- President Joe Biden justified air strikes in Syria in a letter to Congressional lawmakers.
- Biden said he directed the air strikes in response to a recent attack by militants in Iraq.
- He said the United States “is always ready to take necessary and proportionate measures in self-defense”.
- Visit the Business section of the Insider for more stories.
President Joe Biden justified his decision to attack Syria in a letter to Congressional leadership on Saturday.
On Thursday night, Biden directed air strikes against the assets of “Iranian-supported militant groups” in Syria.
In his letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate President pro tempore Patrick Leahy, Biden said the strike was “in line with the United States’ inherent right to self-defense, as reflected in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. United Nations”.
The Pentagon said the move came after a series of recent attacks against the United States and coalition forces in Iraq. Last week, a contractor was killed and others were injured after militants fired rockets at an Iraqi airbase used by the US military.
Biden made reference to the attack to justify the blow.
“In response, I directed this military action to protect and defend our personnel and our partners against these attacks and future attacks,” he wrote. “The United States is always ready to take necessary and proportionate measures in self-defense, even when, as is the case here, the government of the state where the threat is located does not want or is unable to prevent third parties from using its territory – state militia groups responsible for such attacks.
Biden also said he was providing the report as part of his “efforts to keep Congress fully informed, in accordance with the War Powers Resolution”, which says that presidents have 48 hours after military action to inform Congress.
Biden faced criticism from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, many of whom questioned his authority to launch strikes.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, tweeted: “We rush to end wars, not to increase conflicts in the Middle East. Our foreign policy needs to be rooted in diplomacy and the rule of law, not in retaliatory air strikes without Congressional authorization.”
Members of Congress had already lobbied to revoke the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs), which were enacted after 9/11 and gave presidents the authority to wage war around the world, previously reported John Haltiwanger and Ryan Pickrell from Insider.
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