Alexandria’s congressman, Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th), along with members of Northern Virginia’s Congressional delegation, are crying foul over the Jan. 3 assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani by a drone strike.
Beyer said that the strike is a “dangerous provocation,” while his regional counterparts Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th) and Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-10th) have joined the rising chorus of congressional Democrats decrying the action.
“Now, everyone acknowledges that this is a bad guy, but it’s a very dangerous provocation, a very dangerous acceleration of these hostilities,” Beyer said at a fundraiser in Alexandria on Friday, Jan. 3. “And you wonder, if Iran reacts as they promised to do right now what do we do next and where does this ramping up stop? So, these are the kinds of things that we want to have seasoned military leaders and strategists doing rather than the Donald Trumps of the world.”
The War Powers Resolution:
“The President in every possible instance SHALL consult with Congress BEFORE introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities”
“The President SHALL submit within 48 hours to the Speaker of the House… IN WRITING”
This tweet is utterly false. https://t.co/sBAKkxGQsk
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) January 5, 2020
Beyer also denounced Trump for threatening to destroy Iranian cultural sites should the nation retaliate for the general’s death.
The President is saying he wants to order war crimes. https://t.co/CT6ixlT8s6
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) January 6, 2020
Soleimani was the second most powerful Iranian military official after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was killed in a drone strike shortly after arriving at Baghdad International Airport, in response to the New Year’s Eve attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
Beyer, who sits on the Ways and Means Committee and the Science, Space, Technology Committee, has been a vocal critic of Trump, and was among the first to call for an impeachment inquiry last May.
Beyer will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the 116th Congress on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School.
