“They’re in love with terrorists,” Rep. Doug Collins, R-Il., said of Democrats in a Fox Business Network interview last Wednesday. “We see that. They mourned Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families who are the ones who suffered under Soleimani.”
Collins comments came in the wake of a sequence of events that escalated tensions with Iran in the very beginning of 2020.
While the statement sparked controversy and conversation on both sides of the aisle, one member of Congress, in particular, had a unique response for Collins — thanks to her own time fighting terrorists.
"I don't need to dignify his comments with a response," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Il., told Connecting Vets. "I did leave parts of my body on the battlefield in Iraq fighting terrorists — so to claim that Democrats love terrorists is certainly something that is beyond the pale and I'm just not going to dignify his comments with a direct response to him."
Collins has since issued an apology via Twitter for his comments.
"As someone who served in Iraq in 2008, I witnessed firsthand the brutal death of countless soldiers who were torn to shreds by this vicious terrorist. Soleimani was nothing less than an evil mastermind who viciously killed and wounded thousands of Americans," Collins said in the thread of Tweets. "These images will live with me for the rest of my life, but that does not excuse my response on Wednesday evening."
While Duckworth has stated that she certainly does not "love terrorists," she also had questions about the decision-making process behind the strike on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. So did many other Democrats as was expressed at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday to discuss recent Iran policy decisions.
Sec. Pompeo didn't appear at the hearing on Iran policy — he was on FOX instead
"I do not mourn this guy. I'm glad that he's dead. I hope he rots in hell. But the president did not adequately plan for what would happen following the strike and did not have a true justification for why they needed to strike and assassinate him when they did," Duckworth said.
"Americans are less safe and American assets are less safe around the world at this point," Duckworth added. "And I'm just appalled that this president continues to make very rash decisions without consulting Congress and without having any plans for what he's going to do to deal with the aftermath. That ultimately is my greatest concern — what are we doing to safeguard America?"
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