U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-01) on Friday reacted strongly to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) tweeting that she is “outraged” over the American military killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Omar on Thursday evening, after the news of Soleimani’s death broke, tweeted, “So what if Trump wants war, knows this leads to war and needs the distraction? Real question is, will those with congressional authority step in and stop him? I know I will.”
Apparently ignoring Soleimani’s designation (by the Obama administration, no less) as a foreign terrorist and the fact that he is responsible for the death of over 500 Americans, Omar on Friday doubled down, backing Soleimani as an assassinated “foreign official.”
“We are outraged the president would assassinate a foreign official, possibly setting off another war without Congressional authorization and has zero plan to deal with the consequences,” she claimed.
It is unclear why Omar would assume the administration, including the Department of Defense, Department of State, intelligence agencies and the national security apparatus, does not have a “plan to deal with the consequences.”
The administration has said that is has evidence Soleimani was actively planning the deaths of more Americans and that the strike was conducted to avoid a war, not start one.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top US general: US has compelling intelligence Soleimani was planning significant campaign of violence against US
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) January 3, 2020
In an exclusive statement to Yellowhammer News, Byrne pushed back on Omar’s claims while outlining this is not the first time she has seemed to downplay radical Islamic terrorism.
Omar infamously last year described the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and their terrorist perpetrators as “some people who did something.” She has also made headlines for her fiery opposition to Israel, which has been viewed as anti-Semitic by many. According to The Washington Post, Israel considered Soleimani as “the mastermind behind decades of terrorism directed against their country.”
Byrne told Yellowhammer News, “Ilhan Omar diminished 9/11, opposes Israel, and now she is upset that President Trump took out a murderous terrorist – at this point we have to wonder what side is she on?”
“Maybe she wishes Obama were still here to bow before the Ayatollah, but here in America we serve the Constitution of the U.S. first and swear in front of God to defend this country and its people. And that’s exactly what President Trump is doing,” he concluded.
This comes after the Alabama Republican Party in August passed a resolution calling for Alabama’s congressional delegation to seek Omar’s expulsion from Congress.
The author of that resolution, State Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant), said at the time, “This woman is continuously spewing anti-American rhetoric, anti-Semitism. She is un-American. She came from a war-torn country in Somalia to seek protection under Lady Liberty’s hand.”
“Folks, she constantly talks about the U.S. military – I put the U.S. military here,” he continued, raising his right arm. “If it weren’t for the U.S. military, we wouldn’t be here today. I put them here, and she continuously talks down on our veterans. Folks, she continuously talks about one of our most faithful and loyal allies, which is Israel.”
RELATED: Byrne not convinced Congress can ‘get rid’ of Omar — ‘The standards for expulsion are pretty high’
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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