Democratic Senators probe Pentagon over Kuwait strike
Washington: Four senior Democratic senators have launched an investigation into the Pentagon’s handling of troop protection during Operation Epic Fury, citing reports that six US service members were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait without adequate warning or defences.
In a sharply worded letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Kirsten Gillibrand and Mark Kelly raised “disturbing allegations” that the Department of Defense failed to take “even basic precautions to protect the lives of U.S. service members” after the war with Iran began.
On March 1, an Iranian drone struck a US military post at Shuaiba port in Kuwait. According to the lawmakers, the attack came with “no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker,” leaving troops exposed.
Six service members were killed and at least 20 injured. Survivors reportedly “triaged themselves with makeshift bandages, braces and tourniquets” and “commandeered civilian vehicles to drive the wounded to two local Kuwaiti hospitals.”
The senators accused Hegseth of misrepresenting the circumstances. While he described the strike as a “powerful” drone attack that penetrated “fortified” US defences, survivors disputed that account, calling it a “falsehood” and saying the unit “was unprepared to provide any defense for itself” despite requests “for more capabilities to defeat incoming drones.”
The letter cited evidence that the base lacked key air defence systems. There were no “American counter-rocket, artillery and mortar system” capable of intercepting drones, and one survivor said the level of protection would fall under a “none category.”
Lawmakers also pointed to intelligence warnings that appear to have gone unheeded. One service member said personnel had seen intelligence showing the post “was on a list of potential Iranian targets,” while officials warned the location “concentrated too many US troops in a location that wasn’t defendable.”
The concerns extend beyond the Kuwait strike. The senators said the Pentagon failed to warn US-flagged ships of imminent Iranian attacks, “breaking from past precedent” and leaving personnel stranded for weeks without evacuation options.
“We are concerned that this is part of a larger pattern in which this administration has failed to protect Americans in the region from Iranian retaliation,” the lawmakers wrote.
They added that “the safety and well-being of our service members should be a top priority for DoD leadership,” calling for “careful consideration of major operations like Epic Fury” and better planning to prevent foreseeable harm from drone strikes.
The senators have asked Hegseth to explain key decisions, including why troops were stationed at the Kuwait post, why requests for additional protections were denied, and how the Pentagon is ensuring troop safety going forward. They have set a deadline of May 11 for responses.
“Secretary Hegseth sent our troops to fight in Iran, refused to take basic steps to protect them, and then tried to cover up his failures when service members died,” Warren said.