I expressed my objections to Senator Scott regarding the recent nightmare started by President Trump killing Qasem Soleimani. I received an email response today from Senator Scott. He says:
“Dear Mr. Anderson,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the situation in Iran. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
President Trump is working to defend the freedom of our country, and he was right to take swift and decisive action to kill one of the world’s worst monsters. Qasem Soleimani was responsible for the death and maiming of thousands of Americans and tens of thousands worldwide. The regime in Iran needs to know that the United States will not tolerate acts of aggression against America or our allies, and the death of Soleimani was a strong warning. But Iran should also know that they have an opportunity to become productive members of the world community and bring peace and prosperity to their people. Iran must make the choice for peace.
Again, thank you for your correspondence. I am proud to represent every citizen in Florida and I appreciate the time you took to provide your position on this matter. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Rick Scott
United States Senator”
I responded as follows:
“I appreciate the response from your office. However, I do not agree that President Trump was right in assassinating Soleimani out of the blue, as he did. To me it is obvious he ordered this killing to distract everyone and dissuade Congress from his impeachment trial. He stated as much with his recent remarks promoting the dismissal of the impeachment trial in light of the escalating tensions in the mid-east. Apparently his plans to kill Soleimani had been brewing for seven months. If you think back, surprise, surprise, seven months ago was July 2019 which was when he made his infamous July 25 call attempting to coerce President Zelensky to help him in the 2020 election by smearing the reputation of Joe Biden. It seems rather coincidental that he chose this moment to kill Soleimani when his impeachment trial is imminent (note: the word imminent is used correctly here, “about to happen,” unlike how the administration has been using the term). If President Trump and his crew had been planning this for seven months, it appears that starting a war with Iran was their last ditch effort to extricate themselves from the mess they’d gotten themselves into, as President Trump speculated several times as a legitimate tactic for other presidents.
I do not agree that this was “swift and decisive” action, as you put it. It was reckless and dangerous which President Trump discussed with only a handful of his closest sycophants who didn’t even have enough time, or didn’t bother, to coordinate their stories to explain their action to anyone. The fact that this could have started another all out war in the mid-east does not appear to have been considered. In fact, an assassination of an official of a sovereign nation, no matter how brutal the official or nation, could escalate into another World War. We need a president with a cool head who will deliberate the consequences of actions and consult with Congress (which should represent the people) when he wants to take actions that might provoke retaliatory, deadly reactions. The only reason this situation has not escalated further is the fact that the Iranians downed the Ukrainian passenger airliner killing 176 civilians which turned the fury of the Iranians against their government moreso than the U.S. Now that President Trump has ordered harsher sanctions against Iran, thus starving the people and making it even more difficult for them to obtain medical supplies, etc., I, for one, am still braced for war.
How can you, as a member of Congress, condone the President’s behavior and actions. He is once again lying and covering up something he has done. He ignored Congress before he took action, didn’t level with them after the assassination, and he and his cronies are still trying to get their stories straight. Are you so naive that you don’t question what he is doing? If so, you do not belong in Congress. You are not doing your job as a representative of the people and you are not honoring your oath of office.
Arleen McFadden Anderson
IF YOU, LIKE ME, ARE APPALLED BY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR COUNTRY UNDER THE AUSPICES OF DONALD J. TRUMP, PLEASE CALL YOUR CONGRESSMEN, SENATORS!