Senator Murphy: Trump administration "absolutely incompetent" in Iran war
The Democrat warns against fighting the Houthis on Saudi Arabia's behalf after the Riyadh attack. Trump leaves US involvement open – three weeks before the midterms.
Archive image · Photo: United States Senate / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy has sharply criticised President Donald Trump's administration over its conduct of the war with Iran. "This administration is absolutely incompetent in war-making," the Connecticut senator said on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. What he saw on the ground, he said, was "a war that is spiraling out of control". "If the Trump administration was trying to lose this war, they couldn't do worse than they are doing," Murphy said.
Murphy argued against the US retaliating on Saudi Arabia's behalf for the deadly attack on Riyadh airport, saying a war with the Houthis would escalate the conflict. Asked about joining Saudi strikes, Trump had said: "We may. We're going to look at it." He called the attack "not acceptable" and said he would speak with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that an American was killed and said the attacks "must stop now".
The State Department condemned "Houthi terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure and airports". According to US officials cited by AP, Washington is already supporting the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen with intelligence sharing, target identification and planning. Trump has pledged on Truth Social not to strike Iran before the 3 November midterm elections; the US blockade of Iranian ports has been in place since 14 July. Murphy also pointed to US service members killed, the cost of the war and Iran restarting its missile programmes.