Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., has condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to initiate military strikes against nuclear weapon processing sites in Iran.
The minority leader of the House Armed Services Committee posted, "I condemn in the strongest terms the President’s decision to order the U.S. military to strike Iran’s nuclear sites."
Smith complained in his post that Trump did not consult with Democratic lawmakers to get their input on the decision to order the military into action against Iran. "The President did not seek authorization from Congress or demonstrate that Iran posed an immediate threat to the security of the United States."
Trump ordered military strikes against Iran’s nuclear material processing sites on Saturday after Israel opened its military strikes against Iran on June 12. The strikes followed a long period of stalled and failed negotiations to get Iran to abandon its attempt to build nuclear weapons.
Smith said, in essence, Trump failed to do his job. "The President failed to provide clear objectives for these actions," he said. "And there are no guarantees that it will eliminate the possibility of Iran developing a nuclear weapon or how long it might set their program back."
He warned that Trump’s actions have put the U.S. in a precarious position. "The path that the President has chosen risks unleashing a wider war in the region that is both incredibly unpredictable and treacherous." Smith added that the security of the world is now threatened.
Smith told MSNBC that he questioned Trump’s assessment of the effectiveness of the strikes and said they were "not necessarily the death blow" to the nuclear program that Trump had claimed in a message to the nation Saturday night.
Trump proclaimed that Iran, "the bully of the Middle East, must make peace."
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