We must withdraw from the war as quickly as possible
The recent visit by Chris Murphy, Democratic senator from Connecticut and member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to the West Asia region, and his talks with Qatari and Saudi officials, has stirred considerable debate in the United States.
According to Ambassador Arjan, the Iranian newspaper wrote: The recent visit of "Chris Murphy", a famous Democratic senator from the state of Connecticut and a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to the West Asian region and his talks with Qatari and Saudi officials have caused a lot of noise in the United States. Where the military officials of the Pentagon did not allow this American senator to visit Al-Adeed base in Qatar and the 5th Marine Fleet base in Bahrain due to the amount of damage caused to him. After returning from the Middle East, in an interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS's "Face the Nation" program on October 11, Murphy made his assessment clear by criticizing the performance of the Donald Trump administration in the war with Iran and said that the United States should withdraw its foot from this war as soon as possible and leave the solution of the Strait of Hormuz issue to Iran and the United States' regional partners in the Persian Gulf. In another part of his interview, he criticized the military secrecy in America and assessed that the billion-dollar US bases in the region have been destroyed by Iran. The full text of this conversation is given below.
Trump has said that the United States may join military attacks against Yemen, but at the same time he has announced that the United States is also in talks with Ansarullah. Do you support retaliation? And are our Saudi partners, whom you have just met, worthy of American support?
It is true; I was in the same place the day before the attack on Riyadh airport. I had previously met with Saudi and Qatari officials; Countries trying to negotiate an end to the war. Look, let me be clear. What I saw on the ground is a war that is spiraling out of control. Now another full-scale war between Yemen and Saudi Arabia is taking shape. Iranians have resumed their missile programs. We never completely killed their drone program. They are also revitalizing their nuclear program. There is evidence that they have resumed nuclear research activities at one of the main sites where we believe the Iranians are digging underground. In America, the price of gasoline, diesel and food has skyrocketed. 20 Americans have been killed and 100 billion dollars have been spent. Even if the Trump administration intended to lose this war, it could not have performed worse. This situation is a disgrace to the United States. Instead of getting smaller and more limited, war is expanding and becoming more dangerous. The current situation should be used as propaganda to remove every single member of the US House of Representatives and Senate who voted for this war and continue to support it; That means the voters should remove them from office in the November elections.
But in relation to this specific attack, the US has not yet committed to retaliating on behalf of its partner, Saudi Arabia. Do you think such an action would be appropriate?
No, I don't think the US should go to war in Yemen. See! This government is completely incompetent in the administration of war. Just as we have turned the Middle East into a worse and more chaotic region by entering the war against Iran, if we enter the war in Yemen in addition to the war with Iran, we will only intensify the conflict and make the situation more dangerous than before. Well, in many ways, the debate is about America's credibility in the region and its continued military presence. The Congressional Budget Office said it could not estimate the cost of damage to US bases because the Pentagon did not provide the necessary information. Also, it is not yet clear how extensive the reconstruction of these bases will be. These dimensions are unclear, because the purpose and intent of these measures are not clear. Even some Democrats have said that they want to reduce the US presence in the region. As far as I know, you also support the reduction of the US military presence.
Will you vote in favor of rebuilding the facilities you saw that were damaged?
Well, I haven't seen any of these facilities. The problem is exactly that we have no information.
I thought you had seen our embassy in Saudi Arabia?
Yes; I saw the embassy, but the most expensive renovations will be related to our naval base in Bahrain and our air base in Qatar. Currently, members of Congress are not allowed to see the damage done to these bases up close. The reason is that there is an attempt to cover up the story; An attempt to hide the cost of this war and the disaster it has brought in the eyes of the American people in the region. So how can we assess whether we want to rebuild these facilities or not when the government won't let us see them or even know the extent of the damage. Blocking the basic powers and responsibilities of Congress to oversee the performance of the government, in this case, is truly unacceptable.
The Pentagon says it needs more funding for the war we are currently fighting with Iran. How do you balance the political stance and stated intention to end the war, on the one hand, with the question of whether or not we support and protect our troops still in the region?
Yes, the best way to support our military and citizens in the region is to end this war. It means that America should unilaterally end its military operations and frankly ask our regional partners to solve the problem of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea themselves.
Well, the president says he is considering resuming the war with Iran after the election. Therefore, it is natural that Iran's response to such a possibility is to escalate the war. The president must end this war and this will be the fastest way to reopen the sea lanes. Once again, I emphasize that Trump has shown a level of incompetence in managing the war that is truly disgraceful. Escalation of conflicts will only bring more suffering and misery to the American taxpayers and the people living in the region.
To clarify the matter more precisely, the Iranians want America to leave the region. Do you support reducing the number of American troops in the region?
Well, I think the United States will always have to have a presence in that region. But let's be honest, we no longer have a naval base in Bahrain. Also, we don't have an effective base in Qatar either, because the Iranians disabled these bases just a few minutes after the war started. So, at least if we are going to rebuild any military capability in that area, we have to find a way to protect it. Donald Trump was basically not prepared for this war; So that just a few days after the start of the war, our billion-dollar air and naval bases in the region were destroyed by the Iranians. Every American should be outraged by this situation; Not just because Americans lost their lives, but because an enormous amount of taxpayer money was wasted. So if we can't protect these bases, we have to rethink whether it makes sense to rebuild them at all, but this president is not able to protect our troops and our citizens in the Middle East.
I want to talk a little about domestic politics. The CBS poll shows that Republicans may be facing a problem with voter mobilization and participation compared to Democrats. But in terms of public perception, 58 percent of registered voters surveyed by CBS consider the Democratic Party a weak party. What is the positive and constructive message of the Democrats? Other than saying "we are not Trump"?
Well, you see, we are in the middle of a war that has turned into a disaster for the American people. People cannot afford to buy food. They cannot fill the tank of their cars. Farmers are going bankrupt at an unprecedented rate, and the situation in the Middle East is also a disaster. So let's be honest, the most important thing on the minds of the American people now is to remove these people from power; Because their performance has been disastrous for the world, the reputation of America and the country's economy. But yes, I think we should be bolder in our ideas and proposals to solve this crisis. Therefore, we must promise that if we win this election, we will not allocate any more funds for this war. is it true We will not agree to allocate funds to the Department of Defense without a commitment from the Trump administration to end this war. In the final days of this election campaign, we can promise the people that if they elect us, we will deal with his corruption and end this war. In my opinion, these promises, along with the increase in prices and the disaster caused by the war with Iran, can lead to the decisive victory of the Democrats in the elections.