{"id":4595,"date":"2026-03-01T19:43:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T19:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=4595"},"modified":"2026-03-01T19:43:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T19:43:42","slug":"trumps-iran-attack-was-illegal-former-u-s-military-officials-allege","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=4595","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s Iran Attack Was Illegal, Former U.S. Military Officials Allege"},"content":{"rendered":"


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President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/span> order to launch a coordinated U.S.-Israeli strike against Iran ran afoul of international and domestic law, according to military and legal experts including the former legal chief at U.S. Central Command, which carried out the attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only does this violate international law in numerous respects, it clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution,\u201d said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, who previously served as chief of international law at U.S. Central Command.<\/p>\n

The United Nations Charter generally restricts the use of force to cases of self-defense or with approval from the U.N. Security Council. The Constitution separately gives Congress the power to authorize offensive war.<\/p>\n

The War Powers Resolution also requires presidents to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities and limits how long those forces can operate without congressional approval. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed members of Congress\u2019s bipartisan \u201cGang of Eight\u201d in calls Friday night ahead of the strikes, according to administration officials and news reports. <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt absolutely triggers the 48-hour notice requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Legal experts say advance briefings to the Gang of Eight do not necessarily satisfy the War Powers Resolution, which contemplates a formal written report to Congress as an institution, not just a small group of leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an introduction of U.S. forces into hostilities,\u201d said VanLandingham, who now teaches national security law at Southwestern Law School. \u201cIt absolutely triggers the 48-hour notice requirement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The fact American servicemembers died in the operation raises further legal concerns, she said, as Congress is intended to decide when American lives are placed at risk in offensive wars.<\/p>\n

Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., called the operation \u201cdangerous\u201d and \u201cillegal,\u201d saying Trump launched the attack \u201cwithout authorization from Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaker Johnson must immediately reconvene the House so we can pass a War Powers Resolution to rein in this unauthorized use of our military and taxpayer dollars,\u201d Balint said.<\/p>\n

Democratic leaders<\/a> had already been moving toward a vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution in the days before the strikes, though the measure was widely expected to fail amid scattered Democratic opposition and near-unified Republican resistance.<\/p>\n

From a legal perspective, VanLandingham said the attacks, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, present fewer ambiguities than prior U.S. strikes on Iran, including Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, 2025, which the U.S. said targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.<\/p>\n

Over time, administrations of both parties have steadily expanded unilateral war powers, VanLandingham said, effectively redefining what counts as war in constitutional terms and expanding the circumstances in which presidents can use force without congressional approval. She pointed to air campaigns under Presidents Barack Obama in Libya and Donald Trump in Syria as examples of operations the executive branch treated as falling short of war requiring congressional authorization.<\/p>\n

Questions of International Law<\/h2>\n

The death toll for Operation Epic Fury is mounting, both among civilians and combatants. A strike on a girls\u2019 primary school resulted in nearly 100 reported civilian casualties, and U.S. Central Command said three U.S. service members were killed in action and five seriously wounded. Several others servicemembers sustained minor injuries, the command said, as combat operations continued across the region.<\/p>\n

Video circulating on social media appeared to show large explosions near U.S. military installations in Bahrain, including the headquarters of the Navy\u2019s Fifth Fleet, though the extent of any damage was not immediately clear. The U.S. Navy did not respond to questions from The Intercept about whether any service members were killed or injured in Iran\u2019s retaliatory strikes.<\/p>\n

U.S. casualties heighten the constitutional stakes, VanLandingham said, because the decision to place American troops in harm\u2019s way has traditionally rested with Congress, which she described as the government\u2019s closest representation of the American public.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo say there\u2019s no risk to U.S. troops\u2026 I wouldn\u2019t call it naive. I\u2019d call it a pure lie,\u201d said Wes Bryant, a former Air Force special operations member who previously served as chief of civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon\u2019s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence.<\/p>\n

Bryant said the scope of the strikes suggested major combat operations that could quickly tip toward large-scale conflict in a densely populated country, with predictable risks to both U.S. troops and civilians.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf these reports are accurate, this should be very concerning to U.S. forces.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Bryant said the early casualty figures may not reflect the full risk if hostilities continue. \u201cI\u2019m surprised it\u2019s only been three deaths,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will be more if this continues and we lose the initial shock value.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting American installations and reported minimal damage that did not disrupt base operations.<\/p>\n

