Prior to Iran’s retaliation on two Iraqi bases where American troops are stationed, congressional candidate Sara Jacobs denounced the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by American forces. She wrote: “This ill-conceived operation was the culmination of a reckless strategy toward Iran that started with the Trump Administration pulling out of the Iran deal. Of all the hyperbole and questions being thrown around, the only one that needs to be asked is this: is the United States safer for having done this? The answer is clearly no.
“As someone who has worked at the State Department and has studied countless interventions and post-conflict stabilizations, and as a millennial who has lived through two decades of endless war, I can tell you, unequivocally, we cannot let this escalate into another war in the Middle East.
“After 20 years of fallout from a hawkish Bush Administration, and the potential for 20 more from a blundering Trump Administration, it’s time for Congress to reassert its Constitutional role in deciding between war and peace. And it’s time to elect more Members of Congress with experience in foreign policy before it is too late. The U.S. government failed my generation 20 years ago. We cannot afford to do it again.”
Meanwhile, retiring Congresswoman Susan Davis, whom Jacobs hopes to succeed in the 53rd CD, said this: “There is no doubt that Qasem Soleimani was responsible for countless deaths and violence. What is not clear is the Trump Administration’s justification and the strategy for the aftermath of this dangerous escalation. The administration needs to explain to the American people and to Congress, which was not consulted, about the ‘imminent attack’ and provide reassurance that it has the diplomatic capabilities to prevent this from spiraling into a major conflict with Iran.”
Davis also sent a questionnaire to her constituents asking their opinion about Soleimani’s assassination.
Republished from San Diego Jewish World