Below is my column on Fox.com on the legal authority for Operation Epic Fury. There are good-faith arguments that such attacks should require declarations of war. However, President Donald Trump can rely on his predecessors, including Presidents Clinton, Obama, and Biden for the authority to carry out these attacks.
Here is the column:
With the launch of the attacks on Iran, some have already declared the action unconstitutional. That includes the immediate condemnation of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). The precedent, however, favors the President in this action, though the attack triggers obligations of notice and consultation with Congress.
I am sympathetic to those who criticize the failure to seek declarations of war from Congress before carrying out such operations. Indeed, I have represented members of Congress in opposing such wars. We lost. The courts have allowed presidents to order such attacks unilaterally.
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states that “the President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states.” However, the Constitution also expressly states that Congress has the power to declare war under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11.
Our last declared war was World War II. Since that time, Congress and the courts have allowed for resolutions to supplant the declaration requirement. They have also allowed for unilateral attacks on other nations.
President Trump has referred to this action as a “war” and said that it will not be a limited operation.
The attack will result in calls for compliance with the War Powers Resolution, passed by Congress in 1973.
The resolution requires “in the absence of a declaration of war” that a president report to Congress within 48 hours after introducing United States military forces into hostilities. The WPR mandates that operations must end within 60 days absent congressional approval.
Notably, there was a recent secret briefing of the “Gang of Eight” that may have included a foreshadowing of this operation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Saturday that he has given notice to those senators.
Under the WPR:
“The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, and after every such introduction shall consult regularly with the Congress until United States Armed Forces are no longer engaged in hostilities or have been removed from such situations.”
The WPR limits such authority to “hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances,” and can be exercised “only pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”
President Trump has cited the documented attacks of Iran and its proxies on U.S. forces and its allies. It is also a state sponsor of terrorism and has continued to seek nuclear weapons in defiance of the demands of the international community. Recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that Iran had again barred it from these sites.
There has historically been deference to presidents exercising such judgments under this vague standard. That was certainly the case with the attacks in countries such as Libya under Democratic presidents.
Even with the highly deferential language, presidents have long chaffed at the limitations of WPR. Nixon’s veto of the legislation was overridden. Past Democratic and Republican presidents, including Obama, have asserted their inherent authority under Article II to carry out such operations.
There is always a fair amount of hypocrisy in these moments. There was no widespread outcry when Obama attacked Libya, particularly from Democrats. When I represented members to challenge the undeclared war in Libya, Obama (like Trump) dismissed any need to get congressional approval in attacking the capital city of a foreign nation and military sites to force regime change. Figures like then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were lionized for their tough action in Libya.
Recently, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) sponsored a resolution to bar President Donald Trump from taking military action in Iran without congressional approval. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) proposed a similar resolution. Neither was passed.
Critics can also rely on Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs) to assert limits on the president when authorizing limited, defined military actions. Such resolutions date back to the Adams Administration in the Quasi-War with France.
A 2001 AUMF authorized the President “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.” It also authorized presidents to take military action to prevent future acts of terrorism against the United States.
The 2002 AUMF authorizes the President to use “necessary and appropriate” force to “defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq.” Past presidents have interpreted these AUMFs to extend to new threats and beyond countries like Iraq.
In a 2018 report, the Trump Administration declared that the 2002 AUMF “contains no geographic limitation on where authorized force may be employed.”
Obama, Biden, and Trump have cited the 2002 AUMF as supporting past attacks in Syria. The Biden attacks included targets in Iraq and Yemen. Trump also cited the 2002 AUMF in taking out Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.
President Biden’s reliance on the 2002 AUMF (and the 2001 AUMF) for “necessary and proportionate” attacks was ironic since he previously supported rescinding the 2002 AUMF.
The Administration is likely to continue to consult with Congress in light of these attacks. Sixty days is an ample initial period for the prosecution of Operation Epic Fury, particularly given the Administration’s disinclination to commit ground troops.
Congress can seek to bar or limit operations in the coming days. Given the fluid events, many members are likely to wait to watch the initial results and, frankly, the polling on the attacks. However, these operations could take days or even weeks. The longer the operation continues, the calls for congressional action will likely increase.