Early reports of successful Iranian strikes, if confirmed, could signal vulnerabilities in U.S. regional defenses, said analysts with the Eisenhower Media Network.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf these reports are accurate, this should be very concerning to U.S. forces,\u201d said Matt Hoh, a former Marine Corps captain and State Department official who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. \u201cIranian missiles and drones were able to breach U.S. defenses very early in the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoh said early breaches of U.S. defenses, if confirmed, could reflect gaps in regional air defenses, evolving Iranian missile capabilities, or lessons Tehran has drawn from observing U.S. operations.<\/p>\n

The Navy\u2019s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain serves as the centerpiece of U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf, and any sustained threat to installations in the region could complicate American force posture and maritime security operations.<\/p>\n

Also within range of Iran\u2019s missile arsenal is Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, one of the largest U.S.-operated airfields outside the United States and home to thousands of American personnel.<\/p>\n

Iran had repeatedly warned it would target U.S. bases if attacked, said Karen U. Kwiatkowski, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Pentagon officer. The retaliation reflects \u201cthe behavior of a near-peer adversary\u201d and marks a sharp contrast with the kinds of conflicts the United States has fought over the past three decades.<\/p>\n

Iran is conventionally weaker than the United States but remains regionally dangerous through its large missile and drone arsenal and its ability to apply asymmetric pressure on U.S. forces. Recent reporting has also raised concerns about strain on U.S. naval interceptor stockpiles after heavy use in Middle East operations.<\/p>\n

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The risks extend beyond military escalation. Bryant said the opening strikes raise significant concerns about civilian harm and the risk of a broader regional conflict, particularly given the coordinated nature of the U.S.-Israel campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really worry about the civilian harm that\u2019s going to result if this becomes a prolonged conflict,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cWhatever happens \u2026 we own that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some national security analysts sharply questioned the administration\u2019s humanitarian rationale for the strikes, noting that the threshold for unilateral presidential force is typically tied to imminent threats to the United States. Critics also argue that the administration\u2019s broader domestic record, including policies affecting women\u2019s bodily autonomy, aggressive immigration enforcement, and the detention of some government protesters, undercuts its stated moral justification for military action against Iran.<\/p>\n

Bryant warned the risks could escalate quickly if the conflict expands beyond the opening air campaign, particularly given Iran\u2019s military capabilities and regional proxy network.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we thought the insurgency was bad in Iraq or even Syria, wait until we enter Iran,\u201d Bryant said.<\/p>\n

U.S. officials have not announced any plans for ground operations in Iran, and analysts say the administration\u2019s next steps remain uncertain.<\/p>\n

Domestic Political Implications<\/h2>\n

Shortly after the strikes, Trump and his allies framed the operation through a domestic political lens, amplifying without evidence unsubstantiated claims that Iran interfered in the 2020 election.<\/p>\n

For VanLandingham, the rhetoric stood out not just for its substance but also its timing ahead of mid-term elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s chilling is that he\u2019s tying this attack against another country to domestic politics as a way to further consolidate power over his base and potentially link the use of force to domestic use of force this fall,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Viewed in that light, she said, the seemingly ridiculous claim appears more strategic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mind-boggling. But when you look at it, it makes rational sense for him to say, \u2018I\u2019m doing this because I\u2019m taking out everyone who stood in my way in 2020,\u2019\u201d VanLandingham said. \u201cHe is linking it to his own domestic grievances because he is laying the groundwork, I strongly believe, to use the U.S. military improperly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryant, who previously led civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon, said the administration\u2019s framing echoes familiar patterns in which when governments blur external threats with internal political messaging. He pointed to recent violence against protestors and legal observers in Minnesota as a parallel, albeit on a smaller scale, to Iran\u2019s brutal crackdowns on dissent.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that Trump is accusing the Iranian regime of doing, he has done,\u201d Bryant said.<\/p>\n

Other national security analysts warned the messaging could have concrete domestic consequences if wartime authorities are invoked inside the United States. Trump has previously threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act<\/a> in response to protests over ICE operations in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the kind of messaging that will allow the administration to cite national security if they attempt to nationalize elections, have federal law enforcement, like ICE, patrol polling places, and enact executive orders or push legislation to strip Americans of voting rights and other civil liberties,\u201d Hoh said.<\/p>\n

Federal law enforcement has already signaled an elevated posture. FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X<\/a> that counterterrorism teams are operating at heightened readiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Joint Terrorism Task Forces throughout the country are working 24\/7 to address and disrupt any potential threats to the homeland,\u201d Patel wrote.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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President Donald Trump\u2019s order to launch a coordinated U.S.-Israeli strike against Iran ran afoul of international and domestic law, according to military and legal experts including the former legal chief at U.S. Central Command, which carried out the attacks. \u201cNot only does this violate international law in numerous respects, it clearly violates the U.S. Constitution […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-usa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}