Biden sends letter to congressional leaders explaining rationale for strike in Syria

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In the letter, which fulfills an obligation of the president listed in the powers of war resolution, Biden described the details of the strike – the first known action of the U.S. military under his administration – and said the action was “US compliant”. inherent right to self-defense as reflected in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. “

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday the Defense Department briefed congressional leaders ahead of the strike. “The Administration briefed the Hill at the member and staff level today. There will be a full briefing early next week at the latest,” Psaki said during a trip with the president to Texas.

“Under my leadership, on February 25, 2021, US forces carried out a targeted military strike against infrastructure in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed non-state militias,” Biden wrote in a Saturday letter. addressed to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and the Senator. Patrick Leahy, the pro tempore president of the Senate.

“These non-state militias have been implicated in recent attacks on US and coalition personnel in Iraq, including the February 15, 2021 attack in Erbil, Iraq, which injured a member of the US service. , injured four American entrepreneurs, including a critic, and killed a Filipino entrepreneur. “

Biden wrote that the United States “is always ready to take necessary and proportionate measures in self-defense, including when, as is the case here, the government of the state where the threat is located does not is unwilling or unable to prevent the use of its territory by non-state militias responsible for these attacks. “

His administration said the strike was in response to rocket attacks by Iranian-backed militias against US forces in recent weeks and was supported by Article II of the Constitution, as well as the Charter of United Nations.
But some Democrats said Congress did not pass an authorization for the use of military force specifically in Syria, and previous resolutions passed in 2001 and 2002 were meant to attack those responsible for the 9/11 attacks. 2001 and go to war with Iraq. Congress has not declared war since 1942.

“This makes President Biden the seventh consecutive US president to order strikes in the Middle East,” said California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna. “There is absolutely no justification for a president to authorize a military strike that is not in self-defense against an imminent threat without the authorization of Congress.”

For years, as the United States has struck down sites in Syria and elsewhere, some members of Congress have pushed to repeal a widely interpreted 2001 AUMF and pass a more narrowly defined war powers resolution.

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said on Friday that Congress “must be fully briefed on this matter expeditiously,” noting that “offensive military action without Congressional approval is unconstitutional absent the circumstances extraordinary “.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council said the administration had gone through a “rigorous process to include a legal review of strikes carried out,” and said “the strikes were necessary to deal with the threat and proportionate to the previous attacks “.

CNN’s Alex Rogers and Kelly Mena contributed to this report.

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