Sen. Martha McSally on Soleimani: Trump 'did the right thing to take him out'

With Congress demanding answers about the intelligence that prompted President Donald Trump to green-light the killing of a top Iranian general last week, Sen. Martha McSally defended the decision, saying on Monday that the president "did the right thing to take him out."

As a former combat pilot who was deployed to the Middle East and oversaw a counterterrorism operation against lower-level terrorists in Africa, McSally, R-Ariz., said she could not imagine consulting Congress in the middle of a military operation.

Trump's administration officials have said Qasem Soleimani, the powerful Quds Force leader who was responsible for hundreds of deaths of Americans, was plotting imminent attacks on Americans.

"I can't imagine as someone in the military, that we would have to in the middle of these potential strikes, with the intelligence coming together and the decision-making of the commander of chief, that we would have to go to 435 other people in the moment in order to protect Americans," McSally told Fox News' Neil Cavuto.

"This strike was clearly authorized, Soleimani was an evil man, he was a terrorist leader, it was a legitimate, lawful target and commander in chief, President Trump did the right thing to take him out."

The airstrike that killed Soleimani last week at a Baghdad airport was the latest in a recent series of clashes that started with a rocket attack by Iranian proxy fighters that killed a U.S. defense contractor. The United States retaliated by killing 25 members of an Iran-supported militia, which was followed by a militia attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

"He was continuing to ratchet up that pressure, he was continuing despite warnings saying, 'Do not kill an American, do not cross that line.' ... They killed an American," she said. "He deserved his fate."

Asked to weigh in on Trump's threats to target 52 "Iranian sites" if the country retaliates for Soleimani's killing, McSally said, "Our hope is to deescalate and to deter future action."

McSally likened Soleimani's death to the 2011 death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden during a raid by Navy SEALS. Soleimani was Iran’s top security and intelligence commander and oversaw the Quds Force, which trained and supported militias loyal to Tehran throughout the Middle East.

Soleimani's death has ignited protests by Iranians against the United States and has fueled anxieties about potential war between Iran and the United States. Iran has vowed revenge and U.S. lawmakers are demanding answers about the intelligence that prompted the administration to deem threats by Soleimani as "imminent."

The administration did not tell top congressional leaders in advance of the drone strike on Soleimani, triggering criticism from Democrats that it was carried out without proper authorization.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is holding an all-senators briefing about the drone strike that killed Soleimani.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were scheduled to lead the briefing, McConnell said.

"Unfortunately, in this toxic political environment, some of our colleagues rushed to blame our own government before even knowing the facts, rushed to split hairs about intelligence before being briefed on it, and rushed to downplay Soleimani's evil while presenting our own president as the villain," McConnell said Monday during a Senate floor speech.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., said in a statement last week that Iran's aggression against American should be checked. The administration, she said, must explain its strategy moving forward.

"The country deserves, and the administration must provide, a coherent effective strategy to safeguard our national security,” Sinema’s statement said.

Have news to share about Arizona's U.S. senators or national politics? Reach the reporter on Twitter and Facebook. Contact her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com and 602-444-4712.

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