As an initial matter, however, Trump is using authority that prior presidents, including Democratic presidents, have cited in carrying out major attacks on other countries. History and prior precedent are on his side in carrying out these initial attacks.
There are two ways to view Massie and Khanna’s resolution to bar the President from using force in Iran. First is the way Turkey characterized it… “ it failed to pass”. The other is that Congress specifically rejected their proposal to limit the President’s authority, which sort of opens the door.
Lin,
“(1) Our founding fathers originally proposed that Congress had the Constitutional authority to “make war.”” -Lin
That was 250 years ago.
The War declared in the wee hours of this morning, is proof that what “Our founding fathers originally proposed” is no longer relevant period,
in the face of the ‘Central Control System’s’ agenda.
Every Nation State is under siege of this machine.
See what Catherine Fitts has to say : https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-catherine-fitts-022726
Here’s the rest of the quote that you left out.
“It was later changed to “declare war.” That distinction and the change, I will leave to others to explore, but my point is made.”
“Crazy Abe” Lincoln unconstitutionally denied fully constitutional secession, declared war, imposed martial law, suspended habeas corpus, failed to enforce American immigration law, installed an inimical 4-million-man foreign army on U.S. soil, failed to compassionately repatriate long-suffering abductees, and prosecuted his “Reign of Terror.”
And he knew it most of his life.
To wit,
“If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.”
– “Crazy Abe” Lincoln, Lyceum Address, 1838
Dear Prof Turley,
Fair enough. The Democrats may nit-pick about the Methods Trump employs in Operation Epic Fury .. . but they seem to be fully on-board with the Madness.
If you approve of Trump’s Epic Fury, you can thank Joe Biden .. . who they wheeled out to make a few timely gaffs about the State of The Union recently.
They should call it Operation Epic Scam.
*Pro-Peace Ticket my A**. .. I want my money back.
https://x.com/GOP/status/1853537733479686309/photo/1
DG
What about O-dumber and his war with Libya?
Make up you’re mind dg.
Yet another questionable war launched by the so-called president of peace. MAGA cult members will justify *anything* Trump does.
Right. All that to secure your family’s future and freedoms. If you don’t want that, then move to Iran. . They’d hang you and your ideology in minutes.
But you could always go the Canada. They make a point of taking in illegals.
Anonymous was standing on the highest tower to support the protesters in Minneapolis.
It was the end of the world when a woman was killed because she rammed an ICE officer with her car.
Their world exploded when a guy with a gun in his waistband interfered in an ICE operation.
But wait. Nary a word is spoken in defense of the protesters in Iran. Estimates of protesters killed in Iran during the 2025–2026 uprising vary widely due to government censorship, with some reports suggesting over 30,000 to 36,500+ deaths. Human rights groups have confirmed thousands of casualties, with reports indicating it is one of the largest massacres in modern Iranian history.
One has to believe that thousands of children lost their parents who were brave enough to protest but our leftist friends have somehow lost their compassion for “The Children” they profess to love with all their heart and soul. Bad people are bad people.
Why am I not surprised that the insane leftist on this forum have come out in defense of Iran.
They tell us that poor Iran is innocent of any wrong doing.
Saudi Arabia say Iran launched a ‘blatant and cowardly’ attack on Riyadh and eastern region that it repelled. Iran launches attacks across Middle East after US and Israel strikes on leadership sites.
Iran is hated by many countries in the middle east. Does anyone believe that Irans neighbors will feel safe
If Iran has a nuclear weapon? As usual our leftist commentators on this forum show the shallowness of their understanding brought on by their hatred of anything Trump.
https://wtop.com/world/2026/02/saudi-arabia-say-iran-launched-a-blatant-and-cowardly-attack-on-riyadh-and-eastern-region-that-it-repelled/
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn5ge95q6y7t?page=3
Leftists here? We’ve been attacked. Call out the military. Leftists on your blog. On nooooo…. we’re doomed.
