Reading Room Document

January 2020 Airstrike in Iraq Against Qassem Soleimani

This memorandum discusses a January 2020 airstrike in Iraq against Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force of Iran. The document is heavily redacted, and discusses primarily the history of the United States' involvement in Iraq, Iran's opposition to the U.S. presence in the Middle East, attacks on the U.S. and its partners by Qods Force and others, and the history of military action, including airstrike authorization, by presidents. The OLC considered, while advising on the permissiiblity of airstrike against Qassem Soleimani, the likelihood that the airstrike could escalate into larger-scale conflict, and defended its initial assessment that resulting hostilities would be unlikely to escalate "to the level of a war for constitutional purposes." OLC also advised that the president could rely on the 2002 AUMF to justify the use of force.

March 10, 2020