-John, I can't talk too much
about the nature of the threats,
but the American people
should know
that President Trump's decision
to remove Qasem Soleimani
from the battlefield
saved American lives.
There's no doubt about that.
He was actively plotting
in the region to take actions --
"a big action,"
as he described it,
that would have put dozens,
if not hundreds,
of American lives at risk.
-For too long --
for too long,
this evil man operated
without constraint,
and countless innocents
have suffered for it.
Now his terrorist leadership
has been ended.
Now, predictably enough
in this political environment,
the operation that led
to Soleimani’s death
may prove controversial
or divisive.
-It is my view
that the president
does not have the authority
for a war with Iran.
If he plans a large increase
in troops
and potential hostility
over a longer time,
the administration will require
congressional approval
and the approval
of the American people.
The president's decision
may add to an already dangerous
and difficult situation
in the Middle East.
The risk of a much longer
military engagement
in the Middle East
is acute and immediate.
-How significant is this?
We killed the most horrible man
in Iran short of Ayatollah.
He was the right fist
of Ayatollah,
and we took Ayatollah's arm off.
-This is a president
who has been
a horrible commander in chief
when it comes to making us
more of a safe nation.
And now, potentially,
we're gonna see
what the fallout of this is
and see if indeed it's part
of a larger strategy
which, unfortunately
with his record, I doubt it is.
-I've said for a long time
that going to war
with Iran
would make the war in Iraq
and even Afghanistan
look like a picnic.
It will be far more costly
and devastating in American
lives and in taxpayer dollars,
and I don't believe the American
people want to go to war.
-As we all remember, Trump
promised to end endless wars.
Tragically, his actions now put
us on the path to another war,
potentially one that could be
even worse than before.
-If we have learned nothing else
from the Middle East
in the last 20 years,
it's that taking out a bad guy
is not a good idea
unless you are ready
for what comes next.
-I think it's really important
for New Yorkers to understand
that we are now potentially
facing a threat that's different
and greater than anything
we have faced previously.
-His sole job was to just
export terrorism
throughout the Middle East
and do so in Iraq.
To be caught right there
in Baghdad is appropriate,
but it also shows
that this president,
using our military,
our intelligence,
our State Department,
doesn't draw red lines.
-But in real time
making these decisions,
you can't make a decision
to take out a key general
by committee.
It just doesn't work that way.
It never has worked that way
and candidly can't work
that way in the future.
-We're not gonna lament
his death, but the question is,
that has to be answered
by the administration next week
when Congress comes back
into session,
is what brought us
to this moment?
We have had other moments
in which we could
have taken Soleimani out.
We did not.
