A shepherd boy walks away from an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, March 4, 2026. (RNS/AP/Baderkhan Ahmad)
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The war with Iran has been going on for two weeks and it is unclear when it will end. Many, like myself, will continue to complain that the war should never have started, but it did, so now we ask: What is next?
So far, Congress has played no role in this war — despite the fact that under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the sole authority to declare war. Attempts to stop the war using the War Powers Resolution failed on a mostly party-line vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
But eventually, the Trump administration will have to come to Congress for money to pay for the war. In addition, it will need to ask for money to replace the weapons and other resources burned up in the war. The military’s supply of missiles and drones has been severely depleted. These weapons are needed by Ukraine to defend itself against Russia and in Asia to deter China’s threats against Taiwan. Even those opposed to the war in Iran will have a hard time voting against resupplying the military, but the appropriations process provides Congress an opportunity to ask questions and set conditions.
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In addition, Congress needs to hold hearings to make the administration answer 10 key questions about the war. Without answers to these questions, moving forward will be foolish and dangerous:
1) Why did we go to war? Was there an imminent threat from Iran against the U.S.? Was there a threat against Israel? What is the evidence?
2) Was the purpose of the war regime change in Iran? If so, what is the plan to accomplish actual change? What is the probability of success? What are the chances that a new regime could be as bad or worse? How will we respond if the fall of the regime leads to chaos, as it did in Libya?
3) What has been the impact of the war on Iran's ability to threaten other countries with its military? How successful was the U.S.-Israeli military operation? What was the state of Iran's nuclear, missile, drone and naval programs before the war and now? How long must the war go to sufficiently degrade these programs?
4) Once the war is over, how long will it take Iran to rebuild its military? Will this lead to a never-ending cycle of war?
5) Why were civilian targets like the primary school in Minab hit during the war? (Preliminary findings indicate the school was hit by a U.S. missile by mistake.) How great was the collateral damage to civilians when police stations and homes of government officials were targeted in civilian areas?
6) What was the role of artificial intelligence in choosing targets and aiming weapons? How successful was it? Did it make mistakes?
7) Why was there no sufficient plan to evacuate American civilians and rescue air travelers stranded by airport closures?
8) If the war continues, what is the plan to protect oil and gas facilities in the Persian Gulf and to protect oil and gas tankers going through the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attack? Likewise, how will we protect shipping from attack by Houthis off the coast of Yemen?
9) Twenty percent of the world’s oil and gas goes through the Strait of Hormuz and there will be severe economic consequences if it is blocked for long. What are the administration’s plans for dealing with this disruption?
10) And finally, how and when does this war end?
