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Crow Statement on the Death of Qasem Soleimani

January 3, 2020

Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), an Army combat veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement on the airstrike at the Baghdad International Airport which killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani:

"The question is not whether Qasem Soleimani was a threat to the United States, the question is whether President Trump has a strategy in place to deal with the potentially seismic events that he has unleashed. My time serving as a paratrooper in Iraq taught me that using force without a strategy and clearly defined goals rarely ends well.

"While we are still learning details about what occurred, one thing is clear: only Congress can declare war and the President has not sought any such authorization. In July, I was proud to stand with colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to prohibit the Administration from entering into a conflict with Iran without proper congressional authorization. The President must explain his policy towards Iran and give the American people confidence that we have a coherent strategy for protecting our embassies, our troops, and our national security.

"As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I'll be asking the hard questions of this Administration to make sure we are supporting our diplomats and servicemembers, ensuring a strong national defense, and using force as the last resort."

In July, Crow helped introduce an amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) stating that Congress has not authorized the use of force against Iran and prohibiting federal funds from being used for any military force against Iran without congressional authorization. This amendment clarifies that neither the 2001 nor 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) authorizes military force against Iran. He also joined over 100 House members in a letter to the President stating that Congress has not authorized the use of force against Iran and cautioned against calls for direct military action from his advisors.