The best you can answer about your lack of compassion for the slaughter of Iranian protesters is
“Oh no leftist on this blog.” This is what you say but you won’t give a response to the question I asked concerning your lack of compassion for Iranians murdered in the streets and their children being made orphans. We get it. Your self aggrandizement is more important than the people of Iran whose blood covered the streets. Yes you are indeed a leftist and we have come to know you very well. Amorality is the absence of, indifference toward, or disregard for moral principles. Amorality be thy name.
Sooooo pleased that the good professor has immediately addressed this new development before media propaganda takes hold.
THANK YOU PROFESSOR TURLEY.
I only add the following (and I do so as an ordinary lay person who offers no expert opinion as to the need, justification, or efficacy):
(1) Our founding fathers originally proposed that Congress had the Constitutional authority to “make war.” It was later changed to “declare war.” That distinction and the change, I will leave to others to explore, but my point is made.
(2) The parallels between the language involving Obama’s action against Libya in 2011 and Trump’s current action are remarkable.
Obama sideswept the 3 exceptions in WPR/WPA language cited above (for advance congressional approval) by declaring his action as a necessity to protect “U.S. interests” (and to protect the people of Libya, declared by the UN as needing protection). Obama also defended that his action did not require congressional approval because it was “kinetic military action,” not war (B. Rhodes speech).
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/19/remarks-president-libya
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/iran-un-experts-demand-transparency-and-accountability-following-nationwide
(3) Media immediately jumped on Democrats’ response to this “abhorrent” action by Trump, interviewing multiple anti-Trump enthusiasts. Virtually all of them referred to Trump’s action as against the wishes and support of “the American people.” I note this newer tactic of Democrats as intended to provoke and foment the voting population–since THE VERY PURPOSE of our form of government being a REPUBLIC, was to elect persons in Congress who know a little bit more than we do.
(4) Of course, media also jumped on the first Republican to hit the media, Rep. Thomas Massie, (working very hard for visibility in the media in his yet-undeclared effort toward presidential endeavor). (My neighbor refers to Thomas Massie without the M in his surname.)
(5). Whether you believe in a higher/heavenly authority or not, let us all think, pray, or hope (your choice) for palpable success in this mission and that our military members stay safe.
https://www.factcheck.org/2011/03/obama-on-war-then-and-now/
How odd. So called Factcheck doesn’t say zip about what happened to the black people of Libya after the war.
They were turned into slaves for other Arab nations.
Great job O-dumber
“Sooooo pleased that the good professor …” What? Turley adds nothing to the news. Turley writes opinion, not reportage.
If you are looking for news, go elsewhere.
While I share your concerns about media ‘propaganda’, lin, actually I was rather shocked by the absence of news about Trump’s Operation Epic Fury. No ‘breaking news’ banners .. . just few Democrats (& Rep. Massie R Ky.) putting up any resistance at all.
>”Whether you believe in a higher/heavenly authority or not, let us all think, pray, or hope (your choice) for palpable success in this mission and that our military members stay safe.”
Since the dawn of civilization, the only legal and moral justification for the use of force has always been ‘self-defense’ .. . and I certainly don’t think we will ‘successfully’ claim that in this ‘mission’ of Epic Fury.
Time will tell.
*Massie for President 2026 .. . imagine that, me voting for a Republican!
Turley is correct about precedent established by recent Democratic occupants (in one case a more accurate term might be “occupier”…) of the WH. That of itself says noting about it’s Constitutionality. I don’t take much from the change from “make” to “declare”. I strongly suspect that was done to prevent a President from being handcuffed in the event of a concerted military attack on the domestic US by being forced to wait for a part-time Congress to return sufficient legislators to DC to pass a declaration, not to enable a President to engage in foreign attacks on a whim. If the exclusive power to both initiate and conduct a war lies with POTUS, what would be the need and use of a declaration in any event? Frankly, while I have broadly, if at times reluctantly, supporting most of Trump’s actions as President. I don’t particularly care for this one on either principle or practical merit. WRT the practical: If we have actually wiped out the leadership of Iran, and in the process prevented any effective organized military response, done so with effectively zero US casualties, and paved the way for a change to a more secular regime that is less opposed to US interests and to the continued existence of Israel, this could be a big win. But I am constrained to point out the vast discrepancy between that description and any recent war that the US involved itself in. Anything less that that will imo will hand the midterm election results to the Democrats on a silver platter. Just yesterday the Omani ambassador was saying that Iran was prepared to make major concessions to the point of completely abandoning uranium enrichment in order to avoid an attack, and I saw no refutation of that from our side. Now today Trump is saying that they weren’t negotiating in good faith. That may be true, it would be typical of Iran, but those optics are terrible unless we have a slam dunk class success in this operation.
