Trump grapples with the greatest cost of his war in Iran: The human cost
What's the administration thinking here?
President Donald Trump is under pressure to minimize the cost of Operation Epic Fury, his expanding conflict against Iran.
The Department of War confirmed this week the identities of the six U.S. service members killed in action so far: Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Iowa; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of California; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Iowa.
The service members were killed on Sunday when an Iranian drone struck their command center, a temporary building near a civilian port in Kuwait. The command center was miles away from the U.S. Army base in Kuwait. Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell described the command center as a “secure facility fortified with 6-foot walls.”
As the conflict enters its second week, the human cost of the war — and how it is perceived at home — is emerging as the central political challenge facing the president.
In a Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted since the start of the operation, only 27% of respondents approved of Trump’s decision to start striking Iranian targets, compared to 43% who disapproved of it.
At the same time, 55% of Republican respondents approved of the operation, while 13% disapproved. Those respondents were then asked what could change their opinion, with service members “being killed or injured” the only option that prompted a plurality of Republicans to tell pollsters that would make them “more likely to oppose” the strikes, 11%-42%.
In a text message exchange with the Washington Examiner, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt underscored that Trump will attend the dignified transfer movement of the service members when they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday, during which their bodies will be moved from an aircraft to waiting vehicles.
“He will be attending the dignified transfer and meeting with the families,” Leavitt told the Washington Examiner.
Leavitt did not confirm whether Trump had spoken with the families of the service members, but when asked how the president is grappling with the loss of life, she replied: “It’s his top priority always.”
It is a softer approach than the one Leavitt adopted when she criticized CNN for asking during a press briefing this week whether it is “the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members.”
“No, it’s the position of this …
What's the administration thinking here?
President Donald Trump is under pressure to minimize the cost of Operation Epic Fury, his expanding conflict against Iran.
The Department of War confirmed this week the identities of the six U.S. service members killed in action so far: Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Iowa; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of California; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Iowa.
The service members were killed on Sunday when an Iranian drone struck their command center, a temporary building near a civilian port in Kuwait. The command center was miles away from the U.S. Army base in Kuwait. Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell described the command center as a “secure facility fortified with 6-foot walls.”
As the conflict enters its second week, the human cost of the war — and how it is perceived at home — is emerging as the central political challenge facing the president.
In a Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted since the start of the operation, only 27% of respondents approved of Trump’s decision to start striking Iranian targets, compared to 43% who disapproved of it.
At the same time, 55% of Republican respondents approved of the operation, while 13% disapproved. Those respondents were then asked what could change their opinion, with service members “being killed or injured” the only option that prompted a plurality of Republicans to tell pollsters that would make them “more likely to oppose” the strikes, 11%-42%.
In a text message exchange with the Washington Examiner, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt underscored that Trump will attend the dignified transfer movement of the service members when they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday, during which their bodies will be moved from an aircraft to waiting vehicles.
“He will be attending the dignified transfer and meeting with the families,” Leavitt told the Washington Examiner.
Leavitt did not confirm whether Trump had spoken with the families of the service members, but when asked how the president is grappling with the loss of life, she replied: “It’s his top priority always.”
It is a softer approach than the one Leavitt adopted when she criticized CNN for asking during a press briefing this week whether it is “the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members.”
“No, it’s the position of this …
Trump grapples with the greatest cost of his war in Iran: The human cost
What's the administration thinking here?
President Donald Trump is under pressure to minimize the cost of Operation Epic Fury, his expanding conflict against Iran.
The Department of War confirmed this week the identities of the six U.S. service members killed in action so far: Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Iowa; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of California; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Iowa.
The service members were killed on Sunday when an Iranian drone struck their command center, a temporary building near a civilian port in Kuwait. The command center was miles away from the U.S. Army base in Kuwait. Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell described the command center as a “secure facility fortified with 6-foot walls.”
As the conflict enters its second week, the human cost of the war — and how it is perceived at home — is emerging as the central political challenge facing the president.
In a Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted since the start of the operation, only 27% of respondents approved of Trump’s decision to start striking Iranian targets, compared to 43% who disapproved of it.
At the same time, 55% of Republican respondents approved of the operation, while 13% disapproved. Those respondents were then asked what could change their opinion, with service members “being killed or injured” the only option that prompted a plurality of Republicans to tell pollsters that would make them “more likely to oppose” the strikes, 11%-42%.
In a text message exchange with the Washington Examiner, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt underscored that Trump will attend the dignified transfer movement of the service members when they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday, during which their bodies will be moved from an aircraft to waiting vehicles.
“He will be attending the dignified transfer and meeting with the families,” Leavitt told the Washington Examiner.
Leavitt did not confirm whether Trump had spoken with the families of the service members, but when asked how the president is grappling with the loss of life, she replied: “It’s his top priority always.”
It is a softer approach than the one Leavitt adopted when she criticized CNN for asking during a press briefing this week whether it is “the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members.”
“No, it’s the position of this …
