ICYMI: CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN PRESSES DOD LEADERSHIP FOR A PLAN TO END THE WAR IN IRAN

Congressman Pat Ryan Presses DOD Leadership for a Plan to End the War in Iran

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WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Pat Ryan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, on Tuesday questioned Admiral Brad Cooper, USN, Commander of U.S. Central Command, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Daniel Zimmerman on the Administration's plan, or lack thereof, for ending the war in Iran.

"I want to dewonk a little bit and try to center what I'm hearing from my constituents in the district and across the country. They are, as I know the whole committee is and myself, incredibly proud of our troops, incredibly appreciative of your leadership, but also increasingly have a deep and broad concern about what is the plan in Iran and do we have a clear strategy," said Ryan.

"They see that costs continue to go up. We talked about our 13 heroes lost, the hundreds wounded, many seriously. Tens of billions of dollars in hard-earned taxpayer money. The potential of another $200 billion for a supplemental. And of course, just the astronomical costs every American is paying at the pump," Ryan continued. "Under $3 gas prices before the war started and now approaching $5. That's thousands of dollars per family, and people just cannot afford it right now. In good faith, the question I continue to hear from my constituents is what is the plan to not just end but win the conflict and bring down costs."

Ryan pressed for answers as to whether or not the Administration will seek congressional approval for the potential strikes Trump is threatening: "Yesterday, the President in a very long post said to many of our surprise there was a 'planned military attack' actually planned for today but that he has told you all to 'hold off' But in the same post, he also instructed you to be prepared to 'go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice.' Just an hour ago as we've been in committee, he doubled down on TV standing in front of the East [Wing] demolition, saying 'We may have to give them another big hit.' So again, I'm just trying to be able to explain to my constituents, Mr. Zimmerman, are we re-initiating offensive combat operations?"

He continued: "Are you planning to ask Congress this time for a declaration or an authorization now that we're almost three months in?"

When asked directly, Zimmerman refused to rule out escalating the war by putting boots on the ground in Iran.

"We owe the American people honesty and transparency almost three months in. It is pathetic," concluded Ryan.

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