Rep Houlahan: Killing Qassem Soleimani A 'Destabilizing Decision'

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Chester County's U.S. Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan called the killing of an Iranian leader in a drone strike a "destabilizing decision" in a statement on Friday reacting to the attacks.

An American drone strike outside of Baghdad International Airport, ordered by President Trump, killed Iran's Gen. Qassem Soleimani and several others. Houlahan (D-6) acknowledged that Soleimani has "the blood of thousands on his hands" but, like most Democrats, said it was a dangerous escalation.

"Our President ordered this strike before appropriately consulting Congress and without making clear how this escalatory action aligns with a larger strategy to protect American national security interests and counter Iranian aggression," Houlahan said in part of a statement, expressing concern for the safety of Americans in Iraq and the surrounding region.

"It is imperative the President explain what precipitated this destabilizing decision in what is already an extremely volatile region and what strategy there is going forward," she added.

Most Republicans said that the move was an appropriate and much needed to response to the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Bagdhad by Iranian-backed militias last week.

President Trump said in a tweet Friday that Soleimani had "killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more . . . but got caught!"

Beyond being just a veteran military leader and long-serving presence in Iran, Soleimani enjoyed wide-ranging power throughout the Middle East as the head of the Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force. Multiple sources have identified Soleimani as the second most powerful person in Iran and have likened his killing to an assassination of an American vice president.

Nearby, other southeastern Pennsylvania lawmakers were split along party lines. Bucks County's Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick sided with the President. Montgomery County's Democratic U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, like Houlahan, acknowledged the harm done by Soleimani but said that Trump should have come to Congress for authorization.

Iran, meanwhile, has vowed revenge. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that "severe revenge awaits those criminals" who killed Soleimani, according to the Washington Post.