Washington — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore fears the United States is “lurching again into another forever war” paid for by the American people — yet with no clear articulation from President Trump as to what success in the military operation against Iran looks like.
In an interview with CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe on Friday, Moore, a Democrat, likened the ongoing war with Iran to the war in Afghanistan, where the governor served as a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
“I feel like we are lurching into another one of these forever wars that we’re asking the American people to pay for… but the president of the United States and the commander-in-chief has still yet to articulate what exactly it is that we’re doing,” he said.
Moore said that while Mr. Trump often touts the military success of Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the military campaign in Iran, he fails to acknowledge “the fact of the long road ahead.” The president, he continued, has not clearly addressed what the U.S. is doing in Iran or what success looks like.
The war in Afghanistan lasted roughly 20 years, while the U.S. operation against Iran is in its fifth week. U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that an American F-15E fighter jet was downed over Iran on Friday, and one crew member has been rescued. The fighter jet is flown by a two-member crew and a search-and-rescue operation is ongoing, the sources said. U.S. officials told CBS News the plane was shot down by Iranian forces.
The downing of the jet comes after U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooker said Thursday that the military is “making undeniable progress” in Iran. Mr. Trump said during a primetime address to the nation Wednesday that the U.S. would complete its mission “very shortly,” and predicted Iran would be hit “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.
Citing the destruction of Iran’s navy and its degraded ability to launch missiles and drones, the president said in his speech that the operation’s “strategic objectives are nearing completion.” The other objectives laid out by Mr. Trump and senior members of his administration include destroying Iran’s defense industrial base, preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and protecting allies in the Middle East, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Since military operations from the U.S. and Israel started on Feb. 28, at least 16 MQ-9 Reaper drones have also been lost over Iran, CBS News reported earlier this week. Three American F-15 fighter jets were shot down over Kuwait in a “friendly fire incident,” but all crew were safe. Thirteen American service members have been killed since the war began.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s expectation that the war would be over in two to three weeks, Moore said that timeline “is sitting horribly with me.”
“I’m thinking about the families of our service members, who right now are afraid to pick up the phone because they’re afraid to hear what is on the other end of the line,” he said.
Moore said he is praying for the families of the crew of the downed F-15 jet, as well as “some clarity from the White House.”
Watch more of O’Keefe’s interview with Moore on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
