Washington, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) released separate statements concerning the death of Qasem Soleimani.
Manchin
“Make no mistake, Qasem Soleimani was a terrorist who did not value human life. He was a persistent threat to American troops and regional stability. As leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American service members in Iraq, wounding thousands more and also coordinating attacks against our interests. Under Soleimani’s leadership, the IRGC taught militants in Iraq how to build some of the deadliest roadside bombs aimed at American troops. Further, he was a longtime supporter of despots like Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad and terrorist organizations like Hezbollah.
“However, Congress cannot be left in the dark on operations of this magnitude, and the Administration must brief Congress on what imminent threat made it necessary to take him out now. I urge Administration officials to brief all members of Congress so we may better understand the circumstances surrounding the strike, potential retaliation scenarios and the U.S. government’s next steps in deescalating conflict in the region, both militarily and diplomatically.”
Capito
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a terrorist organization, and Qassem Soleimani has been a leader of the world’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism. There is no question that Soleimani is responsible for the murders of many Americans, and he was actively plotting to kill more. Scores of U.S. soldiers died or were seriously wounded in Iraq by the IED weapons that he was responsible for. Iran has been escalating tensions for months now, most recently sponsoring the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, and (Thursday’s) action demonstrated that Iranian terrorism will not be tolerated.”
