- President Joe Biden justified air strikes in Syria in a letter to congressional lawmakers.
- Biden said he directed the airstrikes in response to a recent militant attack in Iraq.
- He said the United States “is always ready to take the necessary and proportionate action in its own defense.”
- Visit the Insider Business Department for more stories.
President Joe Biden justified his decision to strike Syria on Saturday in a letter to congressional leadership.
On Thursday night, Biden launched airstrikes on the assets of “militant groups backed by Iran” 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 inherent right of United States self-defense, as reflected in Article 51 of the United States Charter. Nations. “
The Pentagon said the move comes after a series of recent attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq. Last week, a contractor was killed and others injured after militants fired rockets at an Iraqi air base used by the U.S. military.
Biden refers to the attack to justify the strike.
“In response, I have directed this military action to protect and defend our personnel and our partners from these attacks and future attacks,” he wrote. ‘The United States is always ready to take essential and proportionate action in self-defense, including when, as is the case here, the government of the state where the threat is located is not using its territory by state militia groups responsible is for such attacks.
Biden also said he was delivering the report as part of his ‘efforts to keep Congress fully informed, in line with the Resolution of the Armed Forces’, which says presidents have 48 hours to take military action to get Congress in to notify.
Biden has received criticism from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, many of whom have questioned his authority to launch the strikes.
Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, tweeted“We have continued to end wars and not escalate conflict in the Middle East. Our foreign policy must be rooted in diplomacy and the rule of law, and not retaliatory airstrikes without the consent of Congress.”
Members of Congress have previously called for the revocation of the 2001 and 2002 military force (AUMFs), which was enacted after 9/11, and gave presidents the power to wage war around the world, John Haltiwanger said. and Ryan Pickrell of Insider reported earlier.
Do you have a news tip? Contact this reporter at [email protected]