Trump's Week of Confusion Over US Entry into War, Democrats 'Impeach' for Violating Congressional Notification
The US media used 'US ENTERS WAR' as a general headline, and the US Congress was extremely divided between the Republican Party's 'Cheering' and the Democrats' 'Criticism', leading to 'impeachment' for violating the congressional notification procedure.
The New York Times reported on the 22nd that Mehdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Iran's National Assembly Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf, said on social media, "Iran had been expecting an attack on Fordow for several nights," and "the site was evacuated long ago, and the damage is not irreversible. You can't blow up knowledge."
Iran's Tasnam News Agency reported on the 22nd, citing an Iranian official, that "parts of the Fordow base were attacked by 'enemy airstrikes.'"
Senior Democratic congressional lawmakers told the Times on Tuesday that they had received “only a perfunctory warning from the White House before Trump announced the strike, and had not had a chance to ask for details.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson and South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the GOP leader, said in a statement that they supported the strike as “a necessary check on Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” and that “both were briefed on the military action before it was carried out,” the Times reported.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for Trump’s impeachment in response to the strike.
“It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,” she wrote on social media, calling the strike a “catastrophe” and accusing Trump of “impulsively risking starting a war that could tie us down for generations.”
“President Trump misled the nation about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization to use military force, and is risking the United States being drawn into a catastrophic war in the Middle East,” House Democratic leader Rep.
Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “He must be held fully and totally accountable for all the negative consequences of his unilateral military action.”
Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that Trump’s “giant gamble” was “far from certain. It’s easier to start a war than to end one.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said, “This is unconstitutional.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Vt.) accused Trump of “terrible judgment” and said, “The American people overwhelmingly oppose going to war with Iran.” U.S. officials told the Times that six B-2 bombers dropped 12 30,000-pound bunker busters on the deep-sea Fordow nuclear site, a Navy submarine fired 30 TLAM cruise missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan bases, and a B-2 dropped two bunker busters on Natanz.
President Trump made the first public announcement on his social media account, Truth Social, just before 8 p.m. Saturday in Washington, saying he would “address the nation at 10 p.m.”
President Trump told reporters at the White House ahead of his G7 visit to Canada on the 15th last weekend that he “might have to give up something big,” and upon his return from Canada on the 17th after an abbreviated visit, he said, “There’s something bigger.”
Trump appeared to tone down his typically belligerent tone from his public remarks in Canada the day before, saying on the 18th that he had not yet made a decision to drop what he called a “big thing.”
“I could do it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on the 18th, “but I might not be able to do it.” “Nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said, confused.
Aboard Air Force One that day, he bristled when a reporter pointed out that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had testified to Congress in March that just months earlier, Iran had not made a decision to build a bomb despite a surge in fuel production, the Times reported.
Trump responded, “We’re running out of time,” adding, “Remember, we didn’t fight.”
Trump then told reporters at the White House, “We add a little bit of genius to everything, but we didn’t fight at all. Israel did a great job today,” he said, returning to his usual cliche, “but we’ll see what happens,” before joining the Iran war on the 21st.
The bombings came two days after the White House said Trump would make a decision “within two weeks” on whether to proceed with such a strike, the Times reported, adding that “Israeli officials were told in advance about the bombings, and Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu afterward.”
The B-2s that struck Iranian nuclear sites at dawn flew nonstop for about 37 hours from an air force base in Missouri, refueling several times in midair, a U.S. official told the Times anonymously.
“President Trump said Saturday that U.S. forces had carried out “very successful strikes” on three Iranian nuclear sites, adding that Tehran’s nuclear program had been eliminated,” Reuters reported. “After days of deliberation, and well before a two-week deadline he had set for himself, he decided to join Israel’s military campaign against its main rival, Iran.” Trump's decision marks a major escalation in the conflict," it reported on the 22nd.