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Sharply Divided Reaction Resounds After Deadly US Airstrike

Michael Bowman

   A torrent of sharp objections and resounding praise continued Friday in
   reaction to the U.S. airstrike that killed Iran's Quds Force commander,
   Qassem Soleimani, and heralded a new and heightened phase of conflict
   between Washington and Tehran.
   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, hailed
   the outcome, saying, "This morning, Iran's master terrorist is dead."
   Speaking from the chamber as lawmakers prepared to return to
   Washington, McConnell added, "The architect and chief engineer for the
   world's most active state sponsor of terrorism has been removed from
   the battlefield at the hand of the United States military. No man alive
   was more directly responsible for the deaths of more American service
   members than Qassem Soleimani."

   Questions from Democrats

   Democrats shed no tears over the Iranian general's demise but
   questioned the wisdom and legal underpinnings of the operation.
   "This action may well have brought our nation closer to another endless
   war -- exactly the kind of endless war the president promised he would
   not drag us into," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York
   said in floor remarks.

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