Chuck Todd Grills Pompeo on Iran: ‘Doesn’t Sound Like We’re Safer Today After This’

Chuck Todd confronted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this morning about his comments after the strike that took out Qasem Soleimani that America is a safer place today.

Given what the administration has said about preventing an imminent attack, and actions Iran has taken since Soleimani was killed, Todd asked, “If there’s an imminent operational attack getting put together against American interests, why are you convinced that taking out Soleimani has done anything to stop it?”

Pompeo said they would’ve been “culpably negligent” if they didn’t act.

“Is it that imminent?” Todd asked. “Is what the attacks he was putting together so imminent and so bg it would have been seen as that kind of negligence?”

“We made the right decision. There’s lots of intelligence,” Pompeo said. “This is all in the context of a larger American strategy to create peace and stability in the Middle East. A key element is taking down Qasem Soleimani who has been just a destabilizing force in the region for so long.”

“So was the justification that he’s been this destabilizing force in the region for so long or was the justification this imminent threat?” Todd asked.

“Chuck, it’s never one thing,” Pompeo responded. “It’s a full situational awareness of risk and analysis. I am confident and the intelligence community presented us a set of facts that made clear that the risk from doing nothing exceeded the risk of taking the action that we took.”

Todd questioned him on whether America’s safer today:

“How do you square that statement with the fact that we’re bringing — you’re advising American citizens essentially to leave the region, particularly Iraq. We have the Homeland Security Department bracing Americans for cyber attacks, saying that we know the Iranians have been through our infrastructure. It is likely to happen and there won’t be a warning from it. It doesn’t sound like we’re safer today after this.”

“We’re definitely safer today. 100% certainty that America is safer today,” Pompeo said.

You can watch the exchange above, via NBC.