Washington — Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said Sunday that the U.S should be considering a broader question of strategy in the war with Iran, while criticizing the U.S.’ track record of prolonged conflicts in the Middle East.
“We are not good at having off ramps and accomplishing large strategic decisions in the Middle East,” Crow said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
President Trump told congressional leaders late last week that “hostilities” with Iran have “terminated” as the war reached the 60-day mark. And despite a ceasefire brokered in early April, the U.S. has enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports — considered an act of war — while threatening to imminently restart strikes.
On Saturday, the president said he was reviewing a new peace proposal from Iran. But he stressed that he was unlikely to accept the offer because “they have not yet paid a big enough price.” Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has said that the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will remain in effect until a deal can be reached to end the war.
Asked whether the war with Iran can end without clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Crow noted that Iran is blocking the key waterway, and the U.S. is blockading their blockade. But more broadly, he argued that “the real question that we should all be asking is, does America really want to continue to have conflict in the Middle East for another 5, 10, 20 years?”
“We have confused, as a nation, tactics versus strategy,” Crow said. “Most of the conversation around Iran is about tactics — Should we blockade? How do we counter drones?” Crow said.
The Colorado Democrat cited previous conflicts in the Middle East, saying “we spent trillions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan to replace the Taliban with the Taliban, in Iraq to replace Saddam Hussein with ISIS.” He said Iran is “just yet another example” of the U.S. struggling to find an off-ramp in the region.
“So let’s actually talk strategy and what it is we’re trying to accomplish here, instead of having a constant discussion around blockades,” he added.
The comments come after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before congressional committees last week on the Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion budget request. Crow said on Sunday that he would oppose the funding, arguing that “we don’t need that money.”
“We have already funded munition stockpiles amounts, and what I am not going to do is continue the pattern, like we continued in Iraq and Afghanistan, of throwing good money after bad and constantly funding conflicts that never end and will not end up in a good result for America,” Crow said. “That is exactly what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan. And somebody has to say, enough is enough.”
Crow added, “In a president that hasn’t told us what the strategy is, hasn’t come to Congress for authorization, hasn’t even articulated to the American people what he’s trying to accomplish, I am not going to write blank checks to have that cycle continue. I’m not going to do it.”
