US Lawmakers Clash on Iran Intelligence Ahead of Briefing

Democrats accuse Republicans of 'twisting intelligence'

Officials are going to brief the House and Senate on the intelligence related to the ongoing US military buildup around Iran. Officials say this will happen on Tuesday, but with small numbers of officials given an advanced briefing last week, there is already infighting over the details of the intelligence.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a long-time advocate of an Iran War, insisted that he was briefed on the matter personally by John Bolton. He was totally convinced by the story, and wanted Trump to “stand firm” against Iran.

Convincing Lindsey Graham to go to war isn’t hard, of course, and Congressional Democrats familiar with the intelligence are accusing him of “total information bias,” saying that what Bolton and Graham are saying is not what the intelligence actually shows.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) accused them of twisting the intelligence to present Iran as taking “unprovoked, offensive measures against the US,” saying that they risked starting “dumb wars” with such allegations.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.