Opinion: How Trump’s reckless actions sparked another conflict in the Middle East
Qassem Soleimani was killed by an American military drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 2. Soleimani, commander of the Iranian forces and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic nation, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. soldiers over two decades. While his death is hailed by many as well-deserved and long overdue, there are several reasons as to why it should not have been carried out in the manner it was without Congressional consultation.
The events that led up to the strike amounted to a “tit-for-tat” exchange of violence and rhetoric between the two nations, ultimately reaching a boiling point when an Iranian-backed militia stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. For as atrocious and damaging as the raid was, no American lives were lost. When all was said and done, the week-long conflict left one American civilian and 25 members of another Iranian militia dead.
There is no doubt that the strikes committed by Iran warranted retaliation, but the killing of Soleimani was a provocative action which caused potentially irreversible ripples in the Middle East. After the attack, Iran issued a stern warning to the White House, vowing vengeance for the death of their military leader by inflicting “harsher revenge.”
Not to be outdone, the president wrote a bravado-laden tweet revealing the American military’s targeting of 52 significant sites, including those “important to Iran and Iranian culture.” Targeting cultural sites would be very tricky, as it would jeopardize civilians and the act alone would be considered war crimes.
Following the news of the general’s death in Baghdad, the Iraqi government weighed in on the attack and voted to expel American troops from its country. Trump then followed up with his own threat of sanctioning the country the U.S. has been fighting alongside since 2003.
Not only did Trump ramp up tensions with Iran, from the comfort of his Mar a Lago resort, he is jeopardizing one of the few allies we have in the endless “war on terror.” What’s worse is he failed to include Congress in the decision-making process regarding the strike.
The legislative branch is the only body constitutionally-granted the power to declare war, with the president’s unilateral actions protected under the War Powers Act. It is within the gray area, in which Trump’s actions have escalated tensions with Iran, where people have questioned his authority to carry out the mission without informing Congress.
The timing of the attacks has even come into question, with Trump’s impeachment trial due to begin as soon as the week of Jan. 13. GOP members of Congress had been privy to Trump’s decision-making process related to the matter, when many other representatives did not learn of the bombing until they heard from news reports, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal . Furthermore, the story mentions the actions were due to “pressure… from GOP Senators he views as important supporters in his coming impeachment trial in the Senate, associates said.”
America was founded upon the belief and trust in checks and balances within a government and our president’s actions breached that trust. Whether or not this was an attempt to appease his Senate lackeys or just a show of force predicated on a perceived “imminent attack,” as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put it, Trump has inched this nation closer to war.
Featured graphic courtesy of AP Photo / Uncredited