7 of our top opinion columns this week: ICYMI

In today’s fast-paced news environment, it can be hard to keep up. For your weekend reading, we’ve started in-case-you-missed-it compilations of some of the week’s top USA TODAY Opinion pieces. As always, thanks for reading, and for your feedback.

— USA TODAY Opinion editors

1. Donald Trump showed restraint, then resolve, in killing of Iran’s Qasem Soleimani

By James S. Robbins

“Qasem Soleimani was a violent man who lived a violent life. … According to the Pentagon, Soleimani was actively planning attacks against American forces, something he had done many times. Those politicians who question whether President Donald Trump had the legal right to conduct the strike can suggest adding it as another article of impeachment, if they dare.”

2. I can withstand Trump’s smears and dirty tricks

By Joe Biden

(President Donald) Trump knows that in a fair election, if I am the nominee, it will be a tough fight. … That’s why he’s trying to smear me now. … I have already proved I can withstand his dirty tricks. Despite months of lies and vicious attacks against me, my only surviving son, my entire family — my campaign is gaining strength, because the truth is not up for debate.”

Iran's secret weapon (Photo: Christopher Weyant/The Boston Globe/PoliticalCartoons.com)

3. There is overwhelming evidence Lamar Johnson didn’t commit murder. So why is he still behind bars?

By Marilyn J. Mosby and Kimberly Foxx

“Lamar Johnson, 45, has spent more than half of his life behind bars. And now, even though there is overwhelming evidence of his innocence, he remains incarcerated. … Tragedies like Johnson’s are sadly all too common in our legal system, the inevitable casualties of a failed tough-on-crime playbook that for too long prioritized winning at all costs over seeking justice.”

4. Trump crisis mismanagement on full display with roll of dice on Iran, Iraq and Soleimani

By Aaron David Miller

“Iran now presents Donald Trump with the first real-time crisis of his presidency. … Not surprisingly, he is handling it in a way that embodies all the worst elements of his management of national security issues. Unfortunately, Trump also seems to have abandoned one of the more positive aspects of his approach to foreign policy: a reluctance to get into new and unwinnable conflicts in the Middle East.”

5. My colleagues must be impartial in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial

By Tim Kaine

“Why is there a requirement that senators, but not House members, pledge to do ‘impartial justice’ in an impeachment proceeding? I have grappled with this question as I have heard some colleagues promise that they will not be impartial. … How can a promise of partiality and a guarantee of unfairness, publicly stated before the trial even begins, be squared with the oath we must take?”

Mitch McConnell's rules (Photo: Adam Zyglis/The Buffalo (New York) News/PolticalCartoons.com)

6. The true cost of cannabis: Why don’t its illnesses, deaths command media headlines?

By Jayne O’Donnell

“Most everyone I talk to — even some doctors — say nicotine vaping and Juul, especially, is what’s clogging kids’ lungs. If it is, it hasn’t been identified by any of the many state or federal scientists who have reported on their findings. They have only been able to find vitamin E acetate from THC oil in patients’ lungs. … What if the purported problem is something advocates have been trying to get mandated or legalized for years?”

7. After the killing of Iran Gen. Qasem Soleimani, it’s time for America to leave Iraq

By Benjamin H. Friedman

“The reckless decision to kill Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani … cannot be undone. But it can be an impetus for the belated exit of U.S. forces from Iraq, who may still avoid needless trouble. Iraq’s parliament passed a resolution calling for the U.S. military forces (along with other foreign units) to be expelled. Washington should accept the invitation.”

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to [email protected].

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