Statement from Bayly Winder on U.S. Military Operations in Iran

May’s Landing, NJ — I spent years working on Iran at the State Department, and Middle East policy at USAID and as a scholar at the Middle East Institute. I've studied this issue my entire career. So let me be clear about what happened today: this was not self-defense. This was a choice, and it was the wrong one.

Iran was not racing to build a bomb. The IAEA confirmed that. There was no imminent attack on American troops or our allies. Negotiations were making progress just 48 hours ago. The President didn't strike because he had to. He struck because he wanted to.

And he did it without asking Congress, or the American people, for permission. The Constitution says Congress decides if we go to war. Not the President. Not a Truth Social video at 2 AM. But Jeff Van Drew and the rest of this Congress won't lift a finger if it means standing up to Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, families in South Jersey can't afford groceries. Healthcare costs are out of control. AI is about to wipe out jobs across every industry. And Washington's answer is to start a regime-change war 6,000 miles away that nobody here asked for and almost everyone opposes.

Congress needs to reconvene Monday and vote on the war powers resolution. Every member, including Jeff Van Drew, needs to go on the record.

Bayly Winder served on the Iran policy team at the U.S. State Department (2016–2018), was a presidential appointee at USAID under Administrator Samantha Power, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, and a Fulbright scholar in Kuwait. He is a widely published author on U.S.-MENA policy. He is a Democratic candidate for congress in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District.