By Cody Mello-Klein | cmelloklein@alextimes.com
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., visited T.C. Williams High School on Jan. 10 to discuss the recent conflict with Iran with a room full of Junior ROTC cadets, according to Alexandria City Public Schools.
Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran culminated in an American drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani – commander of Iran’s Quds Force, a division mainly responsible for extraterritorial military operations – in Iraq on Jan. 3.
Kaine spoke to students about de-escalation and his efforts to better define Congress and the president’s part in deciding whether to send service members to war, according to a news release.
“We shouldn’t rush to war. We have been involved in wars throughout our history and, sadly, we would predict that there will be more,” Kaine said. “But if we’re going to be at war, it should be after careful deliberation.”
On Jan. 3, Kaine filed a resolution, under the War Powers Act, that asks Congress to act on its constitutional power and limit the president’s military actions against Iran without approval from Congress.
“I intend to force Congress to do what I think it should have been doing for decades, which is take that responsibility seriously and really carefully deliberate before we decide whether or not we need to be at war,” Kaine said.
Kaine, whose son serves in the Marines, spent much of the discussion answering questions from students, including questions about the war powers resolution Kaine has sponsored in Congress and de-escalation with Iran.
