{"id":15152,"date":"2026-03-04T12:23:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T04:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15152"},"modified":"2026-03-04T12:23:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T04:23:35","slug":"breathtaking-independent-senator-deplores-rubios-explanation-for-iran-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15152","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Breathtaking\u2019: Independent senator deplores Rubio\u2019s explanation for Iran attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"460\" height=\"280\" src=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/30.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/30.png 460w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/30-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) on Tuesday called Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s explanation that the U.S. carried out a preemptive attack on Iran because Israel struck first \u201cbreathtaking\u201d during a Senate hearing with a top official from the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>King and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the Senate Armed Services Committee\u2019s ranking member, pressed Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby about Iran as he testified on the U.S. national defense strategy. King referred to Rubio\u2019s briefing with members of Congress on Monday where he said Israel\u2019s strike plan pushed the U.S. to take preemptive action against an \u201cimminent threat.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The senator, who caucuses with Democrats, read Rubio\u2019s remarks in which the secretary of State said \u201cWe knew there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn\u2019t preemptively go after them before they launched these attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHave we now delegated the most solemn decision that can be made in our society, the decision to go to war, to another country?\u201d King asked Colby. \u201cThat\u2019s the implication, the breathtaking implication of Secretary Rubio\u2019s statement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>King later added that Rubio \u201cinadvertently told the truth\u201d that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed for war with Iran. The Maine senator said he supports Israel but added that no one should drive the U.S.\u2019s decision to go to war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Colby pushed back and said President Trump made the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWell, he made the decision, but it appeared to be based upon the fact that Israel was going to strike,\u201d King replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reed pressed Colby on the administration\u2019s national defense strategy and the posture that the U.S. will \u201cempower regional allies and partners to take primary responsibility for deferring and defending against Iran and its proxies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis national security strategy was published, by my count, about 39 days ago,\u201d Reed said. \u201cSo, Secretary Colby, the military operations unfolding in the Middle East are completely contrary to the strategy the department has put forth. Why has the department abandoned the strategy after 39 days?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Colby pushed back, saying Israel and the Gulf allies \u201care really leaning in\u201d by helping with military operations in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe obviously want allies and partners throughout to be able to take responsibility,\u201d Colby said. \u201cBut, you know, we\u2019re looking as a general \u2014 it\u2019s not a kind of straightjacket, if you will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reed accused Trump of having \u201cmoved the goalposts\u201d as it relates to the U.S. military objective in Iran and asked that if regime change was not part of the agenda, \u201cwhy was the first objective in the campaign, the attack and death of [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei and key leaders of the regime?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe sets our agenda and he directed these military goals,\u201d Colby replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office on Tuesday, told reporters that Israel did not force the U.S. into launching strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo, I might have forced their hand,\u201d the president said. \u201cYou see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first,\u201d he said of Iran. \u201cThey were going to attack if we didn\u2019t do it. They were going to attack first, I felt strongly about that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) on Tuesday called Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s explanation that the U.S. carried out a preemptive attack on Iran because Israel struck first \u201cbreathtaking\u201d during a Senate hearing with a top official from the Pentagon. King and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the Senate Armed Services Committee\u2019s ranking member, pressed Under Secretary [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[61],"class_list":["post-15152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-usa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Breathtaking\u2019: Independent senator deplores Rubio\u2019s explanation for Iran attacks - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=15152\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Breathtaking\u2019: Independent senator deplores Rubio\u2019s explanation for Iran attacks - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) on Tuesday called Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s explanation that the U.S. carried out a preemptive attack on Iran because Israel struck first \u201cbreathtaking\u201d during a Senate hearing with a top official from the Pentagon. King and Sen. 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