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Thursday
March 28th, 2024
L&T Opinions Page

roger marshall mugshotGUEST COLUMN, Dr. Roger Marshall, Big First District U.S. Representative

 

Last Thursday, President Trump took decisive action to take out Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force, one of Iran’s top fighting forces, and a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

For decades, Soleimani led Iran’s rogue efforts to destabilize the Middle East, wipe out Israel, and kill Americans. He commanded the forces working with Hezbollah and Hamas. He provided weapons to our enemies that have killed at least 600 American soldiers. He was responsible for the December attack on our embassy in Baghdad. And we know he was planning to murder more Americans. 

Damn right, the President should have taken Soleimani out. This man was a butcher and a terrorist with American blood on hands. Americans are safer for it. The world is safer for it.

The United States does not want war and will not seek war. But when you target Americans, you better be prepared for a forceful response. It is my hope that the families of the 600 American soldiers can rest easier knowing that the monster responsible for their deaths has finally been brought to justice.

This bold, decisive move again shows that under President Trump, we now live in an era of action. 

First, contrast President Trump’s approach to Iran with that of his predecessor.

President Obama negotiated a naive and dangerous deal with Iran. His administration shipped pallets of taxpayer money to Iran - the world’s largest state sponsor of terror - in the dead of night. That taxpayer money was used to fund years of Soleimani’s campaigns of terror throughout the Middle East.

Those days are over. President Trump put Iran on notice the moment he took office. But time and time again Iran has escalated tensions. In 2019 alone, Iran attacked and seized oil tankers. It shot down an American drone. Iranian-backed militias repeatedly targeted American forces with rocket attacks. And, as I mentioned, it orchestrated the attack on our embassy. 

Qasem Soleimani was at the root of this nefarious behavior. Taking him out in Iraq was a legal, measured, and necessary response to years of escalation from Tehran. It is a measure that will protect American lives at home and abroad. 

Just as we have squeezed Iran’s economy through maximum pressure sanctions, we have now dealt a major blow to their efforts to kill Americans and prop up terror groups in the Middle East.

We now live in an era of President Trump’s decisive leadership and action. It shows when it comes to Iran, and it shows in President Trump’s broader America First agenda around the world.

In less than three months, we have taken out the leader of ISIS. We have reached a Phase One trade deal with China. The USMCA trade agreement awaits final Senate action and the president’s signature. And now, we have eliminated the military leader of the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.

At the same time, do nothing Democrats and the media have done nothing but obsess over their ridiculous impeachment circus. 

Sadly, it’s not at all surprising that nearly every Democrat statement on Soleimani has spent more time attacking President Trump than congratulating our service members or expressing compassion for the families of the Americans Soleimani killed. What should be a unifying moment for our country has been dismissed by politicians who are incapable of looking past their disdain for our Commander-in-Chief. 

Nevertheless, we now live in an era in which rogue regimes will be held accountable for escalating tensions and propping up terror networks. We live in an era in which attacking Americans come with serious consequences. We now live in an era of action. 

President Trump made a promise to the American people that he would fight for us. He made a promise to advance American interests and fight terror at every level. He made a promise to keep Americans safe. Now, the world knows that this is a promise kept.

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