The United States launched an airstrike in Iraq last night that killed Iran's top military general, Qasem Soleimani. Morning Edition anchor Joe Mathieu spoke Friday with Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts' Sixth District, a Marine Corps veteran who served four tours in Iraq, to get a sense of how Democrats in Congress are reacting to the strike and what the move could mean for the US. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.
Joe Mathieu: We seem to be hearing mixed reactions from some Democrats. Yes, General Soleimani was a bad guy who deserved what he got, but also this strike could lead to a war with Iran. Is that how you feel?
Rep. Seth Moulton: Both things are true. This is an evil man with American blood on his hands. I'm certainly not mourning his loss, but the administration needs to have a strategy for what comes next. And could war come next? Absolutely. This is the biggest escalation of tensions with Iran that I've certainly seen in my lifetime.
Mathieu: For starters, is it legal for the Trump administration to conduct an assassination without involving Congress?
Moulton: No. I'm no legal scholar here, but my understanding as a member of Congress and a member of the Armed Services Committee is that it's not. But more importantly, we've been pushing the administration for a strategy with Iran for a long time – for a strategy with the entire Middle East for a long time – and they haven't been able to produce one. They haven't been able to even answer basic questions. In fact, what they're doing contradicts their own policy. The administration's stated policy with Iran is to achieve three goals. First, to reduce regional aggression. They've escalated regional aggression. Second, to stop their nuclear weapons program. Iran has restarted their nuclear weapons program since Trump shredded the deal. And third, it's to bring Iran to the negotiating table. Well, this has pushed them farther away than they've ever been.
Mathieu: Congressman Moulton, the Pentagon this morning says the strike was to prevent future Iranian aggression. But we just heard from Secretary of State Pompeo this morning, he said on CNN there was an imminent attack taking place. Do you know which is the case?
Moulton: Well, if there's one thing that Iran said that I actually trust is that there will be a retaliatory attack. Now, I don't know if it's imminent or not. Iran now has the choice of deciding when, how and where they'll conduct this attack. It could be in three minutes [or] it could be in three years. But I do trust that there will be a strong retaliatory response. And that, of course, is dangerous for America. It's again, escalated tensions. Remember, Donald Trump has promised to pull us out of the wars in the Middle East. And yet in the last few weeks, he's just sent hundreds more troops to the region.
Mathieu: I'm glad you mentioned that, Congressman, because we've talked to you a few months ago – it was actually last year at this point – when President Trump said he was pulling troops out of Syria and would use essentially a staging area in Iraq to deal with extremists – ISIS or otherwise – throughout the region. Knowing this has happened now in Iraq and that the Iraqi government wants Americans to leave, where does that put the U.S. in the Middle East?
Moulton: It puts us at a loss. It puts us in a place where we don't even know what we can do tomorrow, let alone next year. And it again points out that the administration is acting recklessly without any sort of strategy. You know, Trump thinks it's tough to just go take out a leader like this. But without a plan [or] strategy for what comes next, it puts America in danger. And let's not forget that when you really step back from this whole situation and take the broader, worldwide view, Iran is an enemy of the United States. But they're a nuisance compared to China and Russia. And the more that we get mired in the Middle East [and] the more that we escalate the conflict with Iran, which is exactly what this administration is doing, the more we take our eye off the long-term challenges facing us with the rise of China and the continued threat of Russia getting involved in our democracy every single day.
