Sen. Elizabeth Warren; Rep. Seth Moulton; Rep. Ayanna Pressley. (Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation largely condemned a U.S. attack that killed a top Iranian general near Baghdad, Iraq's airport Thursday night.
The drone strike assassinated Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, in a move that the Commonwealth's Senators and Representatives largely said they fear could plunge the region into more conflict.
Rep. Seth Moulton, who served in the Marines in Iraq from 2003-2008, spoke to WBZ NewsRadio Friday afternoon about the consequences of Gen. Soleimani's killing, which he called "a complete failure" that escalates tensions between Iran and the U.S.
"Don't get me wrong, Soleimani was an evil man with American blood on his hands, and I'm certainly not mourning his loss," Moulton said. "But the question is whether or not this action makes us more or less safe, and unquestionably today, Americans are less safe because of what the administration has done."
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He said the strike has been characterized by a lack of planning.
"There's a declaration for Americans to get out of Iraq, and usually, that would be accompanied by a military operation to help them get out of Iraq," Moulton said. "We used to train for those types of operations in the Marines, but obviously, that was not set up. There's no strategy here, and that's the point that I have to emphasize."
Other members of Congress from Massachusetts made statements about the attack and U.S.-Iran relations Friday.
In a series of tweets, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren called Trump's decision "reckless."
"We’re on the brink of yet another war in the Middle East—one that would be devastating in terms of lives lost and resources wasted," she wrote. "We’re not here by accident. We’re here because a reckless president, his allies, and his administration have spent years pushing us here."
Sen. Ed Markey called the strike a "massive, deliberate, and dangerous escalation."
Rep. Ayanna Pressley called Trump "erratic, impulsive, and dangerous," and said Congress should work to de-escalate tensions.
Rep. Joe Kennedy called Soleimani "an evil man who deserved to be held accountable for his sins," but said that the fact the assassination was carried out before notifying Congress and without proper planning was "reckless and dangerous."
In a statement, Rep. Bill Keating, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, said he needed to see a plan to keep Americans safe in the wake of the strike.
"No American is going to mourn the loss of Qassim Suleimani, who was responsible for the killing of Americans as well as innocent civilians," Keating wrote. "The Administration must brief Congress of the legal basis for this action, our coordination with Iraq and our other allies, and most importantly their plan to keep every American service member, diplomat, and civilian oversees—as well as our citizens at home—are safe from retaliation."
Rep. Jim McGovern said in a statement that "Republicans and Democrats alike do not want war with Iran."
Rep. Katherine Clark called on the Trump Administration to work with Congress to avoid war.
Rep. Lori Trahan said neither she nor the American people want a war with Iran.
"It’s imperative that the Administration brief Congress on the intelligence that they’ve described as ‘an imminent threat’ to warrant a strike of this magnitude," she wrote in a statement.
Rep. Stephen Lynch had yet to issue a statement.
WBZ NewsRadio's Nichole Davis (@NicholeDWBZ) reports
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