WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, supports President Donald Trump’s decision to kill the head of an Islamic group the United States designates as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Her opponent is saying the mission will further escalate tensions in the region. And the president of Iran said his country will take revenge.
The U.S. Department of Defense issued a release Thursday saying the U.S. military killed Qasem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force in Iran. The strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans, the department said.
“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” the release said. “General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.”
The department said Mr. Soleimani had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months, including an attack on Dec. 27, which resulted in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel.
The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, issued a statement Friday morning.
“The flag of General Soleimani in defense of the country’s territorial integrity and the fight against terrorism and extremism in the region will be raised, and the path of resistance to US excesses will continue,” the Iranian president said in the statement. “The great nation of Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime.”
In a statement of support on Friday, Ms. Stefanik said Mr. Soleimani was responsible for exporting terrorism around the world and targeting American troops. “President Trump is reaffirming the proven doctrine of Peace Through Strength,” she said in the statement. “Iran was given multiple warnings and instead chose to continue to escalate tensions and threaten US troops and diplomats. The era of leading from behind with pallets of cash is over. Every American should thank our brave men and women in uniform and our Intelligence Community who executed this successful mission.”
Tedra Cobb, who’s looking to unseat Ms. Stefanik from Congress in New York’s 21st district, said consequences of the mission remain largely unknown and retaliation is being anticipated.
“Qasem Soleimani is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, including hundreds of Americans,” she said. “However, our actions have long-term ramifications that have escalated tensions in the region.”
Ms. Cobb said Ms. Stefanik, as a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, as well as all of Congress, must ensure the Trump administration puts together a coalition of allies and exhausts all diplomatic efforts before moving forward.
“The lives of American troops, diplomats and innocent civilians are on the line,” she said.
(22) comments
I am glad Stefanik is ready to send our troops from Fort Drum to die in Iran to help President Trump's re-election chances. Our soldiers must be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice, but it is totally cool that President Trump wasn't willing to sell his businesses to wholly serve the American people. Remember American troops, President Bone Spurs likes veterans who weren't captured.
This statement is so sad, misinformed, unintelligent and plain evil I am shocked it gets through. There is no war coming. We got rid of a mass murderer who was plotting to kill more Americans and others. It’s a win. Go troll elsewhere. I am sure Elise is looking for your intelligence information as well. Sad
"There is no war coming."
let's hope you're right, but that's hardly something anyone can be too confident about. the trump administration has notified congress that they expect iran to retaliate "within weeks." https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/04/politics/trump-iran-intel-retaliation-concerns/index.html
in and of itself, it's a very good thing that soleimani has been rid from the earth. but there's a reason both bush and obama declined to take him out when they had the chance.
Fact: President Trump had his father use a podiatrist who rented from Trump sr. provide his son with a medical deferment to dodge the draft and then Trump played three sports in college after. Not much later the Trump's business paid a $250,000 fine for refusing to rent to black Viet Nam veterans.
Fact: President Trump slagged all American POW's by saying "I like veterans who weren't captured".
If you do not understand he will needlessly kill our soldiers to help himself is a complete simpleton.
That the WDT chose to cover this major news story through a local lens clarifies for me what was, until now, an unclear news-trajectory. It's local all the way. Because the news story has been compromised, I've been compromised. I can read about it at other media sources, compromising the WDT. I want to save the WDT but it has to make choices that save itself.
Why was this not done in a sneaky way so that we could disclaim responsibility?
Sneaky? In what way? We heard about it as soon as it was over.
reading comprehension, scoot.
They've known wherever this guy goes for years. It could have been arranged for him to have an "accident" or to be killed by a "rogue militia" or for Polonium to mysteriously appear in his coffee. A bad guy would be gone, but the war could have stayed nice and cold, nobody would have to save face. But no, we have to shoot his car with a drone and crow about it.
Different world we live in now RD. I fear no leader here moving forward is ever going to able to make critical decisions to rid the earth of filth like this without support from CNN, FOX, this person or that person. Bottom line is we got the job done and both Trump and Obama have rid the earth of scum murderers out there to do everyone harm.
Alas, we have eliminated one murdering Iranian General without understanding the context in which these individuals appear. Violence has always begat violence. War is not the answer. We must defend ourselves from imminent danger and, for the most part we have done so since 9/11. However there are deeper and more complex issues that need to be addressed and the current nitwits in our government are intellectually unprepared and generally disinterested.
Perhaps it would have been a better idea to send the General $1.7 billion in unmarked bills, on pallets in planes in the dead of night, so he could kill more Americans?
the $1.7 billion is such a wingnut talking point. it was nothing but iranian money which we were returning to them. a very small price to pay to avoid war.
When has Republicans attacking something in the middle east without thinking about consequences gone bad?
(fun fact, just before the Iraq war George W Bush indicated he didn't know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite and was surprised to learn they didn't like each other. Good to know he couldn't be bothered to skim Wikipedia before sending soldiers to die.
Obama killed a 16 year old American in Yemen with a drone strike, no concern then. Just collateral damage.
Republicans sent 4,000 soldiers to die in Iraq looking for WMD's that everybody knew weren't there in the first place. That war cost over one trillion dollars. (a trillion is 1,000 billion)
Of course not... Obama, good; Trump bad. The situation is irrelevant.
obama received a lot of criticism from the left for that.
and to expand on the point, look at the incredible level of thoughtfulness on the issue shown by eric holder at the time. (search for "citizen" to skip to the relevant part of the speech.) a world apart from what you get from the trumpers today.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-eric-holder-speaks-northwestern-university-school-law
Obama is a good husband and father, Trump is a horrible husband and father. Obama can speak well, Trump speaks at the level of a fourth grader and virtually everything out of his mouth is a lie. Obama can read, Trump cannot. I am glad you are finally getting it!
there was actually quite a lot of concern then -- not like you would know.
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