Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Donald Trump’s Iran threats a ‘war crime’
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has added her voice to the chorus of critics against Donald Trump’s threat to target “52 Iranian sites” if the county retaliates against America after his drone strike Thursday in Baghdad, killing Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
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In a tweet on Saturday, the Democrat congresswoman from New York described Trump’s aggressive stance against the nation as a “war crime.”
“This is a war crime,” AOC tweeted. “Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children – which is what you’re doing by targeting cultural sites – does not make you a ‘tough guy.’ It does not make you ‘strategic.’ It makes you a monster.”
Trump ordered an airstrike last week after Iranian-militants reportedly surrounded the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Despite the president’s claim that Soleimani was preparing an attack on American targets, New York Times correspondent Rukmini Callimachi claims credible sources, including “two US officials who had intelligence briefings after the strike on Suleimani,” shared with her that “evidence suggesting there was to be an imminent attack on American targets is “razor-thin”,” she wrote on Twitter.
This is a war crime.
Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children – which is what you’re doing by targeting cultural sites – does not make you a “tough guy.”
It does not make you “strategic.”
It makes you a monster. https://t.co/IjkNO8BD07— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 5, 2020
Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed vengeance after his top official was killed, Washington Examiner reports.
“With his departure and with God’s power, his work and path will not cease, and severe revenge awaits those criminals who have tainted their filthy hands with his blood and the blood of the other martyrs of last night’s incident,” said a statement released by Khamenei.
Iran’s Gen. Gholamali Abuhamzeh triggered Trump over the weekend when he claimed to have 35 US targets ready to attack.
“Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago),” Trump responded in a tweet.
“Some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets. and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!” he added.
Ocasio-Cortez believes Congress has a “moral and legal obligation” to prevent war with Iran.
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Following last week’s killing of Soleimani, the US has been increasing military presence in the area by deploying 3,000 paratroopers to Iraq, New York Post reports. Trump believes retaliation from Iran could go down “within weeks.”
Meanwhile, thousands took to the streets of Baghdad on Saturday chanting, “Death to America,” and many more attended Soleimani’s funeral procession in Ahvaz.