wish I had time to address your thoughtful comment but gotta go, except to say real fast that almost a year ago, international assessment concluded that Iran had, what,? @60% already enriched? and could get to 90% pretty fast. No time to look up now, but I’m pretty sure those were the percentages of that, and also, the question about movement to different locations, not the sites “obliterated;” and do we know what assistance it may be getting?
so, I am assuming that U.S. knows more than you and I, irrespective of Trump’s surficial aggressive stance.
Lin
U.S. interests” (and to protect the people of Libya,
_____________________________
Yes O-dumber sure protected the people of Libya………………… The were turned into Black slaves to other Arab countries.
Remember a Black American Prez did that. What a guy!
I don’t question the legality of the current strikes. I do question the wisdom.
Why? Negotiations with Iran have been useless and only providing time for them to continue developing nukes. We also might have intel that they aren’t sharing.
What would you suggest?
Holy hell Turley. The Constitution and federal law are crystal clear: the president can not start a war without Congressional authorization. Past violations of this do not in any way legalize future violations.
Don’t be an ass. Fulminating on this site like some petulant child accomplishes nothing. Call your senator or representative. In the mean time sit, down and do your mouthing off in support of our young men and women.
I support the troops by not wanting them to engage in illegal wars.
War? What war? Its an engagement, in fact supported by liberal Canada (of course they’re not sending troop; but would rather euthanized their population).
Federal taw is only relevant to the extent that it is constitutional.
But I agree that the constitution requires congressional authorization, Turley agrees, the courts do not.
Past “violations” that the courts have found constitutional are not violations they are precedent.
This has never been tested in court.
It’s all about oil. First Venezuela, now Iran. Trump would attack Russia, one of the other large oil-producing countries in the world, except they have nukes and could blow the US off the face of the earth. Trump and his advisors have convinced themselves their role is to secure all of the oil in the world for the United States. Israel, which was founded by Marxists who migrated there from Eastern Europe, just hates everybody. Trump is no different than any other Democrat – he was one, you know, until he, like Ronald Reagan, switched parties (sort of.) Thomas Massie is a lunatic. The man is now saying Epstein is still alive. The death of his wife affected him mentally and he’s gone off the deep end.
Yeah, yeah, it is all about oil is exactly what the terror loving leftists screamed at W Bush and yet we never seemed to have gotten all of that oil???? Odd that you have no issue with China cozying up to Iran, Venezuela and Russia?? Odd that you had no issue with the Mullahs killing 30,000 citizens in a month?
Please explain your line “Israel hates everyone”. Your diatribe is non-sensical.
Of course an idiot like you thinks it about freedom. Were you born that way?
It is about oil, it is about national security, it is about russia – merely precluding Iran from providing Russia with Munitions alters the balance in the Ukrainne war to favor Ukraine. It is about long term peace and stability in the mideast.
it is about Israel, it is about the Irainian people.
It is also about Trump’s legacy – he hopes to leave the world demonstrably more peaceful than he found it.
It is about many things.
“It is also about Trump’s legacy – he hopes to leave the world demonstrably more peaceful than he found it.”
If this isn’t prosecuted in such a way that it can be brought to a swift and completely successful end, his legacy could be restoring the Democratic Party to complete control of Fedgov.
@Samuel
How can you be so callous? My wife and I have Iranian friends who have hope for their country for the first time in their lives. Get off your privileged high horse.
And a parallel: I feel that what the Ayotalla’s regime did in Iran in 1979 is precisely what the modern left are trying to do to the Western world in 2026.
