Biden Administration’s First Missile Strikes

On February 25th, 2021, US President Joe Biden authorized missile strikes on compounds of Iran-backed militia groups in Syria. This is the first missile strike under the new Biden administration since his inauguration back in January 6th, 2021. U.S. missile strikes come as a form of retaliation against the militia groups who are said and identified as the militants behind the February 15 rocket attack in Northern Iraq which left one civilian dead and numerous U.S. and coalition troops wounded. President Joe Biden on Friday justified and further warned Iran for their action of supporting militia groups that threaten U.S. interests or personnel. President Biden responded to a question by a reporter on the meaning behind the airstrikes, “You can’t act with impunity. Be careful.” Biden administration officials further justified and defended their missile strikes on facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed Militia groups as legal and appropriate. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday explained that President Biden took the action to airstrike pursuant to his Article Two authority (constitutional) to defend U.S. personnel under the domestic law. She further told reporters, “The targets were chosen to correspond to the recent attacks on facilities and to deter the risk of additional attacks over the coming weeks.” While the White House justifies their airstrike against militia group in Syria, several Democratic Senators and members of the House of Representatives came out to denounce the attack and stated that they will hold the Biden administration to the same standards they held for any previous presidents. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) came out against President Biden’s airstrikes on Friday, “Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances.” House. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) further criticized the airstrike, “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.” Another member of the House of Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) added a comment “Great question” on the White House press secretary Jen Saki’s tweet from 2017 where she questions the legality of the strike in Syria. On the contrary to the criticism by ranking Democratic members of Congress, Republican Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma agreed with the White House’s decision as, “The correct, proportionate response to protect American lives.” The decision for an airstrike on Iran-backed Militia group in Syria came from the recommendations of US Defense Secretary Loyd Austin who told reporters, “We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes (on Feb. 15).” He further went on to praise the men and women who conducted the strike as performing “very professional manner.” Syria’s foreign ministry condemns the U.S. airstrikes as cowardly, while the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the lack of time beforehand for the warnings to the airstrikes in Syria. Back in the United States, Pentagon chief spokesperson John Kirby commented that the Congress was notified before the strikes, and that the airstrikes are justifiable as it was “a defensive strike” to destroy weapons stored in facilities which were going to be used for attacks against Iraq. At this moment in time, reports vary in the number of casualties generated by seven missiles launched by two Air Force F-15E aircraft that destroyed nine facilities and damaged two.