Killing ‘reckless’ — Democrats

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said yesterday that President Donald Trump has “tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox” with the targeted killing of Iran’s top general in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport.

The former vice-president joined other Democratic White House hopefuls in criticising Trump’s order, saying it could leave the US “on the brink of a major conflict across the Middle East.”

The Pentagon said the US military killed General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in Baghdad yesterday at the direction of Trump. The attack is expected to draw severe Iranian retaliation against Israel and American interests. The Defense Department said Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

Senator Bernie Sanders released a statement saying, “Trump’s dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars.”

Democrats acknowledged the threat posed by Soleimani, with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren calling him “a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans.”

However, she added, Trump’s “reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict.”