(Originally published in The Times of Israel)
Predictably, and sadly, partisan
posturing did not abate even when it came to something as serious as the United
States’ bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
With a few notable exceptions such as
Senator John Fetterman and Congress Member Ritchie Torres, Democratic officials
could not bring themselves to unequivocally declare that partially or
completely destroying the nuclear capabilities of a fanatical regime that has promised
to destroy Israel and that considers the U.S. a mortal enemy was a good thing.
The
bombing of the nuclear facilities was a historic act for the good of the world.
The Democrats should have supported it wholeheartedly. Then they could have expressed their misgivings
about the War Powers Act, and then they could have emphasized what a disaster they
believe Trump is in all other respects.
That
would have been the right position on policy, and the right position
morally. There is a very good
possibility that it would have eventually proven to be the right position
politically.
Instead,
ignoring the fact that presidents of both parties have not sought Congressional
approval for military action on many occasions when they deemed it unnecessary
or inconvenient, they harped on the Trump Administration’s failure to seek Congress’
consent.
President
Trump, being true to form, did not help matters by not briefing the Democratic
members of the “Big Eight,” the group of senior members of Congress who
traditionally receive briefings when the government is about to engage in
military action.
Within
hours of the bombings, many Democratic legislators, with virtually no concrete
evidence yet at hand, quickly pronounced it a failure because, they alleged, it
only set Iran’s nuclear bomb development by two months.
Again,
it did not help matters when President Trump, also long before receiving conclusive
evidence, claimed the bombing “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities.
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