With its first known military strike, President Biden
Joe BidenHouse Democrats succeed overwhelming .9T COVID-19 minimum wage relief bill Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 are charged in connection with Capitol riots MORE trying to send a strong message to Iran while trying to avoid further escalation.
Biden ordered the strike on Thursday at facilities used by militants in Iran in Syria in response to several recent rocket attacks on US interests in Iraq allegedly carried out by the militias.
The goal appears to be calibrated to say that Iran should turn it off without getting the situation out of control, as the government wants to save room for diplomacy with Tehran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
‘Somewhere there is a nice, happy remedy between someone out there [Qassem] Soleimani and show that you mean business, ”said Barry Pavel, director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, referring to the Iranian general who was killed in a drone crashed by former President Trump
Donald TrumpBiden holds virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican President. More than 300 are charged in connection with the Capitol riot Trump Jr..
‘It was meant to say,’ we mean business, you can not continue to push us around and attack through proxies. You’ll pay a price, ” Pavel adds about Biden’s strike. ‘This is a very different approach than the Trump administration. Like I said, discriminate, calibrate and focus on the use of force for specific military interests. ”
Biden’s actions received praise from some Republicans who criticized his diplomatic revelations to Iran and from certain Democrats who viewed it as a limited, proportionate response. But other Democrats question the legitimacy of the strikes, saying they will not shy away from demanding the same answers as Trump did without approving Congress.
In turn, Biden said the strike was intended to send the message that “you can not act with impunity.”
“Be careful,” he told reporters while in Houston on Friday.
The airstrikes hit stations backed by two militias by Iran to transport weapons, personnel and supplies across the border from Syria to Iraq.
The strike by the F-15E fighter jets dropped seven precision-guided ammunition, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.
It destroyed nine facilities and damaged two others, destroying them ‘functionally’, Kirby added. The Pentagon had ‘preliminary indications’ on Friday that there were casualties, but Kirby refused to elaborate because the damage assessment had not been finalized.
‘I think the strike sends a message to everyone in the region, to all opponents in the region – organizations, people, leaders working in a way that safeguards the security and stability of the region and our interests towards our partners – that we will defend ourselves, that we will protect our interests, ”Kirby said.
“We are definitely going to take action to protect our people and the forces of our allies and partners,” he added. “This is a clear and unequivocal message to anyone in the region about the importance of continuing to attack our people and the Iraqi people.”
Biden ordered the strike after three recent rocket attacks in Iraq, including one in Erbil that killed a non-US contractor working with US forces and injured several US contractors and a US service member.
Immediately after the rocket attacks, the Biden government blamed it, leading to speculation that they were trying to keep the temperature low with Tehran, as it wanted to revive the Iranian nuclear deal.
The Trump administration was quick to blame Tehran after similar rocket attacks, but retaliation brought the United States and Iran to the brink of war at some point.
In late 2019, the U.S. military carried out strikes in Iraq and Syria against a military backed by Iran in response to a rocket attack that killed a U.S. contractor. The tit-for-tat escalated into Trump’s drone on Soleimani, followed by an Iranian missile attack in Iraq that injured more than 100 U.S. troops.
The Trump administration also hit Iraqi militants last March after a rocket attack killed two U.S. troops and a British official. But the consequences were minimal, as both the United States and Iran turned their attention to the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden has accepted an invitation from the European Union to take part in talks with Iran and other signatories to the Obama-era nuclear deal. The president has said he will rejoin the agreement, which was withdrawn by Trump, if Iran reconciles.
Since Trump withdrew, Iran has violated the uranium enrichment and storage agreement, which has recently restricted access to international nuclear inspectors. Tehran is urging the United States to lift Trump-imposed sanctions before reconciling them.
Amid Biden’s diplomatic revelations, Republicans warned him against lifting the sanctions. But after Thursday night’s strikes, some of the same critics praised Biden for signaling to Iran that he would not tolerate threats to US personnel.
