‘Congress has to assert itself and determine exactly what our Iran policy is…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) In the aftermath of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s death in an airstrike authorized Thursday by President Donald Trump, the Democrats have suddenly decided they care about congressional authorization.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., griped that it was a brash “escalation” taken “without the consultation of Congress.”
“The Administration has conducted tonight’s strikes in Iraq targeting high-level Iranian military officials and killing Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani without an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran,” she said in a statement.
Most of the Democratic Party echoed her characterization, including several presidential candidates. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Soleimani’s death could lead to an unnecessary war with Iran, and criticized Trump for failing to receive congressional approval.
Most notably, however, former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, who worked under the Obama administration on the controversial Iran nuclear deal, declared that Congress must now “assert itself and determine exactly what our Iran policy is.”
Congress has to assert itself and determine exactly what our Iran policy is. Did we mean to do this? Do we have any plan for what comes next? What is the legal basis for all this?
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 3, 2020
Of course, Rhodes didn’t care at all about congressional authority when he pushed through the Iran deal, which both chambers of Congress vigorously opposed. The deal was effectively a treaty, but neither Obama nor Rhodes bothered to consult the Senate before implementing it. Indeed, Rhodes has continued to defend the deal as a success, despite its complete and total failure in the region.
The Iran Deal successfully rolled back Iran’s nuclear program and averted a war. Trump’s decision to pull out has led to Iran resuming its nuclear program and started this dangerous cycle of escalation that we are still on. https://t.co/0Ao7rlOLoE
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 3, 2020
Rhodes then admitted that the real point of his complaint isn’t the supposed breach of power, but the man who yielded it.
Does anyone think Donald Trump is equipped to handle a complex, enduring, international crisis that could play out in many countries and demand expertise, rigorous process, and judicious decision-making?
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 3, 2020