[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H6]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TIT-FOR-TAT IS NOT A POLICY
(Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, the House cannot sit still and allow Trump
to become an imperial President, answerable to no one.
Without consultation with House leadership or even leaders in the
Republican Senate, Trump ordered the killing of a major military
leader, Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Like countless officials worldwide, Soleimani was a bad actor whose
forces were responsible for the deaths of Americans. However, Soleimani
was not killed on the battlefield but was targeted by President Trump
in Baghdad. Trump may have been seeking revenge for the storming and
damaging of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the largest, most fortified
embassy in the world.
Tit-for-tat is not a policy. It is a childish and dangerous response
that could lead to all-out hostilities.
The U.S. lacks credibility to start diplomatic efforts. I hope that
our allies will intervene as emissaries before it is too late.
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