CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Rep. Adam Smith

Interview

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LITZER: We're going to get back to you, Fred. You just got to Tehran. Stand by. I know you're getting more information. Arwa, we'll get back to you in Baghdad as well.

Joining us right now is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Democratic representative Adam Smith of Washington State. Congressman thanks so much for joining us. Let's get your reaction. The president says he took this decision not to start a war, but to stop a war. What do you think?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): I'm very concerned about this. This is an enormous escalation. Look, we've had differences with Iran for 40 years now. And those conflicts have raged in a variety of different places. This is an enormous escalatory step and where is it leading. And also, I understand that the point of the attack, I believe, was to prevent Iran from attacking us. But I need more explanation on that because they have other generals.

Killing this one, I don't think is going to stop them from moving forward with the plans and were there not other options. If we knew specifically what their attack plans were, if the Intel was telling us that, weren't there other ways to prevent those attacks rather than this escalatory step. So where this is going, I don't think anybody knows but it definitely is a huge escalation of the conflict and it places American lives at risk going forward for all of the reasons that your reporter stated a few minutes ago.

BLITZER: What specifically, Congressman, are your concerns with the decision-making process that led up to this drone strike?

SMITH: Well, I mean, one of the biggest concerns I have is Congress certainly has not been consulted in this process. We had one meeting, gosh, four or five months ago with some leaders in Congress after the Iranians shot down our drone and about what the response should be. We haven't had conversations since then with the White House or the administration.

Also, I know that they're citing Article 2, self-defense on this, but this is basically a huge escalation in the conflict with Iran. There ought to be Congressional approval. If we're going to have an ongoing conflict with Iran through the drone strikes, through the bombings that we did against Hezbollah targets in Iraq and Syria, there ought to be an authorization from Congress for this military force.

That would be in keeping with the Constitution.

BLITZER: The administration says the decision to go ahead and launch the strike was based on the latest intelligence showing an imminent threat. You're the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, have you seen that assessment?

SMITH: I have not. We have had briefings, like I said, periodically over the last couple of months. But we were never told about the specifics of this intelligence. I'm still hoping to get those briefings today. I'm going to be speaking with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Milley shortly. And then we'll try to get briefings next week. But we -- nobody as far as I know in Congress has been specifically briefed on what those intelligence findings were and why it was thought that this was the best way to prevent those attacks.

BLITZER: Don't you think at least the so-called gang of eight, the top leaders, Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, who work on national security. Should they not have been briefed in advance of this strike?

SMITH: I believe they should have been. That is normal procedure under every president I've served under to date except for this one.

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And I know for a fact that the gang of eight as you described were not told. I talked -- I spoke to the speaker last night and Speaker Pelosi was not informed, neither were our Republican counterparts.

BLITZER: Iran is now, as you heard, threatening very serious consequences against the United States. What options do you believe Iran has on the table, options to retaliate?

SMITH: They have a wide range of options. I mean the easiest ones are in Iraq, in that region where we have U.S. personnel and where they have militias and strong relationships with a number of terrorist organizations. But, look, Iran is supportive of Hezbollah, Hamas, and a variety of different other terrorist organizations. The Quds Force itself has presence throughout the world. They could conceivably attack us anywhere. Not just in the Middle East. And it is hard to imagine that they're not going to retaliate. And that is the big question.

If we took this strike to protect American lives, then there has to be an obvious answer to this question, does this strike or make it more or less likely that Iran is going to attack us. They would have to say it makes it less likely. But I don't see how that can be the case. So I'm deeply concerned about this.

And the final point is where is this going? The president pulled us out of the Iran nuclear deal and instituted a maximum pressure campaign against Iran. The goal, as the president has said, was to get Iran to negotiate. Well there is no evidence that Iran is going to negotiate. The conflict is simply going to escalate. So what now is the goal? Having pulled out of the JCPOA, all we've seen is an escalating cycle of violence with Iran and in the region. Where is this headed and what is the administration's plan for handling this escalating violence. That is not clear. And I'm going to be asking a lot of questions about it in the days ahead.

BLITZER: Very quickly, do you have a problem with the U.S. deciding today to deploy another 3,500 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the region?

SMITH: Well under the circumstances, it is -- as General Milley said, there is only one conclusion, Iran is going to want to attack us more now than before. So protecting our interest is important. But again, it is also part of the escalation. 3,500 more troops is 3,500 more targets and how are we going to protect all of those interests when Iran clearly now has a very strong incentive to retaliate. I think we need to think this through in great detail and I'm not sure that the administration has.

BLITZER: Tensions clearly escalating big time. Congressman Adam Smith thanks so much for joining us.

SMITH: Thanks, Wolf.

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