Tucker Carlson slammed President Trump’s decision to kill Iranian general Qassem Soleimani because of the fallout from the potential war that may result from it.
Speaking on Fox News, Carlson described how “it’s no exaggeration” to suggest that by the time his show is next on the air the U.S. will be involved with a conflict with Iran while criticizing those who appear to be wishing this was the case.
“From Iran’s perspective, we’re already there. If Iranian forces killed the chairman of our joint chiefs of staff, for example, would you consider it an act of war?” Carlson added.
Carlson listed former national security adviser John Bolton and Sen. Ben Sasse as two of those who have praised the killing of Soleimani without thinking of the implications.
Bolton himself tweeted how he hopes this will result in “the first step to regime change in Tehran.”
Trump has publicly denied the decision to launch an airstrike against Soleimani in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad was to implement a regime change in Iran, and was done because Soleimani was planning an imminent attack against the U.S.
“Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel but we caught him in the act and terminated him. We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,” Trump told reporters on Friday.
Carlson questioned whether Iran was actually an imminent threat and accused the administration of ignoring other questions posed by the American people.
“Is Iran really the greatest threat we face? And who’s actually benefiting from this? And why are we continuing to ignore the decline of our own country in favor of jumping into another quagmire from which there is no obvious exit? If we’re still in Afghanistan 19 years later, what makes us think there’s a quick way out of Iran?”
Some of Tucker Carlson’s Qs: “Is Iran really the greatest threat we face? Who’s actually benefiting from this? Why are we continuing to ignore the decline of our own country in favor of jumping into another quagmire from which there is no obvious exit?” pic.twitter.com/WLHcgI1u3Q
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 4, 2020
Carlson also condemned the language used by “chest-beaters” like Sasse making “the usual war-like noises” in these scenarios.
In a statement following confirmation of the Iranian general’s death, Sasse said: “This is very simple: General Soleimani is dead because he was an evil b****** who murdered Americans. The President made the brave and right call, and Americans should be proud of our service members who got the job done.”
Carlson agreed that Soleimani was linked to the deaths of thousands of Americans, but questioned why the U.S. isn’t also launching similar attacks on China and Mexico who cause “tens of thousands” of deaths every year by importing drugs and other narcotics into the country.
“Before we enter into a single new war, there’s a criterion that ought to be met: Our leaders should be required to explain how that conflict will make the United States richer and more secure,” Carlson said.
“There are an awful lot of bad people in this world. We can’t kill them all, it’s not our job. Instead our government exists to defend and promote the interests of our American citizens… So has the killing of Soleimani done that? Maybe. No one in Washington has explained how.”
Carlson also warned how the U.S. could have similar issues following the conflicts they launched around the Middle East such as in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Lebanon.
“In every single place, each of these conflicts has turned out to be longer, bloodier, and more expensive than we were promised in the first place. The benefits? Often they’ve been non-existent.”