Representative Yassamin Ansari Reacts to the Death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The nation’s lone Iranian American Representative in Congress, Arizona’s Yassamin Ansari, had a measured and well-thought-out response following the announcement of the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following United States and Israelis airstrikes today.

Posting on social media, Representative Ansari wrote:

“Khamenei was the epitome of evil. For decades, he oversaw the torture, imprisonment, and murder of countless Iranians who dared to demand freedom. American blood is on his hands as well. No one should mourn him and his death is a relief. But removing one man does not dismantle a brutal regime. Military force alone will not secure a democratic future for the Iranian people, and it risks putting U.S. troops in further danger if there is no serious plan for what comes next. An action of this magnitude demands strategy, clarity, and a credible path forward. I want nothing more than a free Iran and safety and security for innocent Iranians. That requires more than force. It requires seriousness, accountability, and a real plan to support the Iranian people in determining their own future.”

Ansari has obviously learned from history.

The United States captured Saddam Hussein after launching an attack on Iraq in 2003.

Did that bring stabilty and what would pass for what people consider Democracy in that country?

The United States overthrew the Taliban, decimated Al Qaeda, and captured and executed Osama bin Laden.

Did that bring long-term stability, Democracy, and civil rights to the people of Afghanistan?

While everyone should hope, now that Trump and Israel’s Netanyahu have put us in another Middle East War, that this time, the Iranian people will rise to the challenge and partner in the ushering of a new era of peace and prosperity for the region, history shows that, as Ansari pointed out in her remarks, serious planning for a credible path forward is the only way to ensure mistakes are not repeated and the country is not drawn into another regional quagmire that will cost American lives and treasure where the only people that profit and thrive are oil executives and defense contractors-two of the current White House occupants largest fan groups next to White Christian Nationalists who are probably hoping this leads to Armageddon and the second coming.