has been eroded by the Trump Administration. We no longer have the nuclear arms agreements we did a decade, or even a month, ago. And our military is integrating and using artificial intelligence for military operations faster than our lawmakers’ ability to make laws and provide oversight.

We have entered a period where the speed of decision-making is accelerating, while the guardrails that prevent catastrophic miscalculation are weaker than ever. This combination should terrify every American.

Hereʼs what I propose to do in Congress to end this war and build peace at home and abroad:

• Take back Congressʼs authority to declare war.

• Fight for legislation explicitly prohibiting funding for any unauthorized offensive military operation against Iran in defense appropriation legislation.

• Pass legislation prohibiting the US military from using artificial intelligence technology when targeting lethal strikes.

• Push to re-ratify the New START treaty and support efforts to reduce nuclear arsenals in the US and around the world.

• Pass “Back-from-the-Brink” legislation that would ensure that no president has unilateral authority to launch a nuclear strike.

• Invest in international aid by restoring Trump and Elon Muskʼs reckless cuts to USAID.

We cannot lose focus, and we must elect leaders who recognize that building peace at home and peace abroad is what makes us all safer.