Retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson Blames Trump’s Reckless Iran Policy For Plane Shoot-Down

Retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson said Donald Trump’s reckless policy in Iran helped cause the “unintentional” shoot-down of a passenger jet that left 176 innocent people dead.

During a discussion with MSNBC’s Joy Reid, Wilkerson – who also served as chief of staff for former Secretary of State Colin Powell – said Iran’s downing of a Ukrainian jet was the product of this administration’s disastrous policy in the region.

“When you create maximum tensions, as Pompeo is so glib in saying, between two states like Iran and the United States, you are going to have that sort of thing happen,” the retired colonel said.

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Col. Wilkerson said:

I would point out that the recent shoot-down is a product of that sordid history. When you create maximum tensions, as Pompeo is so glib in saying, between two states like Iran and the United States, you are going to have that sort of thing happen. It’s a tragic death of innocence, if you will, that accompanies this kind of really stupid purblind relationship between states in the world.

Hard to imagine the shoot-down taking place in a universe where Trump didn’t take out Soleimani

Since day one of his presidency, Donald Trump has sought to ratchet up tensions between the United States and Iran. This came after the Obama-Biden administration worked tirelessly to keep the Iranians check, which they were able to with a hard fought nuclear agreement.

Seeking to reverse this policy because it had Obama’s name attached to it, Trump pulled out of the Iranian deal, slapped more sanctions on the country and put the two nations on a collision course, which this administration took to a new level by bombing an Iranian general without any evidence to justify their claims that he posed an imminent threat to the U.S.

In the midst of Iran’s retaliation for the U.S. strike, they “unintentionally” shot down a passenger jet with nearly 200 people onboard.

There is no question that Iran pulled the trigger that ultimately led to this tragedy, but it’s hard to imagine that this would have happened if not for Donald Trump’s initial decision to take out Soleimani.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.