The elimination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by the Trump administration late Thursday EST provoked two distinct responses.
Democrats acknowledged the general’s evil ways but portrayed his removal as an illicit “assassination” conducted without congressional authorization. They also warned that his removal may spur another war in the Middle East.
Days after mocking President Trump for rendering America ‘impotent’ following the U.S. Embassy attack in Iraq (more on that below), Sen Chris Murphy raised the red flag of a possible war with Iran and questioned Trump for going rogue without Congress.
Observe:
Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question.
The question is this – as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 3, 2020
Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 3, 2020
Prayers for peace. Killing of Qasem Solemani by US military was one of the most reckless irresponsible actions ever directed by a US President. Congress deserves condemnation for allowing it (NDAA) and Americans need to understand this: War with Iran would be totally disastrous.
— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) January 3, 2020
War with Iran is the last thing we need and is not the will of the American people. We should be acting to deescalate tensions and protect our people in the region.
— Andrew Yang? (@AndrewYang) January 3, 2020
My statement on the killing of Qassem Soleimani. pic.twitter.com/4Q9tlLAYFB
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 3, 2020
Republicans meanwhile celebrated the move because of Soleimani’s lifelong history of promoting terrorism abroad and partaking in the murder of American servicemen. They also pointed to Iran’s recent aggression, as well as the months of patience and restraint that President Donald Trump had shown prior to Soleimani’s elimination.
Observe:
Facing repeated #IRGC attacks the U.S. & @potus exercised admirable restraint while setting clear red lines & the consequences for crossing them#Iran’s Quds Force chose the path of escalation
They are entirely to blame for bringing about the dangerous moment now before us.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2020
The defensive actions the U.S. has taken against #Iran & its proxies are consistent with clear warnings they have received
They chose to ignore these warnings because they believed @POTUS was constrained from acting by our domestic political divisions
They badly miscalculated
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2020
You don’t have to support @potus withdrawing from the #IranDeal or his “maximum pressure” campaign to support the proposition that planning,conducting,directing or funding attacks aimed at killing Americans merits a swift & decisive response.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2020
The U.S. exercised economic pressure on Iran
Iran chose to respond to economic pressure with #IRGC sponsored & directed attacks aimed at killing Americans
For months @POTUS has exercised tremendous restraint
These are facts & any other view is either a misinformed one or a lie
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2020
Soleimani’s support of international terrorism cannot be understated — he was responsible for the death of tens of thousands of people worldwide. This is a huge victory.
Promises made, promises kept by President @realDonaldTrump! pic.twitter.com/FfmAdb8V62
— Rep. Michael Waltz (@RepMichaelWaltz) January 3, 2020
As I said on @dailybriefing this afternoon, we shouldn’t hesitate to take terrorists like Soleimani and Muhandis — who have the blood of hundreds of Americans and thousands of our allies — off the battlefield. pic.twitter.com/6mqIdkYHJ9
— Rep. Mike Gallagher (@RepGallagher) January 3, 2020
Both sets of responses were arguably valid. Soleimani was indeed an evil man who deserved to be eliminated. Conversely, his elimination was indeed a controversial action that could spur a major conflict in the Middle East.
There are however some other factors to consider.
Factor One
Affiliates of an Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militia and foreign terrorist organization known as Kata’ib Hezbollah have in the past two months committed at least 11 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria. One attack last Friday led to the death of an American contractor.
In response, over the weekend the Trump administration ordered airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on the FTO’s facilities. Angry over these attacks, members of Kata’ib Hezbollah stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad early Tuesday morning EST.
Fed-up with this increasing aggression from Iranian-backed terrorists, the president warned Iran that hell awaited it unless it cut the crap:
The U.S. Embassy in Iraq is, & has been for hours, SAFE! Many of our great Warfighters, together with the most lethal military equipment in the world, was immediately rushed to the site. Thank you to the President & Prime Minister of Iraq for their rapid response upon request….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
….Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
How did the leaders of Iran respond? By talking trash.
In a statement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei taunted Trump by reportedly saying, “You can’t do anything.”
Perhaps his attitude was motivated by former President Barack Obama, who always treated America’s enemies with kid gloves. Thus maybe Khamenei thought he could expect the same from the Trump administration? But as Soleimani’s elimination proved, he thought very wrong.
So did Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy. While he’s since taken to questioning the validity of Soleimani’s elimination, as seen in the tweets up top, only days earlier he’d been blasting the president for not being tough enough on Iran:
Sen. Chris Murphy: “The attack on our embassy in Baghdad is horrifying but predictable.” https://t.co/aAg3WjUcxR pic.twitter.com/D31j43bRyl
— ABC News (@ABC) December 31, 2019
Factor Two
The Iraqi people seem thrilled by the general’s removal. This attitude may be motivated by their growing anger over Iran’s influence on their corrupt government.
Observe some of their response below:
Iraqi people celebrating now in Tahrir Square, #Baghdad after news of Qassem Suleimani’s killing.#Iraq #Iran pic.twitter.com/RKhZRuKXNm
— Sara Assaf (@SaraAssaf) January 3, 2020
I congratulate my #Iranian compatriots & whoever have suffered from #Iran‘s Islamic Regime & #IRGC. Great to see our #Iraqi Brothers & Sisters celebrating death of Qasem Soleimani. Iraqis are now reclaiming their country. Same thing will happen to us & people of #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/NTf3QFa24E
— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) January 3, 2020
Reports have emerged that the Iranian people may be in an equally celebratory mood because of their anger over their own government’s corruption.
“I think it is entirely possible that this is going to be a catalyst inside Iran where the people celebrate this killing of Soleimani,” former President George W. Bush’s then-press secretary Ali Fleischer predicted late Thursday on Fox.
Listen:
Ari Fleischer: “I think it is entirely possible that this is going to be a catalyst inside Iran where the people celebrate this killing of Soleimani” pic.twitter.com/UfcTOkvqAw
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) January 3, 2020
The only surefire evidence that this may be occurring is a celebratory tweet posted by the following known “Iranian resistance” activist:
NEVER should we let our fear for war overshadow our moral principles and obligation to resist evil. To all those worried, we Iranians have been in war with our regime for 4 decades. The world knows that we fight @khamenei_ir so if his henchmen gets killed, we celebrate justice!
— Borna Khiabani (@Borna___) January 3, 2020
It seems like everybody is celebrating Soleimani’s elimination except for Iran’s corrupt government officials and the Democrat Party. Though again, concerns about his removal prompting another war in the Middle East are valid.
Factor Three
According to Sen. Marco Rubio, the notion that Trump lacked the authority to eliminate Soleimani is 100 percent false.
Look:
FICTION:Trump has no authority to order military action against Iranian proxies & IRGC elements without congressional approval
FACT: President has a duty to defend against (& if possible prevent)attacks against our Armed Forces under both the Constitution & War Powers Resolution
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2020
Khamenei has for his part vowed to seek “revenge” after three days of mourning:
Iran’s Supreme Leader has declared three days of mourning. Promises revenge. pic.twitter.com/QkVldw8z67
— Ranj Alaaldin (@RanjAlaaldin) January 3, 2020
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Vivek@bizpacreview.com
V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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