When was the last time you wrote a blank check? Raise your hands. No one? Because who does that? It’s un-American. We’re all about checks and balances, accountability.

But with the war in Iran, accountability is elusive. We were told this week, in the resignation of the head of National Counterterrorism Center, that there was no “imminent threat” to the US that justified our actions. CIA Director John Ratcliffe indicated that there was an imminent threat to the US, because an attack by Israel would result in an Iranian attack on US assets (for which we would likely have defended ourselves – was he saying that we couldn’t defend ourselves?). Heck, we are pushed around by China all of the time, yet I haven’t noticed our attack on them. The Director of National Intelligence wouldn’t come out and disagree with the now former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. (Frankly, had US assets taken a sustained assault in the Middle East from Iran before our military operation, we likely would have asked NATO for assistance in defense of our assets and the Strait of Hormuz and gotten their buy-in, instead of them indicating that it was US’s war of choice).

How do you get straight answers from Trump Administration officials when they aren’t involved in decision-making – only the President makes decisions (as his press secretary repeatedly tells the press). So why did we enter this war? Still have no idea. It is not about regime change. But it is about bad guys. It is not about destroying the nuclear capability of Iran (confessed in private briefings with Congress, although the administration still talks about that publicly). The US was in successfully progressing talks with Iran to end their nuclear weapon threat – right up until the administration bombed their leadership. The goal, according to the Secretary of State, is to destroy missiles, drone factories, and naval fleet. But any of this effort can only be seen as temporary (Hamas built thousands of bombs in Gaza without much of an industrial base). In fact, Iran has said publicly that they are still building missiles in the midst of the war.

Our Congress’s leadership (Republicans in the House and Senate) appear disinterested in getting straight answers about objectives – so much so that they refused to consider a War Powers Act authorization of the military activities in Iran. Perhaps they believed that if they voted to authorize or de-authorize anything, their fingerprints would be on the consequences. Thus when President Trump sends thousands of Marines to the Middle East to engage in the war, they can point at him and say “in Trump we Trust”? But they don’t know when the war will end, and all Trump will say is that he will end the war “when he is ready”. Its not so clear that American voters will find that satisfying, with most indicating they oppose the war and they see the economy as getting worse.

But there are limits to this strategy. The war that would be over ‘very soon’ or in ‘4 to 5 weeks’, will be entering week four with the Strait of Hormuz essentially closed, Iran bombing Qatar, Kuwait, cargo ships in the strait, and continued destruction in Israel (where over 4,000 injuries have been identified thus far). The Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, will be asking Congress for an additional $200B for the war effort – about as much money as the US spent at the peak of the war in Iraq. For a short, month-long, almost over, military operation. Sounds like a blank check to me.

And the national disgrace continues…