Weinstein Writes OpEd on the Death of Qasem Soleimani
Gen. Jack Weinstein, Professor of the Practice of International Security at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, published a recent Op-Ed discussing the death of Qasem Soleimani for BU Today. Weinstein argues that the United States’ problems with Iran will not be solved with additional military action.
Weinstein published an Op-Ed entitled “The Death of Qasem Soleimani Represents a Dangerous Use of Military Power,” on January 14, 2020 for BU Today’s POV Series, an opinion page that provides timely commentaries from students, faculty, and staff on a variety of issues: on-campus, local, state, national, or international.
From the text of the Op-Ed:
The justification the president used was the magical term “imminent threat”—translation: we must act now to save American lives. But that initial justification has morphed, as so many of Trump’s stories do. I find the term “imminent” suspect as this is the same person who has vilified the intelligence community time and again.
We got to this place because President Trump viewed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (Iran nuclear deal) as the worst deal ever negotiated. Why? Because he didn’t negotiate it. While the deal wasn’t perfect, it was working and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. I’m not naïve. Iran is a maligning interest in the Middle East and a supporter of terrorism throughout the region, but backing away from JCPOA was a mistake.
Our problems with Iran will not be solved with additional military action. Instead we need to tackle the foundational problems that the Trump administration has created. As a nation, we are stronger when we work with our allies and partners rather than berating them and cozying up to autocrats and dictators. America First has translated to America Alone, and without our allies America is weaker.
You can read the entire Op-Ed here.
USAF (Ret) Lt. Gen. Jack Weinstein, Lieutenant General, USAF, (Ret), served in the U. S. Air Force from 1982 to 2018. Prior to arriving at the Pardee School of Global Studies, he was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters United States Air Force, the Pentagon. In this position, he was responsible to the Secretary and Chief of Staff on all aspects of nuclear deterrence operations providing direction, guidance, integration and advocacy regarding the nuclear deterrence mission of the U.S. Air Force and engaged with joint, interagency and NATO for nuclear enterprise solutions.