WASHINGTON, DC – As an alternative to Democrats’ inconsequential war powers resolution, Congressman Dan Crenshaw offered H. Res 783 commending the members of the military and intelligence community who carried out the mission that killed General Soleimani. Crenshaw spoke on the House floor regarding the resolution. The transcript of his floor speech can be found below. To view the speech, click here or on the below image.
“Thank you, Madam Speaker and I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise to urge defeat of the Previous Question so that we can immediately consider my resolution to honor the hard work and dedication of the men and women who made the precision strike on Qassem Soleimani possible.
“This is an interesting crossroads we find ourselves in. After the successful response by the United States against the escalating aggression from the worlds’ most active and deadly terrorist, Qassem Soleimani, our great country has found itself divided and unsure of itself. Instead of unity and resolve in the face of a clear and common enemy, we have division and self-doubt. What’s worse, that division has been sourced from the leadership in this very body.
“While legitimate questions were raised – what authority was used, what was the reasoning, what sort of intelligence backed this decision– those questions have long been answered, clearly and convincingly. The president has clear authority, a duty in fact, to respond to attacks against American citizens and U.S. forces. That isn’t my opinion – it is clear from Article II of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. The case is made even stronger when you consider this occurred entirely within Iraq, a place where we already have a lawful military operational footprint. The reasoning is quite simple as well. We must make clear that the U.S. will not be attacked indefinitely, that we will respond, and that response will make you regret ever having hit us in the first place. The long history of General Soleimani’s actions against the United States, throughout the region, and the killing and maiming of thousands of America’s sons and daughters, and indications of his future actions, make this point even stronger. And as to the intelligence – our CIA, Director of National Intelligence, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have repeatedly told us that this intelligence was some of the best they have ever seen and removed all doubt that Soleimani was planning large-scale imminent attacks.
“These questions have been answered over and over and over. And yet my colleagues pretend not to hear those answers. After all, the mere thought of agreeing with and supporting our president is repugnant to them, even when it is the right thing to do. So instead of applauding these actions that restored American deterrence, delivered justice to hundreds of dead American soldiers and their families, and severely weakened the terrorist organization IRGC-Quds force, my colleagues wring their hands and express regret and disappointment.
“Instead of applauding the men and women of our military standing in harm’s way, instead of recognizing the tireless vigilance of our intelligence community, instead of acknowledging those who have spent years confronting the Iranian threat network directly, my colleagues in this Congress seek to undermine them. I take this personally since I was one of those servicemembers for so many years. This threat is not new to us, though it may be new to those politicians who have lived comfortably and safely back home, now casting stones from ivory towers, relying on disingenuous judgements and false premises to make a false, politically-driven case to the American people.
“So, I offer this resolution today in order to right that wrong. I offer this to demonstrate to the American people, and our servicemembers and members of the intelligence community, that this Congress does indeed stand by the decision to rid the world of America’s enemies and those who seek to do us harm and stand by those who made justice possible. This resolution simply the states the obvious – that General Soleimani was head of one of the most sophisticated terrorist organizations in the world that already committed numerous attacks against the United States and planned to carry out many more attacks within days. This resolution rightfully congratulates our men and women who disrupted this evil chain of attacks instead of wrongly suggesting to them that their actions were unauthorized and even immoral.
“Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution and put to rest once and for all the false implication that America cannot defend herself when necessary. I urge defeat of the previous question and I yield back the balance of my time.”
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