Congress has two main reactions to Trump's killing of Iran's Gen. Soleimani: Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein
President Trump's order to kill a top Iranian commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an Iraqi militia leader, and others near Baghdad International Airport on Thursday was apparently news to Congress. And Congress had two general responses: Trump has killed a murderous commander with ample U.S. blood on his hands, and Trump might have just launched a major war with Iran.
Soleimani was leader of the elite Quds Force, the foreign wing of the Revolutionary Guards, and he was close with Iran's supreme leader and wielded immense political power in Iran as well as Iraq and Syria. "Just imagine how we’d react if some adversary assassinated a member of the Joint Chiefs, an Undersecretary of State, or the [Director of National Intelligence]," said Harvard international relations professor Stephen Walt. Iranian-American journalist Yashar Ali compared the strike to another country killing the U.S. vice president.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
For Democrats, it was more reminiscent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but without any input from Congress:
Senators were even arguing over Twitter.
Trump himself has not issued a statement, but he did tweet a photo of the American flag. Peter Weber
-
Switzerland could vote to cap its populationUnder the Radar Swiss People’s Party proposes referendum on radical anti-immigration measure to limit residents to 10 million
-
Political cartoons for February 15Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include political ventriloquism, Europe in the middle, and more
-
The broken water companies failing England and WalesExplainer With rising bills, deteriorating river health and a lack of investment, regulators face an uphill battle to stabilise the industry
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
‘The mark’s significance is psychological, if that’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
