Rep. Jeff Crank discusses U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran

WASHINGTON. D.C. (KRDO) -- Six U.S. service members have been killed so far in the crisis with Iran, military officials confirmed. The fatalities come as Iran's supreme leader has died since the onset of the military offensive.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank of El Paso County, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joined KRDO13 live in the studio over Zoom to address the recent developments.

Below are the questions we asked Rep. Crank and his answers:

What is your message to the families of the countless other military members involved in this offensive as they wait until this conflict is over?  

"Well, very sad, obviously, to lose any life...it's very unfortunate...we continue to pray for those families that...you know, are hurting right now, and...we pray for the safety of all others that there aren't more, but I fear there could be more. This is a very large operation, and...you know, this is the price of, of liberty and freedom, and we'll protect those families and do what's right for them."

About the process by which the attack was done…Does it raise questions about bypassing Congress in your mind? How will you vote?

"So I, I'm not overly concerned about it. Look, I would have probably preferred that they came in advance to Congress, but the Constitution is pretty clear. It both gives the Congress the ability to...declare war and Article 1, but in Article 2, it makes the President of the United States the commander in chief, and it gives them pretty wide latitude. And that goes back even to Thomas Jefferson, who deployed troops and didn't declare war in the...Barbary War. So some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Didn't seem to care about this issue when Barack Obama was president and was going into Syria. They just seem overly concerned about it now when President Trump is doing it. I'm here to give the president wide latitude, whether the president's a Democrat or a Republican."

What confidence do you have that Iran can eventually have a democratically run country?

"Well, I mean, ultimately, they're going to have to decide for themselves if they want this liberty or freedom, and they're going to be able to grab it after we clear the path for them. We're doing the air war piece of this. We're...cleaning out...some of the folks that have been...so oppressive to them over the years, but ultimately, it's going to be up to the people of Iran. To choose whether they want to live in liberty and freedom for the rest of their lives, and I feel pretty confident that they will...as the days continue here and we further degrade Iran's capability and war-making ability, that the people of Iran will rise up. They've shown that they, they have done that several times in the past and hopefully they'll do it again this time."

Congressman, are you aware of any assets from Colorado that were used in the attack, and do you know at all if there will be boots on the ground from US service members in Iran?

"Well, certainly anytime the US military goes into the fight...Colorado Springs is heavily involved because all of our GPS satellites, of course, are run out of uh out of Schriever Air Force Base or Space Force Base, and in addition, so many of the Space assets are the first thing to...bring to the fight. And so, our folks at...all throughout Space Command and all of the space assets in Colorado Springs, they're the first, they're the first in, and they're such a big part of this operation.

So, so that's the first thing. I don't think there are direct assets on the ground that I am aware of from Colorado Springs, but I do think that...we're we're seeing that. As far as ground troops, you know, it hasn't been ruled out, but I think the president's very leery to do that, and Congress would be very leery to do that as well. But you don't want to rule anything out. You don't ever want to tell the enemy what you may not do or what you may do. You keep them guessing, and I think that's what this administration is trying to do."

Can you speak to the enriched uranium that Iran does have, or can you tell us if they have it? And will this attack halt that altogether?

"Well, you know, that is certainly one of the things that we have been most concerned about. I serve on the House Armed Services Committee, and I have had some classified briefings about what they've been trying to reconstitute after Midnight Hammer happened several months back, and essentially, the Iranian regime...was continuing to try and develop that enriched uranium because they have an unquenchable thirst for a nuclear capability. And it's one of the things that the president saw that that was something that they were unwilling to give up. And so we made the decision. I think this country had to make the decision that we were not going to allow Iran to have nuclear capability...There's some things I can't get into about how close they were to that capability, but suffice it to say they were not going to stop until they got enriched uranium that they could use first on Israel, but second, to to use on the United States as a weapon."

You can watch the full discussion with Rep. Crank above.

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