One day after a successful pre-emptive defensive strike took out Iran’s top exporter of terror, Qassim Soleimani, the US State Department and President Trump are arguing that the strike was necessary to save American lives.
US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus tells Sky News the US “made the decision that the risk of keeping Qassem Soleimani alive was a much greater risk than taking him out.”
Read more on this story: https://t.co/uzYzSAci2R pic.twitter.com/jDfrm40I7L
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 3, 2020
Ortagus stated: “We killed a terrorist yesterday.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the strike was designed to disrupt Soleimani’s plots, deter further plotting by Iran, and de-escalate tensions with Iran.
For more on Soleimani and his past go here.
President Trump justifies the strike
President Trump issued a statement justifying the strike:
General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more… but got caught!
“He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself. While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!”
In his first official appearance since Soleimani’s death, President Trump answered his critics with, “We took action to stop a war, not to start a war.”
WATCH:
Neither Bush nor Obama went after Soleimani
Neither President Bush or President Obama tried to take Soleimani out during their tenure. Bush thought it was too risky, and Obama wanted to improve relations with Iran. So, Soleimani continued his terrorist activities unopposed by the US until President Trump. Some described Soleimani as worse than Bin Laden or Al Baghdadi.
Senator Mitch McConnell justified the attack
Senator Mitch McConnell briefed the Senate and explained why Soleimani was such a threat, saying, “Soleimani made it his life’s work to take the Iranian revolutionary calls for “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” and turned them into action.” McConnel called Soleimani’s actions destabilizing for the entire middle east.
Democrats assert that the President needed congressional authorization
Unsurprisingly, the Democrats are criticizing President Trump, saying that he should have gotten authorization before taking Soleimani out. 2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard said that the strike was an act of war against Iran and hadn’t been authorized by Congress. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer, and Pete Buttigieg echoed similar opinions.
But the war in Iraq, where Soleimani was killed, was authorized by Congress in 2001 by an almost unanimous vote.
The preamble of the ‘‘Authorization for Use of Military Force’’ states:
Whereas, on September 11, 2001, acts of treacherous violence were
committed against the United States and its citizens; and
Whereas, such acts render it both necessary and appropriate that
the United States exercise its rights to self-defense and to protect
United States citizens both at home and abroad; and
Whereas, in light of the threat to the national security and foreign
policy of the United States posed by these grave acts of violence;
and
Whereas, such acts continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United
States; and
Whereas, the President has authority under the Constitution to
take action to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism
against the United States:
IRGC and Qods designated Terrorist organization
Obviously, the president has a duty to defend Americans against terrorism, and Soleimani was a terrorist. Indeed, the president designated “Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its Qods Force, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act” on April 8, 2019. Soleimani was the Iranian Quds Force commander.
Congress approved the War on Terror long ago, and the strike on Soleimani was another action in that war. The strike was not a declaration of war, it was just another action in an ongoing war against terrorism. Congress could amend the authorization, but, Congress is too busy with impeachment to worry about re-visiting the Authorization of Military Force.
Senator Lindsay Graham justifies the attack
Senator Lindsey Graham was asked if the president should have consulted Congress before the strike against Soleimani. He responded that that would be the last thing the president should do.
Graham emphasized that the strike against Soleimani was not an act of revenge, but a pre-emptive defensive strike to disrupt Soleimani’s plans to attack Americans. Graham also said that Soleimani is dead today because he miscalculated what President Trump would do.
Graham advised that the US needs to let Iran know what will happen if they try to retaliate. He said that if the Iranians know what we will do, it will moderate their response.
Graham also warned that Iran has armed Iraqi Shiite militias and that the Iraqi government is in danger of being destabilized by Iranian influence.
Iran threatens “crushing” revenge
Iran’s Supreme leader Khameini is threatening “crushing revenge.” He is portraying Soleimani as a martyr. More to come.
Is a war with Iran next?
Fox News contributor Walid Phares suggests that Iran is not ready for a war with the US.
