Democratic senator says Hegseth is trying to hide costs of Iran war from American public | American politics

Senator Chris Murphy said the Pentagon blocked him from accessing a major US base in Qatar but saw enough damage to the US embassy in Saudi Arabia to conclude that an Iranian strike would have been deadly if it had taken place during daylight hours.

The Connecticut Democrat, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations committees, called the destruction he witnessed in Riyadh “extraordinary” and far more damaging than the public has been led to believe.

“If this attack had happened during the day, there is no doubt that a very large number of Americans would have been killed,” he told reporters in a phone call after returning from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He also accused the Pentagon of trying to prevent Congress from seeing for itself the costs of the war, saying Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth was “determined to hide the cost and consequences of this war from the American public.”

Two drones struck the complex in the early hours of March 3, days after the United States and Israel launched war on February 28, starting a fire and sending black smoke over the neighborhood. The building was apparently empty at the time and no injuries were reported. The Saudi Defense Ministry initially described the damage as minor.

But, according to Murphy, the drones caused significant damage on several floors. The strike, he explained, hit “an area of ​​the embassy where there are a lot of people” and said “part of this space is uninhabitable and will likely remain so.” Murphy said part of it would not be repaired because the embassy would be moving soon.

In Qatar, the senator visited Ras Laffan, the gas complex where Iranian drone strikes halted LNG (liquefied natural gas) production at the start of the war. Murphy said 17 percent of Qatar’s exports had been eliminated, likely due to at least three years of repairs. He also said he had only seen one LNG tanker at the port, compared to the usual six, and about one leaving per day instead of ten.

Murphy said the Pentagon blocked him from seeing more. He said he announced his visit weeks in advance and submitted a written request for access to Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the region. He also said he spoke about it with Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, who seemed surprised that military leaders were also blocked from speaking to him. Upon arrival, Murphy said, he was told he would not have access to the base or any contact with military leaders.

In response, a senior Pentagon official told the Guardian that Murphy’s office “was informed prior to his trip” that he would not receive assistance from the department in accessing Al Udeid Air Base, in accordance with Hegseth’s March 3 directive on travel restrictions in the region.

“This decision was communicated in advance by the Office of the Secretary of War for Legislative Affairs,” the official said in a statement. “The Department is implementing the Secretary’s guidance equally.”

Murphy said he would draft language in the coming days demanding that the Pentagon give members of Congress access to overseas bases, something he would seek to include in next year’s defense appropriations and authorization bills. If the war continues early next year, he said Congress should withhold defense funding unless it includes a provision to end the conflict, and promised accountability and investigation if Democrats win one or both chambers in next month’s midterm elections.

The administration, he said, “is giving Congress the finger, acting like we’re completely irrelevant.”

“We will potentially have the power of both the House and the Senate,” Murphy said of Democrats, “and we should make ending the war a priority.”