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Following drone shoot-down, Kaine urges caution

The Virginia Democrat says Congress should weigh in before the U.S. goes to war.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon released video of a plume of smoke, after Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot down an unmanned, unarmed U.S. surveillance drone over what the U.S. military said were international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.

RELATED: Iran shoots down US drone in latest incident of increasing tensions

Iran said the drone was destroyed over its coast and said the incident sent a "clear message" that the Persian Gulf nation is ready to defend itself from Western aggression. 

President Trump suggested it could've been a mistake, saying, "I find it hard to believe it was intentional."

RELATED: Trump: Iran made 'big mistake' shooting down US drone

But some on Capitol Hill now say the U.S. must retaliate.

"This is an enemy of mankind," said Sen Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). "And if you're not willing to take this enemy on, you'll regret it."

But others are urging caution.

Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine said that at the very least, the U.S. should not rush into war using the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. Instead, he said, Congress should debate the matter first.

"The purpose here is not to stand up and defend Iranian behavior," he said, "But it is to stand  for the proposition that we shouldn't be committed to a war without a vote of Congress."

Kaine said the Trump administration is being "unnecessarily provocative" and "raising the risk of unnecessary war."

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