Notre Dame professor breaks down US and Israeli strikes on Iran
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- International experts are questioning the President's decision to join Israel in "Attacking Iran" without consulting Congress.
There's been no formal declaration of war by lawmakers, and some fear another drawn out conflict in the Middle East, like the US invasion of Iraq around 25 years ago.
Professor Asher Kaufman is the director of Notre Dame's Institute for International Peace Studies, and he called the current situation between the US and Iran "unprecedented" and added he doesn't think the objectives for this war are all that clear.
US and Israeli aerial attacks still bombarding Iran, and the Iranian military responding with its own drone and missile launches as the conflict spreads to other Middle East countries.
Early Tuesday morning, the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia was struck by Iranian drones, and there are fears the conflict could keep spreading.
"The situation right now is unprecedented, almost unprecedented. America, the United States, went to war in or against Iraq in 2003, and that left the Middle East in shambles and did the same in Afghanistan, as before in 2001. So, we are now in a sort of unprecedented situation where the United States has opened up a front against another major middle eastern country, Iran," said Asher Kaufman, director of Notre Dame's Institute for International Peace Studies.
Professor Kaufman believes these strikes on Iran, the death of their supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei and what happens next, could have major impacts on President Donald Trump, who made the decision to launch the attacks.
"This war might be the ultimate test of his entire presidency. If it succeeds, if it ends very soon, then he might be hailed as the leader who managed to bring down this regime in Iran and take down this aggressive military posture. If it fails, it will be his sole responsibility for the failure, and that would have political ramifications for him obviously," said Kaufman.
Only time will tell if this battle will be one that's short lived or if we may be in for another lengthy dispute in the Middle East similar to the war in neighboring Iraq under President Bush in the early 2000s.
"The consequences of those wars that were eventually devastating for both the Middle East and were a complete failure as far as American foreign policy, is a concern. I don't think I need to remind you or the viewers that Trump was elected and one of his tickets was that enough with these foreign wars, that America will take care of its own interests itself and will not engage in these wars in foreign countries, that the united states is not really interested anymore in a regime change," said Kaufman.
Professor Kaufman says no matter what happens with this situation, whether it turns out positive or negative for the US, he believes it will have a strong impact on the 2026 midterm elections this fall.