Jim Himes

This is part of the inevitable costs of a conflict.

Even the best military doesn't operate without accidents, and that appears to have been what occurred here.

But the United States has already lost, I believe we're up to eight now, fatalities as part of this, lots of individuals injured, gas prices high, the Supreme Leader replaced by somebody who is even more extreme than the Supreme Leader of a month ago.

And so, amongst other things,

We pray for the safety of the crew, but this is the cost to be paid when a nation decides to go to war.

Good to be with you, Rachel.

Well, we finally got a consistent rationale from the Secretary of State, from Marco Rubio.

I first heard it in a Gang of Eight meeting on the Tuesday prior to the attack.

We heard it as the attack was underway, and we've heard it a variety of times since.

And the problem is it's a profoundly dissatisfying rationale.

So what did Marco Rubio tell us?

He said that we were sure that the Israelis were about to launch an attack.

We were sure that when the Israelis launched that attack, that the Iranians would retaliate against us.

And therefore, we had to join the Israelis.

And Rachel, it's on the face of it.

So it's as though we're Lichtenstein, as though we have no leverage over the players in the region.

And of course, we do have rather substantial leverage or at least partnership with Israel.

And there were all sorts of options.

But that was the rationale.

And then, of course, we got the president freelancing his own rationales, which it was about the attempts to kill him or the nuclear facilities, which we were told were obliterated.