US-based Legal NGO Just Security has called for a Vietnam-style inquiry into the American war against Iran. The group, which specialises in national security topics, has compared the attack to the worst foreign policy disasters in US history. Just Security said on 31 August:
As the U.S. war against Iran passes the six-month mark, the conflict’s disastrous impacts are being compounded by the inability of the United States to negotiate or implement a resolution, with the two sides trading attacks again as of today.
The war’s “triple illegality,” the tremendous cost to human lives and civilian infrastructure, the immense and mounting economic costs, the dangerous drain on military resources and readiness
The NGO did not hold back, arguing:
the sheer magnitude of its [the Trump administration’s] strategic failure put the war on par with the other biggest foreign policy failures of the modern era.
Just Security said that other recent foreign policy debacles had been subject to investigations quickly. They used the examples of 9/11 and the 2008 economic crash:
The 2026 Iran War and its second-order effects match the scale of those prior events. Congress can draw lessons from preceding commissions to help the Iran War Commission succeed.
Iran war deserves a full, efficient, properly staffed commission
US congress has a range of options. It could legislate to back the failing war, or try and use the War Powers Act to limit it. Congress can also, according to Just Security, hold “serious, bipartisan oversight hearings”:
much as it did after the Vietnam War, with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s “Fulbright hearings”.
The NGO, which is also investigating Trump’s operations in South America, suggested a “thematic scope” for any commission that arises. This would include costs, ammunition depletion, civilian harm and the global and national economic impact of the war.
Other possible topics included:
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Use of novel weapons/munitions
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Use of AI in the targeting process and the effectiveness and limitations of human-machine teaming across the targeting cycle
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Leader-level threats against Iran’s civilian infrastructure and Iran as a civilization. Targeting of civilian political leaders
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Legality and efficacy of targeting “dual-use” infrastructure
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Mistaken targeting of civilians and civilian objects (the Minab school, the Lamerd sports hall strike, and others)
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Conduct of investigations into civilian casualty incidents
Just Security said that the size and scope of the inquiry should be carefully calibrated, warning speed, accuracy and efficiency should be paramount.
There is little sense from the Trump administration that it would be keen on transparency. Indeed, it has made serious moves to clamp down on journalism since the war on Iran began. That said, lawmakers should be pushing hard for fuller explanations and disclosures about a war which looks increasingly unwinnable — and has massive implications far beyond the countries involved.
Featured image via the Canary
By Joe Glenton
