This week, the world faces the again heightened possibility of the United States going to war with Iran in the near future. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke out this Thursday to demand levelheaded decision-making after the U.S. and Iran both confirmed that the Middle Eastern country shot down an American drone in the region. The Iranians claim that the unmanned aircraft violated their airspace, while the Trump administration unsurprisingly denies this — which gives them yet another base on which to lay assertions about Iranian aggression supposedly demanding military response.
Pelosi shared:
‘In light of the targeting of an unmanned U.S. drone by Iran, it is essential that we remain fully engaged with our allies, recognize that we are not dealing with a responsible adversary & do everything in our power to de-escalate. This is a dangerous, high-tension situation that requires a strong, smart and strategic, not reckless, approach.’
Sitting next to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House in the hours prior to Pelosi’s statement, President Donald Trump definitely did not rule out the possibility of launching a direct military assault on Iran. Directly asked whether or not he was “willing to go to war with Iran,” he replied like it’s some sort of late-night television special, sharing:
‘You’ll find out. I mean obviously you know we’re not going to be talking too much about it. They made a big mistake.’
Previously, he had reiterated that same point, telling reporters:
‘Iran made a big mistake. This drone was in international waters — clearly, we have it all documented. It’s documented scientifically, not just words, and they made a very, very bad mistake.’
The drone incident is not the first to give grounds for this talk of potential U.S. military confrontation of the Iranians. Recently, the U.S. alleged that they were behind an attack on two large tanker ships in the area, although the country denies this and some allies have hesitated to adopt the Trump administration’s assertion. The U.S. has already authorized deployments of more than 2,000 troops to the area alongside military assets like an aircraft carrier and bombing fleet as tensions rise.
The tumult could help increase pressure on Pelosi and other Democratic leaders to get the volatile Trump out of office with impeachment, but there’s no sign they’re keen on jumping into that.
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Featured Image via screenshot
