1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

The Trump administration’s reckless aggression toward Iran has plunged the world into chaos, and its past time for Congress to step up with the resolve and authority it was elected to wield. Naive provocations have spiked oil prices, disrupted global fertilizer supplies critical to U.S. farmers, and provoked vows of retaliation from Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei following strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—yet where is the strategy? Where is the exit plan? This isn’t leadership; it’s posturing, with viral videos splicing war footage with video games and Hollywood explosions to mask a void of actual planning.   President Trump’s callous dismissal—that “some people will die” and U.S. citizens may be caught in the crossfire—reveals a dangerous indifference to the human cost: families shattered, economies crippled, and American lives needlessly endangered. The administration’s focus on tough-guy optics over coherent policy has left us in an untenable position, with no clear objectives or safeguards. Congress cannot stand idly by while executive overreach gambles with global stability.   I urge you to invoke your constitutional oversight powers immediately: demand a full briefing on Iran strategy, impose conditions on military funding, pass resolutions reining in these impulsive actions, and absolutely prohibit any U.S. boots on the ground. As national security expert Robert Pape warned this week, ground interventions trigger “Stage Three” escalation, where terrorism explodes in response to occupation—exactly the trap we’ve seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.   Show the backbone America needs—hold the administration accountable before this escalates into catastrophe. The American people, and the world, are watching. Act now.