“Last night, the U.S. showed that attacks on U.S. personnel and interests would not be tolerated,” Rep. Mike Rogers
Michael (Mike) Dennis Rogers Oornight Defense: Biden sends message with Syria air strike | US intel points to Saudi Crown Prince in Khashoggi assassination | Pentagon Launches Civilian Guided Sexual Assault Commission Overnight Defense: One-Third of Service Members Refuse Coronavirus Vaccination | Biden will take action in response to Solar Winds hack | US, Japan reach cost-sharing agreement DOD says nearly one-third of service members take COVID-19 vaccine MORE (R-Ala.), The rank member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. ‘I support President Biden’s response to provocation by Irish-backed militias. We must defend our interests abroad, and I hope that the Biden government continues to apply pressure to ward off future aggression from Iran and its people. ”
The top Republican in the Senate’s Committee on Armed Services, Sen. James Inhofe
James (Jim) Mountain InhofeSenators Gets No Timeline for National Guard Removal, Capitol Fence Overnight Defense: New Senate Armed Services Talks on Pentagon Policy Nomination, Afghanistan, More | Biden reads report on Khashoggi murder | Austin stresses vaccine safety in new video Passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is the first step in healing our democracy. (Okla.) Also praised Biden’s “correct, proportionate response to protecting American lives.”
Inhofe nevertheless said: “the fact that Iran chose to escalate shortly after the government resumed its desire to resume negotiations with Tehran did not go unnoticed.”
“I hope the government will reconsider its current negotiating strategy with Iran and work with Congress on a two-pronged approach that will address Iran’s support for terrorism, as well as its nuclear and ballistic missile program,” he said. “We can not lift sanctions against a country that continues to target Americans and our allies for murder.”
But the strike is unlikely to jeopardize diplomacy with Iran over the nuclear deal, said Pavel, a former Pentagon official.
There is a possibility that Iran will initially refute talks after the strike, but it is ultimately in its interest to be once again and get the sanctions lifted, he said.
“So, regardless of that, it does not change their calculation about it. Same with the US, at least the Biden government. It is in the US interest to go back and limit Iran’s nuclear program,” Pavel said.
Progressive Democrats, meanwhile, were upset that Biden had resorted to military action and especially exploded because he did not seek prior permission for Congress.
“There is absolutely no justification for a president to authorize a military strike that is not in self-defense against an impending threat without congressional authorization. We must move out of the Middle East, not escalate, ”said Rep. Ro Khanna
Rohit (Ro) KhannaOvernight Defense: Biden sends message with Syria air strike | US intel points to Saudi Crown Prince in Khashoggi assassination | Pentagon launches civilian-led sexual assault commission Biden ‘disappointed’ in Senate parliamentary ruling but ‘respects’ decision Democrats want to improve outreach to Asian and Latino communities (D-California) said in a statement. “I have spoken out against an endless war with Trump, and I will speak out against it if we have a Democratic president.”
The White House cited Biden’s authority under Article II of the Constitution to defend US personnel as the local judiciary for the strike. Under international law, the administration cited Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which allows self-defense when attacked.
“We have had a rigorous process to include the strikes that have been carried out,” a National Security Council (NSC) spokesman said.
“The targets have been chosen to match the recent attacks – the facilities are being used by KSS and KH – and to ward off the risk of additional attacks in the coming weeks,” they added, using the acronyms for two militias that supported by Iran. Iraq attacks: Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
The White House said the Pentagon briefed congressional leadership before the strike, and administration officials briefed individual members and staff Friday.
A full briefing will also be presented to lawmakers early next week, or “sooner than Congress wants it,” the NSC spokesman added.
House Chairman of the Armed Forces of the House Adam Smith
David (Adam) Adam Smith Overnight Defense: Biden sends message with Syria air strike | US intel points to Saudi Crown Prince in Khashoggi assassination | Pentagon launches civilian-led sexual assault commission The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Facebook – Divided House on full display Nearly 5,000 national guard soldiers stay in DC over concerns over possible violence in March MORE (D-Wash.) Supports the strike as a “proportionate and appropriate” response to the recent rocket attacks, but stresses the need for diplomacy.
‘While the military strike was necessary to protect our personnel in the region and repel further attacks, I spoke to the national security team of the Biden government, and they are committed to using diplomacy and involvement in Iran and also work with our allies and partners. in the region to weaken tensions going forward, ”he said in a statement. “I strongly support this effort.”