White House Memo Doesn’t Mention ‘Imminent Threat’ Before Soleimani strike

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JANUARY 05: People hold posters showing the portrait of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Major General Qassem Soleimani and chant slogans during a protest outside the U.S. Consulate on January 05, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Major General Qassem Soleimani, was killed by a U.S. drone strike outside the Baghdad Airport on January 3. Since the incident, tensions have risen across the Middle East. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

It was an attack that brought the United States and Iran to the brink of war. President Trump said the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in January was carried out because of an imminent threat to U.S. interests.

But in a White House memo to Congress on the attack, there is no mention of imminent threats. The Washington Post writes:

“The two-page memo made public by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday instead says the Soleimani strike was carried out in response to previous attacks and to deter Iran from conducting or supporting attacks in the future.“

…“This official report directly contradicts the president’s false assertion that he attacked Iran to prevent an imminent attack against United States personnel and embassies,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.). “The administration’s explanation in this report makes no mention of any imminent threat and shows that the justification the president offered to the American people was false, plain and simple.”

White House memo on Soleimani strike makes no mention of imminent threat https://t.co/MsXzSl3LCm
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 15, 2020

The report states: “The purposes of this action were to protect United States personnel, to deter Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks against United States forces and interests, to degrade Iran’s and Quds Force-backed militias’s ability to conduct attacks, and to end Iran’s strategic escalation of attacks.”

Trump said four U.S. embassies were threatened, but Defense Secretary Mark Esper reported there was no evidence of that.

The New York Times writes:

“Mr. Trump later insisted on Twitter that General Suleimani had, in fact, been planning an imminent attack on United States forces, but added, “it doesn’t really matter because of his horrible past!”

“The report on Friday came a day after the Senate passed a resolution aimed at restraining Mr. Trump’s war-making powers with Iran. The rare bipartisan vote illustrated the depth of the skepticism in both parties about the president’s strategy, and lawmakers’ frustration with the administration’s refusal to consult Congress on military matters. The House is expected to pass the measure soon, sending it to the president’s desk. Mr. Trump’s advisers have said he will veto it.”