Democratic presidential candidates react to Soleimani strike

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Democratic presidential candidates are expressing concern after a U.S. airstrike in Iraq Thursday night killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds military force and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic.

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Here is a rundown of candidates' reactions to the airstrike that killed Soleimani.

Joe Biden

"No American will mourn Qassem Soleimani's passing. He deserved to be brought to justice for his crimes against American troops and thousands of innocents throughout the region. He supported terror and sowed chaos. None of that negates the fact that this is a hugely escalatory move in an already dangerous region. The Administration's statement says that its goal is to deter future attacks by Iran, but this action almost certainly will have the opposite effect. President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and plan to keep safe our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interests, both here at home and abroad, and our partners throughout the region and beyond. I'm not privy to the intelligence and much remains unknown, but Iran will surely respond. We could be on the brink of a major conflict across the Middle East. I hope the Administration has thought through the second- and third-order consequences of the path they have chosen. But I fear this Administration has not demonstrated at any turn the discipline or long-term vision necessary — and the stakes could not be higher." — Statement, January 2

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Cory Booker

"First, let's be clear. Soleimani has American blood on his hands. He was involved in and ordered attacks that cost American lives and wounded many other soldiers. This is somebody who is a bad person, but we also have to look at the larger strategic situation in that area. We have a president has had a failure in his Iranian policy, who has had no larger strategic plan, and has made that region less stable and less safe." — On MSNBC, January 2

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democratic-presidential-candidates-react-to-soleimani-strike/ar-BBYAG89?li=BBnb7Kz

[guillaumeb]

1. She would never be my preferred candidate, however....

Marianne Williamson
"This isn't about whether Soleimani was a "good man" any more than it was about whether Saddam was a good man. It's about smart versus stupid use of military power. Invading Iraq was criminally irresponsible & tweets like this about Iran are from the same crowd, the same insanity." — Tweeted statement, January 2

[BootinUp]

4. K&R

[RobertDevereaux]

2. Bernie...

Bernie Sanders

"When I voted against the war in Iraq in 2002, I feared it would lead to greater destabilization of the country and the region. Today, 17 years later, that fear has unfortunately turned out to be true.

"The United States has lost approximately 4,500 brave troops, tens of thousands have been wounded, and we've spent trillions on this war.

"Trump's dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars.

"Trump promised to end endless wars, but this action puts us on the path to another one."

[regnaD kciN]

3. Sigh...

Virtually every Democratic candidate falls into the same trap, starting off with some variation of “Soleimani was a horrible, brutal individual responsible for the deaths of thousands, including American troops, and deserved to die, BUT...”. They don’t seem to realize that, with that as the “lede,” most Americans are going to react “Well, if he was that bad, and deserved to be killed, thank God we have a leader with the balls to kill him.” And the portion after the “BUT...” will merely be taken as proof-positive that said candidate is too cowardly to take action against someone they acknowledge to be a severe threat and a killer of Americans. Because, for many, many voters, the first part is all that needs to be said, and they’re not interested in what they see as any feeble rationalizations for allowing threats to American lives to live on and continue to threaten more of them.

(And, before anyone tries alerting this because of supposedly “peddling right-wing talking points,” note that I’m not the one reinforcing those talking points; rather, it’s the candidates’ statements themselves that are unwittingly aiding that narrative. Pointing out a serious error isn’t disloyalty.)

[David__77]

6. Agree.

There were just handful of quotes where that wasn’t apparent.

[David__77]

5. I like the statements by...

Yang, Williamson, Sanders, and Gabbard.