A5
THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, JANuARy 11, 2020
House tries to restrain Trump’s actions on Iran
Resolution is
not binding
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Reig-
niting a debate over who
has the power to declare
war, the Democratic-con-
trolled House on Thursday
approved a resolution assert-
ing that President Donald
Trump must seek approval
from Congress before engag-
ing in further military action
against Iran.
The war powers resolu-
tion is not binding on the
president and would not
require his signature. But
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
nonetheless insisted it “has
real teeth” because “it is a
statement of the Congress of
the United States.”
The measure will “protect
American lives and values”
by limiting Trump’s military
actions, Pelosi said. “The
administration must de-esca-
late and must prevent further
violence.’’
The White House called
the resolution “ridiculous”
and “completely misguided.”
And Trump, at a cam-
paign rally in Toledo, Ohio,
claimed he had no obligation
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks to meet with reporters following escalation of tensions this
week between the U.S. and Iran.
to give lawmakers advance
warning, saying Democrats
like Pelosi “want us to tell
them so they can leak it to
their friends in the corrupt
media.”
The House passed the
measure, 224-194, with just
three Republicans voting in
support. Eight Democrats
opposed the measure.
A similar proposal by
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., faces
an uphill fight in the GOP-
run Senate. Kaine’s efforts
received a boost Thursday as
Republican Sen. Todd Young
of Indiana, an ex-Marine,
said he might support the
war powers measure. Two
other Republican senators
said Wednesday they would
back Kaine’s plan.
“We are members of a
separate and distinct branch
of government. It is our duty
not to take anyone’s word
for things as we are deal-
ing with matters of life and
death,” Young said, add-
ing that he wished Trump
administration officials had
provided more intelligence
information during a briefing
Wednesday on a U.S. drone
strike that killed a top Iranian
general.
Pelosi, in announcing the
House vote, called the killing
of Gen. Qassem Soleimani
“provocative and dispropor-
tionate.” The U.S. military
also tried, but failed, to take
out another senior Iranian
commander on the same day
that the American airstrike
killed Soleimani, U.S. offi-
cials said Friday.
Also on Friday, Pelosi
said the House will take
steps next week to send arti-
cles of impeachment to the
Senate, ending Democrats’
blockade of Trump’s Senate
trial over his conduct toward
Ukraine.
Louisiana Rep. Steve
Scalise, the No. 2 House
Republican, denounced the
Democratic war powers
measure as little more than
“a press release designed to
attack President Trump,’’
while
House
Minority
Leader Kevin McCarthy of
California called it a ”mean-
ingless vote” on a measure
that will never be sent to the
president or “limit his consti-
tutional authority to defend
the American people.’’
White House spokesman
Hogan Gidley said, “This
House resolution tries to
undermine the ability of the
U.S. Armed Forces to pre-
vent terrorist activity by Iran
and its proxies, and attempts
to hinder the president’s
authority to protect Amer-
ica and our interests in the
region from the continued
threats.”
The House vote came a
day after the Trump admin-
istration briefed lawmakers
on its actions in Iran. Dem-
ocrats and several Repub-
licans called the briefings
inadequate, adding that offi-
cials did not provide enough
details about why the attack
was justified.
Vice President Mike
Pence said Thursday that
Soleimani “was traveling the
region making plans to bring
an attack against Ameri-
can personnel and American
forces.” He said it was not
possible to share full details
of the intelligence with
lawmakers.
“When it comes to intel-
ligence we have to protect
sources and methods, there’s
only certain amount we can
share with every member
of Congress,” Pence said
on ABC’s “Good Morning
America.” “But those of us
who have seen all the evi-
dence know that there was
a compelling case of immi-
nent threat against American
personnel.”
Trump said Thursday that
he “had calls from numerous
senators and numerous con-
gressmen and women saying
it was the greatest presenta-
tion they’ve ever had.’’
US blames Iran for Ukrainian jetliner downing
By NASSER KARIMI,
JOSEPH KRAUSS
and ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
U.S. promised “appropriate
action” Friday in response to
its assessment that an Iranian
missile was responsible for
downing a Ukrainian jetliner
that crashed outside Tehran,
as the Iranian government
denied playing a role in the
killing of all 176 people on
board.
Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo became the high-
est-level U.S. official to
directly pin the blame on
Iran, after Canadian, Aus-
tralian and British leaders
announced similar intelli-
gence conclusions Thursday.
“We do believe it is likely that
that plane was shot down by
an Iranian missile,” he said.
Pompeo said an investiga-
tion would continue into the
incident and that once it was
complete he was “confident
that we and the world will
take appropriate action as a
response.” Leaders said the
plane appeared to have been
unintentionally hit by a sur-
face-to-air missile.
Earlier Friday, Iran denied
Western allegations that one
of its own missiles downed
the jetliner that crashed early
Wednesday outside Tehran,
hours after Iran launched
more than a dozen ballistic
missiles at two U.S. bases in
Iraq to avenge the killing of
its top general in an Ameri-
can airstrike last week.
“What is obvious for us,
and what we can say with
certainty, is that no missile hit
the plane,” Ali Abedzadeh,
head of Iran’s national avia-
tion department, told a press
conference.
“If they are really sure,
they should come and show
their findings to the world” in
accordance with international
standards, he added.
Hassan Rezaeifar, the
head of the Iranian investi-
gation team, said recover-
ing data from the black box
flight recorders could take
more than a month and that
the entire investigation could
stretch into next year. He also
said Iran may request help
from international experts
if it is not able to extract the
flight recordings.
Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press
Candles sit in front of pictures of victims at a vigil in Canada
to remember those killed in the Ukraine International Airlines
plane crash in Iran.
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