Citing reporting by The Post, lawmakers told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the probe is necessary because they are not confident in the Pentagon’s objectivity.
By Catholics for Catholics
Democratic lawmakers are opening a probe into a drone strike led by Iran that killed six U.S. service members in Kuwait on March 1, quoting doubts about the objectiveness of the armed forces internal review of the attack.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Pat Ryan (D-New York) in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as with almost a dozen other House and Senate Democrats, cited recent reporting by The Washington Post and other media outlets dissecting the March 1 strike, saying they want answers to whether the military had suitable protections in place before the strike and whether the troops were administered with proper medical care afterward, according to a story by the Post.
“The need for this investigation goes beyond the Shuaiba attack — it’s about taking accountability and protecting our service members,” Ryan, an Army and Iraq War veteran, said in a statement to The Post. He was referring to Port Shuaiba, the facility along the Persian Gulf where the deadly strike occurred. “It’s our job as members of Congress to force [Hegseth] to give us real answers and make sure something like this never happens again.”
Still, when the Post reached out for a comment, the Pentagon did not address whether it would collaborate with the lawmakers’ probe, saying in a brief statement that “as with all Congressional correspondence, we will respond directly to the sender.”
The attack happened on the second day of Operation Epic Fury, when an Iranian Shahed drone crashed into the center of an Army operations center at Port Shuaiba. Dozens of service members were injured in the attack along with the six who died.
Since then, survivors have contended that military leaders failed to take appropriate action after being warned the facility lacked adequate defenses. Some have said, too, that troops wounded in the strike faced considerable difficulty obtaining treatment.
Military officials have contested both assertions.
As The Post reported this month, several soldiers who were at Port Shuaiba have said they doubt the Army’s internal review will hold anyone accountable. Citing a U.S. official familiar with the review, The Post also reported that the initial findings did not assign fault for the attack or address any punitive action.
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
