Hirono Statement on U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq and the Death of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, issued the following statement on the U.S. airstrikes that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

“General Soleimani was a reprehensible figure responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American service members and thousands of innocent people around the world. 

“His death in a U.S. airstrike further escalates hostilities and increases the potential for widespread violence in a part of the world already fraught with peril. 

“In normal times, we could have confidence that the President – fully cognizant of the potential ramifications of this strike – was mobilizing a whole of government response and coordinating with our allies to seek a diplomatic outcome. But these are not normal times.

“Congress must reassert its Constitutional responsibility and demand the president seek authorization prior to any military conflict with Iran.”

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