WATCH:
393 Responses
I’m the manager of JustCBD brand (justcbdstore.com) and am trying to grow my wholesale side of business. I am hoping someone at targetdomain can help me 🙂 I thought that the most effective way to do this would be to connect to vape stores and cbd stores. I was hoping if anyone could recommend a trusted website where I can purchase Vape Shop Business Lists I am presently examining creativebeartech.com, theeliquidboutique.co.uk and wowitloveithaveit.com. Unsure which one would be the best solution and would appreciate any advice on this. Or would it be simpler for me to scrape my own leads? Suggestions?
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular post! It is the little changes that make the largest changes. Thanks for sharing!
I needed to thank you for this very good read!! I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. I have you book-marked to check out new stuff you post…
Greetings, I believe your site might be having browser compatibility problems. Whenever I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Aside from that, excellent blog!
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon everyday. It’s always helpful to read through articles from other authors and practice a little something from their websites.
Hello there! This article could not be written much better! Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this. I most certainly will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he’ll have a great read. Thank you for sharing!
I simply want to tell you that I’m newbie to blogs and actually liked your website. Probably I’m want to bookmark your blog . You definitely have outstanding well written articles. Thank you for revealing your webpage.
I simply want to tell you that I’m beginner to weblog and really liked your page. Most likely I’m planning to bookmark your website . You definitely come with tremendous article content. Thanks a bunch for sharing your blog.
Well I definitely liked studying it. This tip procured by you is very helpful for proper planning.
I simply could not depart your web site before suggesting that I extremely loved the standard information an individual supply to your visitors? Is going to be back regularly in order to check up on new posts|
Best view i have ever seen !
Love watching sunset !
Love watching sunset !
Love watching sunset !
Love watching sunset !
Its laborious to seek out educated folks on this matter, but you sound like you know what youre talking about! Thanks
fantastic points altogether, you simply gained a emblem new reader. What would you suggest about your publish that you made some days ago? Any positive?
I simply couldn’t go away your site prior to suggesting that I actually enjoyed the usual information a person supply for your visitors? Is going to be again frequently to check out new posts
My spouse and I stumbled over here different website and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to looking into your web page again.
Very excellent information can be found on weblog . “The only thing you take with you when you’re gone is what you leave behind.” by John Allston.
Thank you so much for providing individuals with remarkably superb chance to read from this blog. It is usually so kind and packed with a good time for me and my office friends to visit your website at a minimum thrice in one week to read the latest items you will have. Of course, I’m always impressed with all the excellent tips you give. Selected 2 points on this page are honestly the most beneficial we’ve ever had.
I am really loving the theme/design of your website. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility problems? A handful of my blog readers have complained about my blog not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Firefox. Do you have any recommendations to help fix this problem?
Yet another issue is that video games usually are serious as the name indicated with the major focus on learning rather than fun. Although, it comes with an entertainment part to keep children engaged, each one game is generally designed to work towards a specific experience or curriculum, such as instructional math or scientific disciplines. Thanks for your article.
Howdy! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Thank you!
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you should write more about this subject matter, it may not be a taboo matter but generally people don’t discuss these topics. To the next! Cheers!!
Hey, you used to write great, but the last several posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past few posts are just a bit out of track! come on!
As soon as I found this internet site I went on reddit to share some of the love with them.
Hey there this is kinda of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
It’s actually a nice and useful piece of info. I’m glad that you simply shared this useful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Very nice post. I certainly love this site. Continue the good work!
I truly appreciate this post. I have been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve made my day! Thx again!
Aw, this was an extremely good post. Taking the time and actual effort to produce a very good article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and don’t manage to get anything done.
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be interesting to read through content from other authors and use a little something from their websites.
Hi, Neat post. There is a problem together with your web site in web explorer, could check this… IE nonetheless is the market chief and a huge component to other folks will leave out your fantastic writing because of this problem.
May I simply say what a comfort to discover a person that genuinely understands what they’re discussing on the web. You actually realize how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I can’t believe you aren’t more popular since you surely possess the gift.
Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful article. Thank you for supplying this info.
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Many thanks!
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from some of the information you present here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Thanks a lot!
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thanks, However I am going through troubles with your RSS. I don’t know why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody else getting similar RSS issues? Anyone that knows the answer will you kindly respond? Thanks!!
You should be a part of a contest for one of the greatest blogs online. I most certainly will highly recommend this website!