Published 14:53 IST, January 8th 2020
Serious escalation with Iran shows Trump 'dangerously incompetent', says Joe Biden
US Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden said that the serious escalations with Iran prove President Donald Trump to be "dangerously incompetent".
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US Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden said that the serious escalations with Iran prove President Donald Trump to be "dangerously incompetent". Addressing foreign policy issues during the Democratic primary campaign, Biden lambasted Trump’s action for putting the United States on the brink of war.
"No one wants war. But it's going to take hard work to make sure we don't end up there accidentally," said the former vice president urging Trump to consult Congress before such actions.
Biden tore into the US President saying he offered tweets, threats and tantrums instead of communicating the rationale behind the order to kill Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
The 77-year-old Democratic leader had released a statement just after the assassination of Soleimani saying that he deserved to be brought to justice for his crimes against American troops and thousands of innocents throughout the region.
However, Biden asserted it will escalate the situation in an “already dangerous region”. Biden feared Iran will surely respond to the attack bringing major conflict across the Middle East.
“The Administration's statement says that its goal to deter future attacks by Iran, but this action almost certainly will have the opposite effect,” the statement read.
“President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy,” it added.
Legislation to block funding for war
Earlier, Democrats' Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna introduced legislation to block funding for any military budget aimed at starting a war against Iran without Congressional approval. Both leaders said that the Congress has an opportunity to change course after authorising a disastrous $738 billion military budget that placed no restrictions on President Trump from starting an unauthorised war with Iran.
“A war with Iran could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, more displacement in that already highly volatile region of the world,” the statement read.
(With AP inputs)
14:52 IST, January 8th 2020