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Pat Ryan 🇺🇸@PatRyanUC · Jun 23, 2025

Trump is claiming his strikes on Iran made the American people safer. He is dangerously wrong. I served two combat…

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Summary

A military veteran and Armed Services Committee member argues that Trump's strikes on Iran were unconstitutional, based on uncertain intelligence, and have made America less safe by dramatically increasing the risk of Iranian nuclear breakout and escalation without congressional approval or a clear de-escalation strategy. He warns that military action often starts wars rather than ending them and calls for transparent debate with the American people before further escalation.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    Trump is claiming his strikes on Iran made the American people safer. He is dangerously wrong. I served two combat tours in Iraq and am now on the Armed Services Committee. His actions were not only unconstitutional, they have made America less safe – not more. Here’s why: 🧵

  2. #2

    Within hours of the strikes, Trump said the nuclear facilities were “completely and totally obliterated.” This was literally impossible to know – a Battle Damage Assessment takes days or even weeks, especially given the secretive and fortified nature of all three targets.

  3. #3

    This morning Chairman Caine made it clear it was far too soon to know whether Iran’s nuclear program was destroyed. I hope and pray the strike was successful. But there’s a real chance the operation wasn’t fully effective. If so, the risk to the US is DRAMATICALLY higher.

  4. #4

    Iran now has every motivation to breakout and develop a nuclear weapon as quickly as possible.  Given the lack of clear rationale for why this preventive strike was needed & what exactly it was capable of achieving, that is an incredibly dangerous amount of risk to take on.

  5. #5

    I know Trump said he now wants peace. I share that goal. The problem is that, as Secretary Mattis always says: in war, the enemy gets a vote.  We have 40,000+ troops in theater. The risk of an Iranian (or proxy) counter-attack is now MUCH higher.  I’m praying for their safety.

  6. #6

    It's not just conventional attacks from Iran (ballistic missiles, drones) I'm worried about.  It's asymmetric escalation. Cyber. Closing the Strait of Hormuz.  Militant groups in Iraq deciding they have nothing to lose.  It’s – god forbid – a strike on the homeland.

  7. #7

    I love our country. I proudly put my life on the line to keep the American people safe. And I'm under no illusions about the Iranian regime – it is evil.  But war is hell and Trump just introduced an incredible amount of risk and volatility into the global order.

  8. #8

    For a guy who ran on keeping us out of war, this is a total 180.  And he did it without ever making the case to the American people, or involving Congress (or even getting on the same page with his Dir. of National Intelligence!!)  That is deeply wrong and Un-American.

  9. #9

    We need to have an honest conversation as a country about what comes next. And we cannot repeat our approach from 2001 and 2002. The answer cannot be “we’ll figure it out as we go.” I lost too many friends because of that logic.

  10. #10

    Air strikes may start a war. They rarely end it.  I am not convinced the President has thought that through. Or has any plan to de-escalate.  This debate has to happen in front of and with the input of the American people.  No more forever wars.