MS NOW’s Luke Russert lashed out against President Donald Trump after the Pentagon confirmed that three U.S. service members have died, as the United States and Iran continue to trade strikes across the Middle East.
On Monday, the Defense Department confirmed that 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, were killed during an Iranian attack on an airbase in Jordan last week. And according to the Pentagon, another service member, Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, died on Thursday while trying to dispose of a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq. At least 17 American troops have died since the conflict began in February.
“That photograph of 19-year-old Elizabeth Gonzalez just hit me,” Russert said, telling his fellow “The Weeknight” co-hosts that it “transported” him back to a time “when we would get those death notices in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2005, 2006, 2007.”
“You look at people who are around your own age, and you see them just — they’re dead,” he continued. “Why? What did she die for? What was the purpose of this war that she gave her life for?”
Russert questioned how Tehran was able to target the base, noting Trump’s repeated claims that the U.S. military has “obliterated” and “totally destroyed” the country’s armed forces.
“She was at a base in Jordan. We were told that the Iranian military’s capabilities were done with. Somehow they managed to get a projectile across all of Iraq and into Jordan to kill a service member at 19 years old,” he said.
The MS NOW host said “America is not safer” as the Trump administration’s operation in the Middle East continues with no end in sight. Earlier this month, the president declared the ceasefire with Iran “over,” with both sides ramping up attacks in recent weeks.
“Gas prices are up. The global economy is hurting from this. And now 17 service members have died, and there’s over 400 wounded,” he said. “Iran is emboldened, and our boys and girls are dying.”
You can watch the full segment from “The Weeknight” in the clip at the top of the page.
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