Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) on Sunday conspicuously refused to condemn Iranian terror master Qassem Soleimani, the deceased military leader responsible for hundreds of American deaths.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Warren described Soleimani, the leader of a designated terrorist organization, as "a high-ranking military official" and "government official."
"Look, it was a targeted attack on a government official, a high-ranking military official for the government of Iran, and what it has done has moved this country closer to war," Warren said. "We are not safer today than we were before Donald Trump acted."
The Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate questioned the timing of the U.S. attack on Soleimani, prompting Tapper to ask whether she was suggesting this was a distraction from impeachment.
"I think that people are reasonably asking about the timing, and why it is that the administration seems to have all kinds of different answers," Warren said. "In the first 48 hours after this attack, what did we hear? Well, we heard it was for an imminent attack, and then we heard, no, no, it was to prevent any kind of future attack, and then we heard from the vice president himself, no, it was related to 9/11."
Warren made the same suggestion in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.
"We know Donald Trump is very upset about this upcoming impeachment trial," she said. "But look at what he's doing now. He is taking us to the edge of war."
Warren was similarly critical of President Donald Trump's stated intention to strike 52 Iranian sites if Iran attacks any American assets. Warren decried Trump's threat as preparation for "war crimes." She did not mention an Iranian general's threats against 35 U.S. targets prior to Trump's tweet.
You are threatening to commit war crimes. We are not at war with Iran. The American people do not want a war with Iran. This is a democracy. You do not get to start a war with Iran, and your threats put our troops and diplomats at greater risk. Stop. pic.twitter.com/RoXRgb9GsK
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 5, 2020