The media told us that Qassem Soleimani was beloved, but they weren’t telling the truth. The media told us that President Trump’s strike on Soleimani would unify Iran behind its terrorist regime, but they weren’t telling the truth there either.
In recent days, we’ve seen the people of Iran rise up to refute the propaganda that Soleimani was a beloved general and unequivocally condemn a corrupt government that wastes billions on terror adventurism around the world.
We’ve seen Iranians take to the streets to protest their government’s shootdown of a plane full of innocent civilians.
We’ve seen Iranians walk around American and Israeli flags on the ground rather than trample on them.
We’ve seen Iranians declare, “They are lying that our enemy is America! Our enemy is right here!”
While Democrats have scorned President Trump’s actions and “mourned” the terrorist leader Soleimani’s death, these anti-government protests show that Trump’s Iran policy of containment is working.
By acting decisively to take out Soleimani, President Trump has shown solidarity with a people held hostage to a brutal and murderous terrorist regime.
By pursuing a strategy of containment, rather than the last administration’s strategy of appeasement, President Trump has opened a window of opportunity with Iran that is playing out even now.
Containment brought down the Soviet Union. Appeasement didn’t.
When the United States contended with the Soviet Union in the Cold War, containment hemmed in the expansion of communism until the Soviet Union’s own internal weaknesses forced it to abandon its dreams of empire.
Containment allowed America to counter Soviet pressure through a patient but vigilant reining in of the Soviet Union’s expansive tendencies.
By not withdrawing into isolationism, but also not violating the sovereignty of Eastern European nations, America’s strategy of containment led to the breakup of Soviet power and the collapse of communism.
Containment worked throughout history, and it works today.
The people of Iran are yearning for freedom and liberty. They are fed up with an oppressive government that habitually chooses to undermine their well-being and security, and they are destabilizing Iran’s regime from within.
In the past three months, Iran’s leaders have killed 1,500 protestors, injured 4,800 protestors, and arrested over 7,000 protestors. Only last week, their security forces continued to respond to protests with violence by firing live ammunition and tear gas into the crowds.
As Iran’s regime continues to reveal its brutality and oppression, it’s becoming ever clearer to the world, to America, and to the people of Iran—Iran must change its pattern of aggression, abandon its nuclear ambitions, and respect the freedom and liberties of its citizens.
Just as in the Cold War, containment is the best way for America to stand with the Iranian people and pursue security in an evolving bipolar world.
This strategy creates incredible risk. It also provides a remarkable opportunity to win alliances, contain aggression, and stand for freedom. President Donald Trump is doing just that.
As they determine their future, the Iranian people are not alone. America stands with the people of Iran as they fight for their freedom and speak out against oppression. As President Trump continues his strategy of containment, we remain committed to standing in solidarity with those who love freedom.
Rep. Mark Green is a graduate of West Point and a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was part of the mission to capture Saddam Hussein, and he interviewed Saddam Hussein for six hours on the night of his capture. He serves on the House Homeland Security and Oversight committees.