And incidentally, it was dems who had a sweetheart deal with Iran; it was one of the first things Biden reinstated. You bet they’ll be pissed seeing their machinations literally going up in smoke, and cornered animal that they are, they will panic and bite.
No Samuel it’s not all about oil. Iran has supported terrorism attacks on Americans.
The international community has proved that the leaders of Iran have lied about
nuclear enrichment to a level that could be used for only a nuclear weapon. International intelligence
has verified the employment of centrifuges used for making a nuclear bomb by Iran.
You can have all the oil in the world but when one of these weapons is dropped on an American city
The oil won’t bring back your incinerated brother, sister or child.
Your partial naive understanding of the real world is well noted.
This argument is old, tied and lame.
No one asked you to join in.
Everything is about oil. Whoever controls it, makes the rules.
Let me know when the Supreme Leader has been eliminated.
By the way, France should be helping. After all, the original Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini lived in exile in Neauphle-le-Château, a suburb of Paris, France, from October 1978 to February 1979. During this brief four-month period, he utilized the French media to spread revolutionary messages via cassette tapes into Iran.
France has no obligation to assist the USA in a criminal act. Now if congress declared war, then they would. But attacking an old man is the reason, then I say you warmongers are well, just warmongers.
Hey Anonymous, have you ever declared any actions of the Mullahs as criminal?
Me declare? Declare? Are you intentionally being stupid?
HullBobby,
Ever notice the anonys have never been right about anything?
You are the kind of person who would prosecute a person stopping a rapist because they had an unregistered weapon.
Is that an analogy or are you just plain stupid?
How is this a criminal act? Are the rules suddenly different for Trump?
And Jimmy Carter helped him gain power after the Shah became too ill to govern.
So what.
To understand what Iran represents to the Council of the Tribal Principles (The true Puppet Masters), watch this interview of Tucker Carlson with Catherine Fitts.
The Epstein files are a White-Wash, Clintons et.al. (Brennan, Comey, Wray,.. The List) will suffer ‘No Consequences’. The – ‘Global World is not a Democracy’ –
The “Central Control System” is growing through the pains of Birth for now. All of Humanity is being indoctrinated into it’s Data Repository.
The work of Catherine Austin Fitts, is particularly regarding her efforts to promote transactional freedom and local economic resilience against the “central control” system, the three core principles (or pillars) she often highlights are:
Transaction Neutrality: Ensuring consumers can spend their money without hidden constraints, surveillance, or restrictions encoded into the payment system.
Transparency: Requiring clear, public understanding of how payment rules are applied, who sets them, and where money is flowing, specifically opposing the secrecy surrounding central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and related financial technologies.
Local Control: Maximizing the ability of communities to manage their own financial resources, fostering local economic optimization, and ensuring fiscal policy remains accountable to locally elected representatives rather than distant, centralized authorities.
Iran and the BRIC partners do not fall into the Central Control System protocol, thus the War of Regime Change is about bringing Iran into the Central Control System.
(Your eyes are ‘Open Wide Shut’ – Just see the Video)
Catherine Fitts: Epstein, CIA Black Budget, the Control Grid, and the Banks’ Role in War
Programmable digital currency is the final piece of the global control grid that’s finally snapping into place. Catherine Austin Fitts on how to defeat it.
By: Tucker Carlson – TCN • February 27th 2026 • 109 mins
https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-catherine-fitts-022726
Tucker Carlson? Zero credibility.
^^^ Guess your wrong Bad-Anon ^^^
Israel-U.S. Bombings of Iran have begun – all according to the Central Control System plan.
Tucker and Fitts hit the nail on the head, precisely on time!
See: https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-catherine-fitts-022726
Again, Carlson is your bible? Poor old fool.
And There You Have It: (see the Tucker-Fitts Video and you will know why)
Live updates: Tehran launches retaliatory strikes as Trump calls for regime change
U.S. President Donald Trump has appealed to the Iranian people to “take over your government.”
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – 7:11 AM PST, February 28, 2026
https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026
Interactive Map: https://iran.liveuamap.com/
Tucker Carlson went off the deep end months ago.
