Subcommittee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks as Federal Aviation Administration Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt, and Department of Transportation Inspector General Calvin Scovel appear before a Senate Transportation subcommittee hearing on commercial airline safety, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in Washington. Two recent Boeing 737 MAX crashes, in Ethiopia and Indonesia, which killed nearly 350 people, have lead to the temporary grounding of models of the aircraft and to increased scrutiny of the FAA’s delegation of a number of aspects of the certification process to the aircraft manufacturers themselves. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) commented on the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. The Trump administration’s attack against the Iranian general garnered much criticism from the left, but Cruz noted that the general had it coming. 

Cruz, who had been warning of Soleimani’s activities for years, stated that this action was warranted because of the atrocities the Iranian official committed. He wrote:

“The end of Qasem Soleimani is welcome and long-overdue justice for the thousands of Americans killed or wounded by his Iranian-controlled forces across the Middle East, and for the hundreds of thousands of Syrians and Iraqi Sunnis ethnically cleansed by his militias. It is also long-overdue justice for our Israeli allies who have suffered decades of terrorism at the hands of Hezbollah terrorists commanded by his IRGC Quds Force. The message to all those who mean harm to America is loud and clear.”

Sen. Cruz had been warning about the Iranian general’s activities since 2015. He argued against former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Tehran, which lifted sanctions on Soleimani after eight years. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the general “had more blood of American service members on his hands than any living terrorist.”

The number of American soldiers killed by groups under Soleimani’s control is about 600. He was also behind a recent attack that claimed the life of an American defense contractor and was apparently planning more assaults. It’s no surprise that the general would have been on borrowed time. Despite the fact that both the Obama and Bush administrations failed to eliminate the general, President Trump managed to finish the job. 

The strike on General Soleimani has sparked widespread debate on both the left and the right. As might be expected, progressives are using the airstrike to elicit fear among the American public. After turning a blind eye during past administrations, the establishment media is working overtime to convince us that Trump just started World War III. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) claimed the airstrike was just a “distraction.” The intrepid reporters at CNN did the American public a solid by letting us know what the president was eating when the operation was carried out. 

But others on the right have taken issue with the strike, expressing concerns that the U.S. will become embroiled in another unnecessary regime-change enterprise. That’s not a shocker considering the fact that Trump campaigned against this very idea in 2016. 

As can be expected, Iran’s leaders have vowed revenge against the United States for killing their top general. The situation is expected to become even more tense, so much so that the U.S. Embassy in Iraq is urging Americans in the region to leave the country to avoid becoming caught up in Tehran’s possible retaliation. 

The debate over the decision to kill Soleimani will continue in the coming weeks, especially if Iran does retaliate against the U.S. Some are already questioning if our troops should remain in Iraq. But either way, the death of this terrorist is a positive. However, the potential impact on the region remains to be seen. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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