‘We need to extricate from the Middle East, not escalate’: Dem lawmakers question Syria air strike

The Biden administration has carried out its first military action, bombing facilities in eastern Syria. A war monitor reported that 22 people or more were killed. The Pentagon says the strike targeted Iran-backed militias and came in response to a rocket attack on US-led forces in Iraq earlier this month.

A number of congressional Democrats have expressed concern over the strike and have called for a legal briefing.

“The American people deserve to hear the Administration’s rationale for these strikes and its legal justification for acting without coming to Congress,” Virginia Senator Tim Kaine told Politico. “Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances,” he added. “Congress must be fully briefed on this matter expeditiously.”

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy told the website: “Congress should hold this administration to the same standard it did prior administrations, and require clear legal justifications for military action, especially inside theaters like Syria, where Congress has not explicitly authorized any American military action.”

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California Rep. Ro Khanna put out a statement connecting Biden’s actions to the foreign policy of his predecessors.

“This makes President Biden the seventh consecutive US president to order strikes in the Middle East.” said 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 congressional authorization. We need to extricate from the Middle East, not escalate. The President should not be taking these actions without seeking explicit authorization…I spoke against endless war with Trump, and I will speak out against it when we have a Democratic President.”

“I am very concerned that last night’s air strike by U.S. forces in Syria puts our country on the path of continuing the Forever War instead of ending it,” said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in a statement. “This is the same path we’ve been on for almost two decades. For far too long administrations of both parties have interpreted the authorities in an extremely expansive way to continue military intervention across the Middle East region and elsewhere. This must end.”

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar shared a 2017 tweet from White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who was then a commentator at CNN, that ended up being quite ironic.

“Also what is the legal authority for strikes?” Psaki had asked when Trump attacked Syria. “Assad is a brutal dictator. But Syria is a sovereign country.”

“Great question,” tweeted Omar.

Source

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