Trump’s Art of The Deal turns into Trump’s Art of War, while Peace Through Strength shifts into War Through Strength and no hand-wringing, WMD explaining, coalition-building at the U.N. for months on end this time around. Shouldn’t Democrats exult that the U.S. has opened up a second front against Russia by attacking their steadfast ally? Certainly Russia will demand an end to war with Ukraine now. Unfortunately our Congress manages War Declarations as effectively as they do Tariffs and Immigration (and most everything else they’re charged with, dithering, dealmaking, and delegating).
Turley may cite precedent, but the reality is that the U.S. just launched an unprovoked attack on Iran to fight a war Israel couldn’t handle alone. Trump called a “war”. Obama’s military actions in Libya and Syria were by no means long term operations or “wars”. They were short calculated strikes. That is the distinction Turley carefully omits. This “Operation Epic Fury” betrays the “no war” promise and risks a global energy crisis if the Strait of Hormuz is closed. Between Trump’s aggression and Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s disastrous diplomacy, we’ve lost the regional support needed to manage the fallout.
Military success is far from guaranteed. Air strikes are hideously expensive and logistically fragile; with only two carrier groups and potentially restricted airspace from allies like Qatar, the U.S. is overextended. Instead of bringing security, this unprovoked aggression validates Iran’s need for nuclear deterrence. Much like North Korea, Iran now sees nuclear weapons as their only path to survival—a development that will ultimately end Israel’s era of regional dominance.
This is going to come back and bite Trump hard and Bibi will once again have succeeded in goading us to do their dirty work at OUR expense.
Several oil shipments have already stopped traffic through the strait. The strait is already a conflict zone. Price of oil is already climbing and it is not inconceivable that it will reach $100 a barrel if Trump continues the bombing. Say good-bye to cheap gas for a while. We can only sustain price spikes for a few months at least. But they will spike to record levels. Along with the tariffs, and already high grocery prices it’s going to cost all of us more. Furthermore, supplying those carriers in that region is much more difficult and dangerous. We can only maintain high tempo bombing for 3 or 4 days before carriers need to be resupplied with ammo and fuel for jets. Weeks if they choose a lower tempo, but that leaves them vulnerable to land-sea missile and drone attacks. What a mess this will be. Trump just bought us another costly war.
George, do you have a point? Your leftwing diatribes lack coherence.
Lots of blah, blah, blah that we could have gotten from watching Maddow.
Beginning to like you Walt.
“Turley may cite precedent, but the reality is that the U.S. just launched an unprovoked attack on Iran to fight a war Israel couldn’t handle alone. ”
Israel probably could handle this alone.
This is no more unprovoked than invading Iraq, or ….
“Trump called a “war”. Obama’s military actions in Libya and Syria were by no means long term operations or “wars”. They were short calculated strikes. ”
US involvement in Syria continues through today – the mess that resulted in libya continues through today.
We have no idea how long these attacks will last, nor what the long term results will be.
“That is the distinction Turley carefully omits.”
Because there is no disinction.
“This “Operation Epic Fury” betrays the “no war” promise and risks a global energy crisis if the Strait of Hormuz is closed.”
The straight will likely be closed briefly. But not long.
There will be no global energy crisis.
“Between Trump’s aggression and Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s disastrous diplomacy, we’ve lost the regional support needed to manage the fallout.”
We will see, Much of the mideast wants the status quo to continue because … oil. Iran’s output has been limited by sanctions.
Further the rest of the mideast may want regime change in iran but not through popular revolt – they do not want their own people getting ideas and not through foreign intervention – mostly they would prefer the status quo – with less terrorism and less threat of Iran becoming a nuclear power.
Regardless, Trump does far better in the mideast than Biden did.
“Military success is far from guaranteed.”
Depends on what you define as success.
” Air strikes are hideously expensive and logistically fragile; with only two carrier groups and potentially restricted airspace from allies like Qatar, the U.S. is overextended.”
Two Carrier Battle Groups is a MASSIVE amount of power. Ford while equipedd with older aircraft is the newest carrier, and has EMALS allowing a 30% higher sortie rate and less stress on airframes. Thi sis the most advanced airpower we have had in the mideast ever.
