Former Barack Obama Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel appeared on CNN to argue that the decision to kill a top Iranian commander was short-sighted and threatens destabilizing the region.
Hagel, a former Republican senator for Nebraska, told Wolf Blitzer on a Sunday edition of The Situation Room that President Donald Trump’s administration should be thinking longer term.
“You got to go back to what is your larger strategic interest, what do you want to accomplish? That’s a short term kill, one man is down and there will be others to fill in. The bigger point, what do you want to accomplish in Iraq and in the Middle East?” he said about the killing of Iran’s Qasem Soliemani.
“During my time with President Obama, we tried to stabilize things during the 2015 nuclear deal. That actually stabilized things. We had big problems and Iran didn’t step away from its terrorist actions but we were able to get some control over what was going on over there,” Hagel continued.
Hagel also said Trump threatening to strike Iranian cultural sites would further escalate tensions.
“This country is dealing with Russia, China, North Korea, impeachment, trade issues, we have so many big issues out there, why do we want to start something here we don’t know how it will end? My point, when you take actions like these there are consequences, you have to think through every consequence of an option,” he said.
Watch above, via CNN.