Durbin Delivers Floor Speech On Trump’s War Of Choice In Iran

Durbin Delivers Floor Speech On Trump's War Of Choice In Iran

Durbin: "The mess we find ourselves in today is one the President has helped create through his narcissism, impulsiveness, crude threats, and lack of planning."

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor today criticizing President Trump's unclear strategy when it comes to his war of choice in Iran. Durbin began his speech by reflecting on legislation he co-led 20 years ago, the Iran Counter Proliferation Act, which included significant tightening of petroleum-related sanctions. Key parts of the bill eventually became law and helped push Iran to the negotiating table over its genuinely dangerous nuclear program.

"Those tough sanctions and unified allied pressure-including from Russia and China-led to an agreement that contained Iran's nuclear program with aggressive international inspections. I remember hosting the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General many times in the ensuing years, where he provided me with updates that the inspections, while sometimes contentious, were in fact working," Durbin said.

"During those years, I also met directly with Iranian officials to discuss this agreement, to push them to end their support for regional proxies, and to help return missing and detained Americans in Iran. So, I am not naïve about the Iranian regime's threat to the region and even its own people. And while the nuclear agreement wasn't perfect then, it was working-and it allowed us to confront Iran on its other troubling behavior without the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon. We made progress," Durbin continued.

During his first term, President Trump walked away from that historic agreement and replaced it with nothing. The President's approach did not stop Iran from pursuing its nuclear program-but it did undermine the coalition the U.S. had created to counter Iran's nuclear aspirations.

"The mess we find ourselves in today… is one the President has helped create through his narcissism, impulsiveness, crude threats, and lack of planning… We find ourselves facing a set of easily predictable policy problems despite the stunning skill and bravery of America's military. The belligerent regime in Iran has not fallen," Durbin said.

"Iran continues to rebuild its military capabilities and threaten our troops, interests, and allies across the region. The Strait of Hormuz, which had largely been free and open for the last several decades, is now being held hostage by the remaining Iranian regime-one that is brazenly still threatening ships and charging outrageous tolls for safe passage," Durbin said.

Durbin then spoke about the rise in gas prices since we entered the war.

Durbin continued, "The increase in gas prices, now more than $4 per gallon, may be too much for many to bear. While Americans suffer under higher prices, our adversaries are reaping the profits. The increase in global oil prices-and the desperate easing of some oil sanctions by Trump-has been a gift to Russian President Putin who relies on these revenues to fund his bloody war against Ukraine… And let's not forget that Putin, who continues to snub President Trump's attempts to end the war in Ukraine, has also been helping [Iran] target American interests in the Gulf."

Durbin concluded, "We desperately need a coherent plan to end this war-one that addresses the remaining highly enriched uranium still in Iran. We need a plan that stabilizes the U.S. and global economy and makes sure any further war is only done so with the consent of Congress… That is why I will support Senator Duckworth's War Powers resolution which will be on the floor this week. If there was ever a reminder of the importance of the Constitution for the role of its selected representatives, it is in the declaration of war. This current mess reminds us that those who wrote the Constitution had real wisdom and those who are executing the plans for this war have not demonstrated that feature."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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