While the shots between Iran and Israel continue for a fifth consecutive day, the pressure rises to Washington: Democrats want to prevent the United States from getting into a new conflict in the Middle East. On the front line, Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine. The latter presented a resolution on Monday, June 16, a legislative measure that requires approval of the Senate and the House of Representatives) requiring an explicit authorization from the Congress before any military involvement against Iran.
This initiative comes in a context of great instability in the Middle East, after the Israeli army led a massive military operation against Iranian nuclear installations on the night of Thursday to Friday. An attack that sparked a wave of reprisals from Tehran. Since the start of this escalation, the attitude of Donald Trump has been allowing doubt: will the United States become a militarily committed? After having distanced himself in the early hours of the conflict, the American president told ABC News on Sunday: “It is possible that we can get involved. But we are not involved at the moment”. Questioned Monday at a press conference on the conditions that would encourage Washington to intervene, Donald Trump elected the question, answering dryly: “I don’t want to talk about it”.
A resolution to distribute the powers of war
Faced with this uncertainty, the resolution of the Democratic senator aims to reaffirm existing legislation in matters of war powers. It orders the president not to use the American armed forces “for hostilities” against Iran, except in the explicit framework of an declaration of war or after specific authorization.
“It is not in our interest in national security to go to war against Iran unless this war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States,” said Tim Kaine. “I am deeply concerned about the fact that the recent escalation of hostilities […] could quickly plunge the United States into another endless conflict. The American people have no interest in sending soldiers to wage another eternal war in the Middle East, “he continued.
A long -term fight
This resolution is a continuation of Tim Kaine’s efforts to restore the authority of the congress on the decisions of entry into war. Since the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House in January 2017, the Democratic Senator has distinguished himself by several similar initiatives. In 2020, he presented a resolution limiting the president’s ability to initiate a war against Iran, following the presidential order to eliminate the Iranian general Quassem Soleimani. This operation had led the United States and Iran on the verge of war. At the time, the resolution had been approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, with a certain republican support, but it had not obtained enough votes to overcome the presidential veto.
Already in 2019, Donald Trump had vetoed another Bipartisan resolution on war powers. This time was aimed at putting an end to American support for Saudi intervention in Yemen. And this, despite the support of the Democrats and a small group of anti-interventionist republicans.
Even today, the Republican majority remains largely aligned with the president’s positions, little willing to call into question his military prerogatives. But even in the event of the failure of the resolution, the initiative will have a significant consequence: it will force the congress to discuss publicly of American participation in the conflict, and more broadly, of the constitutional distribution of war powers between the president and the congress.