Iran tensions: Soleimani killing does not make 'the country safer', Pelosi says

Congress acting to limit president’s ability to launch military operations without consultation

The Trump administration’s killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani did not make the US any safer, Nancy Pelosi has claimed.

As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a war power resolution that would limit the president’s ability to pursue further military action against Iran in the absence of Congressional approval, the speaker said Mr Trump’s attitude towards legislators on Capitol Hill had been “disdainful”.

Typically, when president’s take military action against a foreign power, the White House notifies in advance a small number of senior members of both the House and Senate – the so-called gang of eight – who are sworn to secrecy.

In the case of the killing of last week’s killing Soleimani as he arrived at Iraq’s Baghdad airport, the briefing came several days after the event.

“It was disdainful in terms of not consulting with Congress,” Ms Pelosi, said on Thursday during her weekly press briefly.

She added: “Last week, in our view, the president — the administration conducted a provocative, disproportionate airstrike against Iran, which endangered Americans. And did so without consulting Congress.”

CNN pointed out that Ms Pelosi said she asked the Trump administration why the plans were not shared – as is usually the case – and she told “we held it closely”.

“And the ‘president said, well, ‘I informed you by reading my tweets’. No, that’s not the relationship that our founders had in mind in the constitution of the United States, had when they gave power to the president — to the White House to do one thing in terms of our national security, and to the Congress to declare war and to allocate resources and the rest,” she said.

In the aftermath of the killing of 62-year-old Soleimani, top US officials, including secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defence secretary Mike Esper, defended the move, suggesting there was an imminent threat to American interests in plans he was overseeing.

Mr Esper said the threat was “days” away, rather than weeks, when questioned by reporters at the Pentagon this week.

“We have no illusions about Iran, no illusions about Soleimani,“ Ms Pelosi said.

“He was a terrible person, did bad things. But it’s not about how bad they are. It’s about how good we are — protecting the people in a way that prevents war, and does not have us producing again and again generations of veterans who are suffering.”