There are many variables – including how quickly we can take out Iran’s capacity to attack the Lincoln – the Ford is in the Med and Iran is not going to be able to reach her. But most trustworthy estimates I have heard says we can sustain about 6 weeks of operations.
” Instead of bringing security, this unprovoked aggression validates Iran’s need for nuclear deterrence. Much like North Korea, Iran now sees nuclear weapons as their only path to survival—a development that will ultimately end Israel’s era of regional dominance.”
Iran was always going to try to get a Nuke. Israel was never going to let Iran get a nuke.
“This is going to come back and bite Trump hard and Bibi will once again have succeeded in goading us to do their dirty work at OUR expense.”
It might. We will have to see.
“Several oil shipments have already stopped traffic through the strait. The strait is already a conflict zone. Price of oil is already climbing”
Yes,
“it is not inconceivable that it will reach $100 a barrel if Trump continues the bombing.”
Maybe
“Say good-bye to cheap gas for a while. We can only sustain price spikes for a few months at least.”
We can sustain a prive spike forever – we just do not want to .
” But they will spike to record levels.”
Unlikely.
“Along with the tariffs, and already high grocery prices it’s going to cost all of us more.”
Breifly
“Furthermore, supplying those carriers in that region is much more difficult and dangerous.”
There have been two carriers in that region for most of the 21st century.
” We can only maintain high tempo bombing for 3 or 4 days before carriers need to be resupplied with ammo and fuel for jets. Weeks if they choose a lower tempo, but that leaves them vulnerable to land-sea missile and drone attacks. What a mess this will be. Trump just bought us another costly war.”
There is little doubt Trump is betting his presidency and Republican control of congress that he can end this quickly.
If you are correct – he will be handicapped for the rest of his presidency – that is what you want isn’t it ?
John Say,
“If you are correct – he will be handicapped for the rest of his presidency – that is what you want isn’t it ?”
What I want? No. It’s what Trump will bring on himself and the Republican Party. We are just repeating the same mistakes we made in Iraq. Iran is no Iraq and definitely not as easy. Trump broke his promise of no more wars. Israel will once again benefit at a huge expense to us.
Trumps unprovoked attack will be seen as it is. An unprovoked attack that will have long running repercussions in the future and tie future presidents to another Middle East quagmire.
He started a war without an exit strategy of how to deal with the repercussions. Typical of Republican presidents.
“the Ford is in the Med and Iran is not going to be able to reach her.”
Once again, you speak from a place of ignorance regarding militaries. . The Ford is 900 miles from Tehran. The Lincoln, while some 600 miles from the southern coast, is 1300 miles from Tehran.
Nevertheless, Iran has missiles that can reach both distances, such as the Kheibar, and even some of their hypersonics are out to 2000km now.
The ability to wage war without a declaration of war goes all the way back to 1941. FDR had the US Atlantic Fleet wage an undeclared war against German U-Boats to the mid Atlantic. There were sinkings of American Destroyers and loss of life, all occurring before 12/7/1941.
We did not declare war on Germany until after they declared war on us on 12/11/1941.
Adm Earnest King was commander of the US Atlantic Fleet during this period, later becoming Chief of Naval Operations, and Commander-in-Chief US Fleet.
Spare us the history lesson. Which BTW, you have wrong.
OK then, so what is the real history.
You asked, you answer. Ok?
FDR was a big believer in clandestine warfare. He did a lot of things without Congressional approval or the knowledge of the American people. What you are talking about was not an attack on U-boats, it was using US Navy ships to escort convoys across the Atlantic.
Really? So clandestine that no one knows about it but you. At least use facts. Sourced too.
Anonymous11:39 AM – USS Reuben James DD-245 Torpedoed and sunk by U-552 on 10/31/1941. Naval History and Heritage Command.
Noted in Wikepedia and History of United States Naval Operations in WW 2, 14 Volumes. Samuel Eliot Morrison
Very well known event.
Really surprised you don’t know anything about it.
You are surprised by his ignorance??? You must be new here.
Which resulted in military confilict with u-boats.
John Say-Correct. US ships were convoying ships to the mid Atlantic and then turning over those convoys to the British and Canadiens. American Ships were attacked and fought back.
