By Abdulmoomeen S. Yitta
Following the assassination of the Iran top Commander Qasim Soleimani, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep Ro Khanna have on Friday launched into action and introduced a legislation that would necessitate the need to seek congressional approval before funding any offensive military force against Iran. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi too has also, on Thursday, accused the President of taking unilateral unconstitutional decision and therefore called for immediate briefing.
The U.S launched an airstrike at Iran’s Bagdhad airport that killed Iran’s top general, Qasim Soleimani that has created a further atmosphere of tension between the two countries. The airstrike was carried out under the authority of Mr Trump, an action which Trump justified as taken to prevent Soleimani from carrying out his threat to killing many more Americans after he had already killed “thousands”. Trump said Soleimani was plotting “attacks on American Diplomats and military personnel”.
Acting on fear that the already volatile situation between the U. S and Iran could result in an unending and damaging war, Sanders and Kahana introduced the legislation that would restrict Trump’s further authorization of any military attack against Iran. The lawmakers condemned the authorization of the killing by presidents Trump saying that it could lead to “disastrous war in the Middle East” and that it could cause “countless lives and trillions more dollars and lead to even more deaths.”
“(The) airstrike risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence. America — and the world — cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return,House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement on Thursday.
The Speaker of the US House of Representative said the strike was carried out without an “authorization for use of military force” against Iran and without the consultation of the US Congress.
“The full Congress must be immediately briefed on this serious situation and on the next steps under consideration by the Administration, including the significant escalation of the deployment of additional troops to the region,” Pelosi added.
However, the killing of Soleimani has generated mixed reactions in the Congress with some congress members majorly Republican applauding Trump’s authorization of the attack while Democrats condemn the act in totality, saying it is capable of bringing the two countries on the brink of war, given the volatile situation between the two countries They thus, as a matter of expediency call for the congressional authorization on any further military action against Iran before they could be carried out.
