Courtney Presses Trump Official on Choice to Launch Iran War Just Weeks After Pentagon Explicitly Downgraded Threat
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Ranking Member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, pressed Under Secretary for Defense Policy Elbridge Colby on the Trump Administration’s decision to attack Iran just weeks after the Department of Defense’s National Defense Strategy document, published in January 2026, said “Iran’s regime is weaker and more vulnerable than it has been in decades,” and that “Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ is similarly devastated.”
To watch and download the full clip, click here.
“For anyone who understands the English language, your Department clearly, explicitly downgraded the threat that Iran poses to our nation. Yet suddenly, on February 28th, just a few weeks later, that all changed. ‘Epic Fury’ was launched, six servicemembers have lost their lives because of, in my opinion, a gross failure of force protection, and there still is no coherent explanation of what caused the change and what is the endgame,” Courtney said.
“And that’s why, if you look at public opinion polls over the last week, across the board, there’s been no rally around the flag reaction by the American public. First of all, they kind of took you at your word and the President at his word when he said that the nuclear threat was ‘obliterated’ just a few months ago, and now suddenly, we’re engaged in war which, again for a lot of people, feels very much like past experiences which didn’t end very well,” Courtney continued.
###