[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S168-S169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, every day brings more repudiation of 
the conventional wisdom of the Democratic foreign policy establishment, 
breathlessly--breathlessly--amplified by the mainstream media, that the 
strike on Soleimani would unite Iranians behind the regime. Remember, 
that is what they were all saying, that the strike on Soleimani would 
unite Iranians behind the regime. Proud Iranians continue, however, to 
take to the streets not to rage against America or Israel but to vent 
their frustration against the corrupt, theocratic regime that has led 
Iran down a ruinous path.
  I spoke about these protests before the strike on Soleimani, and I 
will continue to speak out about them. I have long believed the United 
States should care about human rights and democracy, whether in Russia, 
China, Hong Kong, Burma, Cuba, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Syria, or Iran. 
The promotion of human rights and the defense of democracy should not 
necessarily be the driving force of our foreign policy, but it should 
be an important component.
  I ask my Democratic colleagues who share this view to set aside their 
hatred for Donald Trump--even just for a moment--and to step back to 
look at what has been happening across Iran for years: the repression 
of women, the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, and the 
brutal suppression of dissent.
  Was the Obama administration right to meet the 2009 Green Revolution 
with silence?
  Consider the story of Iran's only female Olympic medalist, who this 
week defected--defected--from Iran and requested asylum; or the Iranian 
state TV broadcasters who quit, apologizing to the public for years of 
lying on behalf of the mullahs; or the innocent protesters who are 
being killed and wounded by agents of the state.
  These are well-known realities. They were well known when, 12 days 
ago, the United States took the most dangerous terrorist off the 
battlefield, but mystifyingly, many voices here in Washington and the 
media sought to blame the escalating tensions in the region on 
President Trump.
  We heard from leading Democrats that the operation to eliminate 
Soleimani was one of the administration's ``needless provocations''--
needless provocations. We heard that the cycle of violence was 
America's responsibility. All of this--all of it--flies in the face of 
the reasonable analysis some of my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle were offering before--before--Donald Trump became President.
  In 2007, 30 Democratic Senators joined Republicans to support an 
amendment warning of the need to prevent ``Iran from turning Shia 
militia extremists in Iraq into a Hezbollah-like force that could serve 
its interests inside Iraq, including by overwhelming, subverting, or 
coopting institutions of the legitimate government of Iraq.'' That was 
back in 2007, with 30 Democrats.
  Few more prescient warnings have been pronounced by this body, but, 
unfortunately, it went unheeded by the Obama administration, which 
withdrew U.S. forces from Iraq, effectively abandoning it to Soleimani 
and his proxies.
  As recently as 2015, the Democratic leader warned that the JCPAO 
failed to address Iran's destabilizing malign activities and that Iran 
would use its windfall to ``redouble its efforts to create even more 
trouble in the Middle East and, perhaps, beyond.'' That was the 
Democratic leader in 2015.
  Senator Menendez hit the nail on the head as well. He warned: ``If 
there

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is a fear of war in the region, it will be fueled by Iran and its 
proxies and exacerbated by an agreement that allows Iran to possess an 
industrial-sized nuclear program and enough money in sanctions relief 
to significantly continue to fund its hegemonic intentions throughout 
the region.'' Senator Menendez.
  So many of our Democratic colleagues understood all this quite 
clearly when a Democrat occupied the White House, and it came true. It 
came true. Iran's aggression only accelerated after the Obama 
administration's deal. The question for us is not whom to blame. That 
much is clear. The question is what to do about it.
  As Iran's aggression became focused on the United States, as the risk 
to our personnel and interests grew, after months of repeated warnings, 
President Trump took action. I am glad the strike against Soleimani has 
provided some justice--some justice--to his countless victims, hundreds 
of Americans and many more across the Middle East.
  We don't yet know if Soleimani will prove irreplaceable, but his 
death will significantly disrupt Iran's death machine and will change 
Iran's long-held misconception that they could literally get away with 
the murder of Americans without a meaningful response. President 
Trump's strategy seems to have reestablished deterrence.
  The Senate risks jeopardizing what we have gained with this strike if 
it ties the military's hands and tells Iran that we have no stomach for 
this. America can hardly be defeated on the battlefield, but we can be 
defeated at home on the political front. We can allow ourselves to 
become divided and play into the hands of our adversaries. Our 
divisions at home are significant. Let us not allow them to pollute our 
judgment on foreign affairs. Let's not make our adversaries' lives 
easier by tying our military's hands.

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