Senator Shelley Moore Capito had expected to take part today in a classified briefing to learn more about U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.
“We’re going to have a deeper dive briefing today at four o’clock that will be in the classified section, which I’m sure will give you more detailed information,” Capito, R-W.Va., said today on MetroNews Talkline.
As the day progressed, though, word began to spread that congressional briefings from White House intelligence officials had been been postponed.
This has come questions continued over how successful the operation was and whether a ceasefire in the region would hold.
On Saturday, the U.S. military dropped bunker busting bombs in an attempt to destroy three key nuclear facilities in the Iran: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
Capito said she supports the president’s actions.
“I don’t believe that we would have any chance of stabilization if Iran got all the way to a nuclear weapon, which they were very close to,” Capito said.
“And so I think that by taking out their facilities, by taking out their ability to enrich — they’ve been threatening us and the region and Israel for 30 and 40 years — I think this is the only way to lead to more stable and more peaceful outcome.”
Questions still remain about whether the bombing the sites actually destroyed Iran’s enriched uranium.
Meanwhile, the region remains unsettled. On Monday, Iran launched a limited missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar, a retaliation.
President Donald Trump later announced a ceasefire, although both Israel and Iran have accused the other of violating it. “PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” Trump posted on social media.
“I will say it, it’s painful to watch because there’s so many unknowns,” Capito said. “You’re not sure what the next reaction is going to be, but I was so hopeful that the cease fire would be hold and that cooler, cooler minds would prevail here. But it looks like it’s still a very volatile situation.”
Some members of Congress, including Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, have contended that the U.S. military actions should have been subject to more oversight by the legislative branch.
That might have taken the form of a war powers resolution. In 2002, as the United States was launching military action in neighboring Iraq, a majority of Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein’s government.
Capito, then in the House of Representatives, was yes vote.
In response to a question on Talkline about parallels between the situations, Capito said “I can see why the similarities are drawn here,” but she said an assessment of such a vote requires consideration of the factors at the time.
“I mean, we have to go back to the post 9-11 mindset that existed when we went into Iraq, I think that we were caught off guard. We lost 3000 Americans. Our intelligence systems had failed us because of a lot of stove piping,” she said.
“So, you know, we don’t have a lot of those issues right now that I think we have much better intelligence, much better feeling for what’s going on in Iran.”
The senator took note of the broader situation that has developed since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas from the Gaza strip. Since then, Israel has pounded Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, which are all aligned with Iran.
“And so this is a much more, I think, defined situation,” Capito said. “But I understand why there are similarities there, and I be honest with you, I parked harken back to that time because I was there and voted for us to go ahead and go forward into Iraq.”
In the current situation, Capito said, “I think the president’s been pretty clear here. He has no desire to send boots on the ground, to further engage our military. And so I don’t think this requires a war resolution. I think the president as commander in chief, has to be able to make those decisions.”