[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E4-E5]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REGARDING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S TARGETED KILLING OF MAJOR GENERAL 
        QASEM SOLEIMANI, HEAD OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 2020

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the House 
Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, I rise to address 
the Trump Administration's targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani, head of 
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, and the impact of this decision on 
American national security interests and the safety of American armed 
forces personnel and civilians in the region and around the world.
  The decision to kill Major General Qasem Soleimani, the head of 
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, may have rid the world of a 
major architect of terror but leaves unanswered the critically 
important question of why the action was taken at this time.
  In addition, we do know whether the action taken was the product of a 
carefully developed geopolitical strategy developed after extensive 
discussion within the national security apparatus of the short and 
longterm consequences for the security of the region and our nation and 
its people.
  Similarly, we do not know whether it was taken in consultation and 
agreement with our regional and international allies; and whether there 
is now in place a strategy to ensure that the action taken does not 
lead to a greater escalation of tensions between Iran and the United 
States or in the worst case, another war in the Middle East placing at 
risk the lives and safety of millions of persons.
  Qasem Soleimani appears to be the apparent mastermind behind last 
week's attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
  Soleimani as long-time chief of the Quds Force, the elite special 
forces battalion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), 
assisted Syrian strongman Bashar al Assad slaughter hundreds of 
thousands of his own people in the Syrian civil war.
  Soleimani also incited the Houthis in Yemen's civil war and oversaw 
the brutal killing of hundreds of Iraqi protesters recently 
demonstrating against Iranian influence in their country.
  Iran's Quds Force, under Soleimani's leadership, has long been 
suspected by the U.S. Government of involvement in a 2011 plot to 
assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States.
  According to the U.S. Department of State, Soleimani was responsible 
for the 608 Americans killed by Iranian proxies since the 2003 
inception of the war in Iraq.
  But Qasem Soleimani was more than a military leader, he was a 
highranking political leader, second only in power and influence to the 
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
  In fact, Soleimani was regarded as a future president of Iran.
  It was foreseeable that the killing of Soleimani by American forces 
was likely to invite retaliation by Iran putting at risk American 
military and civilian personnel, as well as its allies in the region 
and across the globe.
  That is why it was essential that the Administration have in place a 
sound and well-considered and meticulously developed strategy for 
managing disputes with Iran.
  That does not appear to be the case.
  There is no evidence that the Administration consulted with Congress 
or the Gang of 8, no evidence that it enlisted or even consulted our 
allies in NATO or the region, no evidence that the Administration has a 
working and well-functioning national security council apparatus.
  This is a critical Pottery Barn failure in dealing with the Middle 
East for as former Secretary of State Colin Powell stated before the 
Iraq War, ``If you break it, you bought it.''
  Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has vowed that a ``harsh 
retaliation is waiting'' for the United States as a consequence of the 
action taken yesterday by the Administration.
  It is imperative that the Administration have in place a strategy to 
counter and deescalate any Iranian response and have in place measures 
to protect the safety of Americans residing or travelling abroad and to 
protect the security of the homeland.
  We must be prepared and ready because the assassination of Qasem 
Soleimani has the potential to be the most consequential assassination 
of a political leader since the assassination of Archduke Franz 
Ferdinand Carl

[[Page E5]]

Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, the heir presumptive of the throne of 
Austria-Hungary in 1914, which set in motion the Great War.
  The decision to send American men and women into harm's way is the 
most consequential decision the Constitution vests in the President and 
the Congress.
  That is why the Administration must consult with and seek and secure 
from Congress authorization to use military force (AUMF) against Iran.
  Any vote on an AUMF for engagement with Iran must be preceded by 
meaningful, substantive, and thoughtful dialogue and robust debate.
  Members of Congress must be apprised of all facts material to the 
decision and have access to relevant documentation, classified and 
otherwise, and afforded the opportunity to meet in small groups and in 
secure locations with senior members of the Administration's national 
security team who can answer detailed and pointed questions and provide 
requested information.
  The Constitution wisely divides the responsibility of deciding when 
to use military force to protect the nation and its interests between 
the President and the Congress, the representatives of the American 
people.
  The war in Iraq taught this nation the importance of having accurate 
and reliable information when deciding whether to use military force 
and the painful costs in lives and treasure of acting precipitously.
  We cannot and dare not repeat that mistake.
  That is why it is essential that all Members of Congress have access 
to the relevant information and the responsible Administration 
officials before any vote to authorize the use of military force be 
scheduled.

                          ____________________