Crow leads congressional letter asking for Iran operation details

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow has organized a letter to the White House in which 35 members of Congress are asking for details on the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and the U.S. strategy on Iran generally.
“Your administration has yet to provide the American people and Congress with a sufficient explanation as to why this action was necessary and what your overall strategy is for curbing Iran’s regional aggression or nuclear ambitions,” the lawmakers wrote.
USA Today reports that the secretaries of state and defense, along with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Intelligence Agency director, will take questions from the House and Senate on Wednesday. They may also touch on Iran’s retaliatory strikes against military bases in Iraq on Tuesday.
“All is well!” President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday night. “So far, so good!”
On Jan. 2, the U.S. killed Soleimani at Baghdad’s international airport, which prompted hundreds of thousands of Iranian mourners to gather in the streets and Iran’s government to vow “harsh retaliation”.
The congressional letter asks specific questions of the administration, including what procedures are in place to keep military personnel in the Middle East safe, what will happen if Iraq expels the U.S. and therefore impedes the fight against ISIS, and how the assassination of Soleimani ameliorated the “imminent threat” the administration claimed he posed.
“Congress has not authorized a war with Iran and you must consult Congress before directing any further hostilities with Iran or troop deployments to the region,” the legislators advised, adding that they feel the American people do not support war with Iran.
Colorado’s three other House Democrats — U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, and Ed Perlmutter — also signed the letter, as did the chair of the House intelligence committee, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff.
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