Four Democratic senators are investigating accusations that the Pentagon was unprepared for an Iranian attack on U.S. forces in Kuwait that killed six service members.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) on Sunday wrote a letter to War Secretary Pete Hegseth suggesting that Washington failed “to take even basic precautions to protect the lives” of service members. The investigation comes after soldiers at the Kuwait facility pushed back on the Pentagon’s assertion that “every possible measure” was taken to protect troops.
“Risks to service members in the region were known, but leadership at DoD failed to take steps to prevent harm that could come from Iran’s retaliation,” the senators wrote. “We are concerned that this is part of a larger pattern in which this administration has failed to protect Americans in the region from Iranian retaliation.”
Iran’s drone attack in Kuwait on March 1 marked the deadliest strike on U.S. forces of the war, killing six service members and wounding more than 20. The Pentagon said the soldiers were well protected at the tactical operation center in Port of Shuaiba. In interviews with CBS News, multiple survivors of the targeted unit rejected the government’s framing of the incident.
“Painting a picture that ‘one [Iranian drone] squeaked through’ is a falsehood,” one of the injured soldiers said. “I want people to know the unit … was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.”
HEGSETH’S REVOLVING DOOR AT THE PENTAGON CONTINUES
In their letter, the senators requested that Hegseth provide more information about the tactical operation center’s security apparatus. They asked the secretary to respond to a series of questions, including how many requests were made for more capabilities to defeat incoming drones that could attack the post, which individuals were responsible for assessing the risk to the post, what risks to the post the Pentagon was aware of prior to Iran’s attack, and if authorities believed that “the 6-foot walls around the post were sufficient to guard against Iran’s retaliation to Epic Fury.”
“The safety and well-being of our service members should be a top priority for DoD leadership. That requires careful consideration of major operations like Epic Fury and plans to prevent possible harm from foreseeable attacks, like retaliation with drone strikes,” they wrote.
