Duckworth slams Collins’s comments: ‘I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists’

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a former Army lieutenant colonel who lost both her legs in Iraq, ripped Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) Thursday for comments he made the day before that Democrats are “in love with terrorists.”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don’t need to justify myself to anyone,” Duckworth said on “CNN Right Now.”

Collins made the remark on Fox Business’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” Wednesday, in response to Democratic criticism of Trump’s handling of the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

The attack on Soleimani has heightened fears among Democrats that the president will take further actions that could be considered acts of war. 

“They mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families, who are the ones who suffered under Soleimani. That’s a problem,” Collins added.

“I’m disgusted. I would never, ever use Gold Star families, military men and women or their families as any pawn in any political game. Let me tell you something: This issue is about America’s national security. It is not a partisan political issue,” Duckworth said.

“My concern is, is America safer today than it was before the president made this rash decision without considering the consequences and having a plan in place to handle the consequences? And my answer at this point is no.”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don’t need to justify myself to anyone.”@SenDuckworth responds to GOP Rep. Doug Collins’ unfounded claims that Democrats are “in love with terrorists.”https://t.co/V0DEAgzTM2 pic.twitter.com/fy2aj9ZBU5

— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) January 9, 2020

“I am not sad that this man is dead. I am glad that he’s gone to meet his maker and that he will get his just desserts,” she added. “But at the end of the day, because of the poor handling of the White House and the consequences of their actions, American troops are now hunkered down, American forces are now under greater danger of attacks from Iran and other hostile forces in the Middle East.”

After the killing of Soleimani, Iraq’s parliament took a nonbinding vote expelling foreign troops and Iran launched a retaliatory missile attack on an Iraqi airbase housing U.S. troops. The White House has said there were no U.S. or Iraqi casualties from the attack.