US officials must face execution for ordering Soleimani assassination: Scholar
US President Donald Trump and senior officials in his administration must face execution for ordering the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, since it was a "war crime" and an “act of murder” based on lies and false claims, an American scholar says.
“That makes the murder of General Soleimani completely illegal, and clearly a war crime, an act of murder,” said Kevin Barrett, an author, journalist and radio host with a Ph.D. in Islamic and Arabic Studies.
“Here in the United States, murderers are still executed, so President Trump, [Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo and whoever else is behind this crime should be executed,” Barrett told Press TV on Wednesday.
The US military carried out an airstrike on the order of Trump at Baghdad’s international airport January 3, assassinating General Soleimani and the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, as well as eight other companions.
In an apparent about-face, Pompeo said on Monday the assassination of Soleimani was part of a “bigger strategy of deterrence,” a shift from Trump's previous claim that the deadly drone strike was carried out to prevent an “imminent” attack.
Immediately after the January 3 drone strike that claimed the life of General Soleimani, Pompeo alleged that Soleimani had been involved in planning an “imminent attack” in the region that “put American lives at risk.”
US Senate Democrats said on Tuesday they had enough votes in the Republican-controlled Senate to pass a resolution curbing Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran without congressional approval, which would be a rebuke of the Republican president for ordering the killing of General Soleimani.
To become law, the measure must pass the House of Representatives and either be signed by Trump, or garner a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress in order to override his veto.
Many members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, have been pushing the administration for more information about the killing.
Criticism grew as Trump and his top officials have offered shifting justifications for the drone strike.
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