US Senators Slam WH Briefing on Gen. Soleimani

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has fired more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi military bases hosting US troops, the Pentagon confirmed. 

The rockets fired at the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province and a base in Erbil early on Wednesday came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran following the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last week.

Iran had pledged retaliatory attacks against the US for the assassination of Soleimani, who the US President Donald Trump said that plotting an 'imminent attack' on American forces.

The United States government told the UN that it is prepared to take additional action "as necessary" in the Middle East to protect American personnel and interests in the region.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, US Ambassador Kelly Craft said the killing of Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday was justified under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Under Article 51, countries are required to "immediately report" to the 15-member Security Council any measures taken in exercising the right of self-defense. The United States used Article 51 to justify taking action in Syria against the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for “ISIS” / “ISIL”] in 2014.

Utah Senator Mike Lee, who belongs to US President Donald Trump's Republican Party, has questioned the administration's classified briefing on the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, calling it "the worst" that he has ever attended.

In a press conference in Washington DC, Lee told reporters that found it "really upsetting" that Trump's intelligence officials refused to provide information that led to the Trump’s decision to order Soleimani's killing.

Another Republican Senator Rand Paul said he "did not learn anything from the hearing" that he had not seen previously from news reports, adding that prospects for diplomacy has been diminished because of Trump's action.

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said "there was no evidence of an imminent and specific threat" from Soleimani to take the US action.

"That was fairly shocking to us, the lack of evidence. Without that, the president doesn't have the authority to take military action, without coming to Congress first."

US Democrats and Republicans presented dueling narratives after a classified briefing with top administration officials on the killing of Soleimani.

While Republicans praised Trump for ordering the killing, Democrats said they were not convinced the "imminent threat" the administration claimed in its justification existed.

"Not only did the president make the right call but this was a clear and present danger for American interests and American individuals," said Republican Representative Mark Meadows.

However, Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly called the Trump team's briefing "sophomoric and utterly unconvincing" and called the US killing of Soleimani "impulsive, reckless".

Accordingly, Trump has said Iran "appears to be standing down", a sign that Washington will not seek a response.