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John Curtis says he remembers Vietnam when thinking about Iran

deseret.com · 18h · first reportShare

When asked about what Congress should do with Iran, Sen. John Curtis immediately pivoted to talking about a memory during the Vietnam era, when he watched a group of young men go to his church leader’s office to draw straws. As part of the exercise, one drew the straw that allowed him to serve a mission, while the others prepared themselves for the draft, he said during a press briefing in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. “And in my opinion, that’s as close to a constitutional crisis as this country has had, because we were at war, and Congress never declared war,” Curtis said. “And ... it wasn’t a little war, right? We lost way too many people, and even those that came home, came home very damaged. And Congress never declared war.” The memory of that era haunts him as he watches Congress fail to act on the war between the United States and Iran. “To me, this is a big deal, and I feel that if there is justification for a war, Congress shouldn’t hide behind the president,” Curtis said. Duri