FILE- In this Sept. 18, 2016 photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, center, attends a meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Revolutionary Guard commanders in Tehran, Iran. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard faces new sanctions from U.S. President Donald Trump as he has declined to re-certify the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. But what is this organization? (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)

Just as they were prior to the October raid which killed al-Baghdadi, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her lieutenant, the repellent Rep. Adam Schiff, were left out of the loop before President Trump ordered the drone strike which killed IRGC General Qassem Soleimani.

Schiff tweeted the following statement:

Soleimani was responsible for unthinkable violence and world is better off without him.

But Congress didn’t authorize and American people don’t want a war with Iran.

All steps must now be taken to protect our forces against the almost inevitable escalation and increased risk.

Pelosi issued a statement which read:

Tonight’s airstrike risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence. America – and the world – cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return.

The Administration has conducted tonight’s strikes in Iraq without an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran. Further, this action was taken without the consultation of the Congress.

The full Congress must be immediately briefed on this serious situation and on the next steps under consideration by the Administration, including the significant escalation of the deployment of additional troops to the region.

Other Democratic members of Congress echoed similar versions of the above.

Next came the expected saber-rattling from Iran. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted, “The US’ act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation. The U.S. bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a statement aired on Iranian television. It said, “All enemies should know that the jihad of resistance will continue with a doubled motivation, and a definite victory awaits the fighters in the holy war.”

And Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, “Soleimani’s martyrdom will make Iran more decisive to resist America’s expansionism and to defend our Islamic values. With no doubt, Iran and other freedom-seeking countries in the region will take his revenge.”

The folks over at MSNBC were in a state of fear over the strikes as well. After giving viewers an idea of just how powerful Soleimani was, MSNBC reporter Ali Arouzi said, “In the past, Soleimani had been in the crosshairs of the United States, and they decided not to hit him, because of what might unravel. I think we’re going to see what might unravel now.”

At the end of the day, neither the Democrats in Congress nor the members of the mainstream media care about the lives of our boys in uniform. They’re just positioning themselves politically for how to best use this opportunity.

In order to preserve their narrative, they’re all ignoring several major considerations:

1. Are any of them curious as to why Soleimani was in Iraq in the first place? It clearly wasn’t a social visit. Although no one knows for sure, there are several theories and none of them are good. According to the Pentagon, over the last few months, Soleimani had been coordinating attacks on coalition bases in the area, including the one which killed an American contractor. The visit may have involved planning new attacks.

Another theory is that the IRGC chief was unhappy with current Iraqi President Barham Salih’s refusal to name Iran’s hand-picked candidate, Asaad al-Eidani, as the country’s next prime minister, and had traveled to the country to take over the government. The Associated Press reported that “Al-Eidani’s name was proposed by the Fatah bloc, which includes leaders associated with the Iran-supported paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces. His nomination was promptly rejected by Iraqi protesters who poured into the streets demanding an independent candidate.”

Whatever his reason for the trip may have been, he was a terrorist, who spent his time fomenting terrorism. And I think it’s very safe to assume he was planning something nefarious.

2. What’s really changed? Iran’s current government has hated America since they overthrew the monarchy in 1979 and clerics assumed political control under supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini. “Death to America” has become a familiar chant and as the crippling U.S. sanctions enacted in 2018 have crushed their economy, their threats have escalated. It’s difficult to believe Iran could hate us any more today than they did yesterday.

3. The Iranian economy is in pretty dire straits at this point. The lack of resources may lower their ability to exact the revenge they would like to against the U.S. The country is currently in the midst of a deep recession. Unemployment and the cost of living have increased dramatically while the value of their currency has hit a record low. They will retaliate for the hit on Soleimani, but their diminished resources may put a limit on its severity.

4. At a certain point, a country must be prepared to take action against an aggressor. Frankly, I think President Trump has responded to Iran’s provocations with remarkable restraint. Among other hostile acts, Iran shot down a U.S. drone that had been flying in international airspace. In that region of the world, they understand one thing clearly. Force.

If Obama had called a few airstrikes to eliminate Iranian’s evil leaders instead of negotiating a bad deal and sending over a plane loaded with cash, we wouldn’t be in this position today.