How far can Trump push Iran without Congress’ OK? Depends who you ask – By Leo Shane III (Military Times) / Jan 3 2020
A day after President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike to kill a key Iranian military leader on Iraqi soil, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were left with questions over whether the attack was legal and how much further the commander-in-chief can push the confrontation with Iran without congressional approval.
“The administration did not consult (with Congress) in this case, and I fear that very serious questions have not been answered and may not be fully considered,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Friday. “Among those questions, what was the legal basis for conducting this operation? And how far does that legal basis extend?
“It is my view that the president does not have the authority for a war with Iran. If he plans a large increase in troops and potential hostility over a longer time, the administration will require congressional approval and the approval of the American people.”
Earlier, the Pentagon confirmed that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of an elite arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed along with several others in an U.S. operation near the Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.
The move drew immediate condemnation from Iranian leaders, who vowed to leave “the dead bodies of Americans all over the Middle East” in retaliation.
Pentagon officials said the move was in response to an imminent threat posed by Soleimani, and that U.S. personnel in the region were saved by the killing. Trump in a Friday morning tweet said that the general “should have been taken out many years ago.”
But numerous Democrats in Congress said they still have not seen enough information about the threat posed by Soleimani or the legal justification for such a military strike. They warned the action could further destabilize the Middle East, especially if Trump decides to act impulsively and without permission from Congress.
Continue to article: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/01/03/how-far-can-trump-push-iran-without-congress-ok-depends-who-you-ask/
This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. The Pentagon said Thursday that the U.S. military has killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump. (Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office via AP)