And Fleet Admiral.
“History and prior precedent” don’t mean squat to leftist hyenas who only care about getting rid of Orange Man Bad.
walt, please, asked you before, when quoting, give the source.
My source is the last sentence in Turley”s op-ed.
Then note buddy.
May God bless our military. I have heard the GQ klaxon at 3 a.m. in the Persian Gulf followed by “This is not a drill.” That will clear your mind in a hurry.
You dirty war monger.
Spare us the war stories old man.
GTH
A ha! More conservatize pottymouth-ness. Shame on you Walt.
Putin-esque characterizations of any and all military action are apparently enough to skirt the Constitution across presidencies. Law and order = hilarious.
(Does the prestigious FIFA Peace Prize mean nothing?)
Separately: down with totalitarian theocracy, at home and abroad.
Everyone. When you look at some of the folks who got the Peace Prize.
It’s been a joke for a very long time.
Like say Yasser Arafat or O-dumber.
what peace prize. there are many of them.
Nobel.
Nobel what?
I am a retired Army Medical Officer. I was on duty from the Vietnam War through the second Gulf War, 1967 through 2009. I have two comments Firstly, one thing that became crystal clear during my time was that world events no longer evolved in time frames that gave the United States the luxury of waiting for the slowest legislature in the world, by design, to respond. Like it or not, someone has to be empowered to respond quickly. Secondly, more recently one of our political parties has become 100% adversarial. No matter how necessary an action may be, if it is proposed by any member of the other party they will oppose it. There is no overwhelming problem there. However, and it is a huge however, they will leak it to their propaganda hungry media even though it places American military and civilians in immediate harms way. The result of this unethical approach necessarily has to be that the President involve as few people as possible in planning and executing military actions. Not one Democrat can be trusted to maintain security of anything that they learn.
We’re in a very different century.
There was no US military action during those years that was needed, much less ones that could not wait for Congress.
This is a well reasoned statement. More postings like this would greatly improve this site. Im tired of reading intellectual garbage mostly from the left. Pray for our armed forces and the Iraqi and Israeli people.
Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective.
Remarkably, Iran is like the ancient Persians, distributing power centers all over the country. However, the US/Israeli attack was identical to that of Alexander the Great. Chop off the head first, Darius III for Alexander and the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei now. Hope it works. History repeats itself even over 2,500 years
Says the guy who never served.
And you know how?
He wrote about it .
Ano
we are talking about this fool
_____________________
Says the guy who never served.
Oh dustoff, stop playing hide n seek. Using different anons to comment is a child’s game.
Your point?
So you can’t answer. can ya.
And your point?
Typical answer. A question with another question…
Bet that wore out that pea brain of yours.
Obviously harder on you, wracking an empty head to come up with a stupid comment.
You can’t spell of write. Can ya?
Anonymous you are a child parasite who really is just a jacka**.
Hey now Hullbobby. Even a jackazz has a purpose. (-:
LOL
So says the spawn of a dog.
I didn’t write this,
Proper grammar, you did write that. has your moniker.
Ah ha! The Local drunk has arisen. Did you just perform a sex act on yourself? Wonders never cease.
Persia/Iran has been a problem for centuries and for the last 47 years it has been a cancer on the world. It is about time that they were excised and made to pay for their atrocities. How many Americans should be killed by a foreign nation before we act? How many US Presidents should be threatened with assassination before we cut the head off the attacker?
Iran killed 30,000 of their own citizens in about a month and the phony Jew haters on campus didn’t say a word. The phony Jew haters in Congress wore no buttons. The phonies in the media didn’t make a stink. It is time for the fascist Islamic Theocrats in Tehran to be gone.
Hard work coming up with that fairy tale. Try harder.
Both parties always trot out their Congressional Authority Show Pony anytime a President takes military action. The Gang of Morons and Country Club Members thinks the Universe revolves around them. If that were the case the Universe was dead a long time ago from this bunch of tinker-around-the-edges types that care more about their stock trades and showboating for their low IQ voters.
Hail Caesar, he has arisen!
Where ya been for the last 2,000 years?