White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended President Biden’s decision to launch an air strike against Iran-backed forces in Syria in retaliation for the recent attacks on American military personnel, saying it was a “proportional military response”.
On Thursday night, the U.S. Armed Forces carried out an air raid against Kait’ib Sayyid al Shuhada and Kait’ib Hezbollah – two Shi’ite militant groups based on the Iraqi border, suspected of receiving money from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
“The Department of Defense informed Congressional leadership before the action last night. The administration has informed Hill at the member and employee level today,” said Psaki in an official statement. “There will be a full classified briefing early next week at the latest.”
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During a riot aboard Air Force One on Friday, Psaki told reporters that the aim of the attack was to send a “clear message” about how Biden will act to protect Americans.
“He has the right to act the way he wants,” said Psaki, adding that the United States acted “in accordance with the right of self-defense” and considered it “necessary”.
“I can guarantee that there was a complete and legal response,” said Psaki, adding that Biden “has been doing this for long enough not to draw red lines” and saying that “that action was taken” as a proportional military response, which included “consultations with coalition partners. “
Psaki added that the president is committed to protecting American personnel.
The air strike was Biden’s first major military movement known to his administration. The move came after American forces in the Green Zone were the target of several attacks, including two rockets that fell near the American embassy in Baghdad.
The Green Zone is home to government buildings, including the American Embassy. The rocket attack was the third attack in a week and saw no casualties. A previous rocket attack in Erbil took the life of a civilian contractor, wounded several others and an American military.
A senior official said the action was defensive to deter and called the attack “a shot from the bow.”
“These attacks were authorized in response to the recent attacks against Americans and coalition officials in Iraq, and the ongoing threats to these officials,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Thursday.
The strike received praise from some of the top Republicans, including Representative Michael McCaul, R-Texas, of the House’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and Representative French Hill, R-Ark., Who applauded the air strike.
McCaul said he “asked” the Biden government to “respond to the recent attacks on the United States and coalition targets”, adding, “I commend them for doing just that.”
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“Responses like this are a necessary deterrent and remind Iran, its representatives and our opponents around the world that attacks on US interests will not be tolerated,” continued McCaul. “I appreciate it [Biden] and our service members to protect Americans abroad. “
Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla., And Lindsey Graham, RS.C., also opined on the Biden government strike on Twitter, with Rubio calling the attack “targeted, proportionate and necessary”.
Graham similarly applauded Biden’s decision to call for an air strike.
“I appreciated the Biden government’s attack on Iranian-backed militia groups in Syria who have been promoting attacks against American forces in Iraq and elsewhere,” wrote the South Carolina senator on Twitter. “It is imperative that our enemies know that attacking Americans comes at a cost.”
“Very supportive of this attack and I hope it will create the necessary deterrence in the future,” added Graham.
But progressives criticized the strike, with Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Saying he was “very concerned” that the strike “put our country on the path to continuing the Eternal War instead of ending it”.
“This is the same path that we have followed for almost two decades,” Sanders said in a statement. “For a long time, the governments of both parties have interpreted their authorities in an extremely expansive way to continue military interventions in the Middle East region and elsewhere. This must end.”
Sanders added that in 2019 Congress passed the first War Powers Resolution in history to end US participation in the war in Yemen.
“Congress passed another resolution in 2020 to prevent Trump from starting a war with Iran,” he said. “These were important and historic steps in Congress to reaffirm constitutional authority over the use of force and we must continue to develop these efforts.”
Sanders added: “Although the president has a responsibility to defend the people of the United States, our constitution makes it clear that it is Congress, not the president, who has the authority to declare war.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Said: “We cannot stand by Congressional authorization before military strikes only when there is a Republican president.”
“The government should have sought authorization from Congress here,” tweeted Khanna. “We need to work to get rid of the Middle East, not to scale.”
Houston Keene, Caitlin McFall and Jennifer Griffin of Fox News contributed to this report.