Thursday, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell, D-Selma, voted in favor of a resolution to limit President Donald J. Trump’s (R) ability to take future military action against Iran without congressional authorization.
“There is no doubt that Iranian General Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. However, Soleimani’s assassination was carried out without congressional consultation and endangered our servicemembers, diplomats and the American people by risking dangerous escalation with Iran,” Sewell said. “Under the Constitution, the power to declare war resides with Congress and, yet, the President sent thousands more American men and women to serve in the Middle East this week. It is critical that the Administration works with Congress to develop a forward-looking strategy focused on addressing Iran’s aggressive activity, protecting the American people and preventing further conflict in the region.”
The Administration claims its Iran-related military endeavors are in pursuance of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), authorizing the use of the U.S. armed forces against those responsible for the attacks on September 11 and the 2002 AUMF approving the invasion of Iraq.
Following the United States’ withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement in May 2018 at President Trump’s direction, the Administration has pursued a “maximum pressure campaign” to put pressure on the Iranian regime. On December 27 Shia militia in Iraq supported by Iran fired a series of rockets into U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria killing one American contractor and wounding four American troops. The U.S. retaliated with air strikes by Air Force F-15 Strike Eagles on Shia militia sites. On January 1, Iran backed Shia militiamen then stormed the American embassy in Baghdad. Pres. Trump then rushed 100 Marines to reinforce the embassy and drive out the militants who did considerable vandalism to the embassy. Soleimani is our leader was spray painted on the embassy.
Lt. Gen. Qasem Soleimani was the head of the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards Scuds force, which has been declared a terrorist organization by the State Department. Soleimani is the architect of Iranian foreign policy for decades and is credited with the deaths of over 600 Americans; many of them by Iranian supplied shaped improved explosive devices during the Iraq War.
On Thursday, January 2 Soleimani flew from Damascus, Syria to Baghdad Iraq. Soleimani was met at the airport by members of the Shia militia. A CIA drone fired four missiles into the two vehicles as they were leaving the airport killing all four men.
What was left of Soleimani was flown back to Iran in a cardboard box. The general was given a massive state funeral in Tehran on Saturday. The Iranians retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq. Iran announced that it was no longer honoring the nuclear agreement preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons. The Trump administration had already withdrawn from the controversial treaty and has been skeptical of Iran’s adherence to the agreement.
The resolution now heads to the Republican controlled Senate, where it is unlikely to pass.
Senator Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, has introduced a similar resolution to limit the President’s war powers in Iran.
Congresswoman. Sewell is a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Sewell is running for her sixth term representing Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District. She has no Democratic or Republican opponent.
Original reporting by Fox News, Breitbart News, and the New York Times contributed to this report.
