In an editorial, the New York Times says:

With opposing military forces in such proximity [the Gulf of Oman], with accusations and munitions flying and with the White House facing a trust deficit, the danger of open conflict increases by the day. Which is why, if Mr. Trump and the Warhawk Caucus — led by the national security adviser, John Bolton; the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo; and Senator Tom Cotton — want a wider military conflict with Iran, they first need to persuade Congress and receive its approval.

Mission creep has unfortunately become standard operating procedure for the Pentagon in the post-9/11 world, and it is long past time that the legislative branch reclaimed its central role in overseeing war waged in the name of the American people.

There are encouraging signs that Capitol Hill is reasserting its authority. Against the wishes of the president, the Senate voted Thursday to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia for its proxy war with Iran being waged in Yemen.

The House of Representatives also this week voted to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force as part of a $1 trillion spending bill. The 18-year-old authorization does not permit the opening of a new conflict with Iran in 2019, despite efforts by the administration to convince a skeptical Congress that Iran is somehow allied with Al Qaeda.

Linking Al Qaeda to a despotic Middle East regime was exactly the pretext that the George W. Bush administration used to invade Iraq, with catastrophic results. It would insult the intelligence of every American for the Trump administration to attempt the same gambit.

Mr. Trump drew his own line against acting without congressional approval in a tweet back in 2013, after regime forces in Syria launched a series of chemical weapons attacks: “The President must get Congressional approval before attacking Syria — big mistake if he does not!” [Continue reading…]