Sen. Kyrsten Sinema seemed to break away from the pack mentality of her fellow Democrats in attacking President Trump over the U.S. airstrike against an Iranian military commander.
Rather than spout the Democrats’ immediate condemnation of the president’s actions as an escalation of conflict with Iran, the Arizona lawmaker believed Iranian “aggression should be checked,” as she said in a statement released on Friday.
“The country deserves, and the administration must provide, a coherent effective strategy to safeguard our national security,” Sinema said.
“My highest priority is the safety of Arizona families. Soleimani was a terrorist, and I stand with all Arizonans in honoring the Americans killed and harmed by his actions,” she added, referring to Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) January 3, 2020
“Iran’s aggression should be checked, and we must protect all Americans at home and abroad,” the moderate Democrat added.
The Pentagon revealed that Soleimani, a longtime enemy of the U.S. who was reportedly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. personnel, was “developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq” and the Middle East region.
“We took action last night to stop a war,” Trump said Friday. “We did not take action to start a war.”
Trump announces Soleimani ‘planning major attack’ as Iranian ambassador declares strike an ‘act of war’ https://t.co/4ObnVKVSje pic.twitter.com/oFDWrcZQhO
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) January 4, 2020
Democrats, including the 2020 presidential candidates, not only criticized Trump’s decision, they whined about not being briefed ahead of the strike. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned Trump’s decision to order the strike, saying in a statement that “this action was taken without the consultation of the Congress.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham further enraged Democrats by relating that he was briefed about the imminent strike while visiting with the president in Florida where he has been staying in his Palm Beach resort home for the holidays.
Sinema, a freshman Democrat from Arizona who seems, at times, to not really fit in with her fellow Senate Democrats, will reportedly be joining her Republican colleague, Sen. Martha McSally, at a classified briefing next week arranged by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the military operation in Iraq, according to The Arizona Republic.
McSally, a vocal Trump supporter who was defeated by Sinema in 2018, posted a statement about Soleimani on Twitter where the retired Air Force combat pilot and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee called out his role in the deaths of Americans.
Qassim Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers during the Iraq War and hostile activities throughout the Middle East. His pursuit of state-sponsored terror has finally come to an end.
— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) January 3, 2020
Sinema seemed to steer clear of the outright criticism of the president by Democrats. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is now denying that he advised President Obama against launching the 2011 raid against al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, said the attack on Soleimani might lead to ” multiple Iranian attacks by multiple means on multiple targets.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer claimed on the Senate floor Friday that “the President does not have the authority for a war with Iran.”
Sen Chris Murphy slammed the president for “knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war” in a tweet on Thursday, which prompted retired Army Major General James Marks to tell him to “just be quiet” on the issue.
Sinema’s statement on Friday prompted mixed responses on Twitter as many called her out for her comments and others praised her for not spewing Democrats’ rhetoric.
It’s good to have one senator who does their actual job – support the constituents that elected her rather than agree to whatever party talking points are currently being pushed out of DC
— paige sully (@PaigeSully88) January 3, 2020
I appreciate this.
— AJ Guckian (@ajguckian) January 3, 2020
Perfectly stated…thank you!!
Can you teach the CA Senators how to be human?— Sisyphus (@PoliSisyphus) January 3, 2020
Thank you for your common sense comment.
— Donald Aper (@donald_aper) January 3, 2020
We don’t announce our strategy. That was the last guy.
— ArizonaSuburbanMom⭐️⭐️⭐️⚜️ (@noprezzie2012) January 4, 2020
I’m very surprised by her that’s for sure. I’m not sure about this statement though. It’s pretty milktoasty & non committal. I would hope she supports our soldiers as stated, but would she defy party and support POTUS to help unify us if push came to shove?
— Aaron Mungillo (@zyxaaron) January 3, 2020
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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