President Biden orders strikes on facilities at the Syrian border occupied by Iranian militia groups

Friday, February 26, 2021, President Joe Biden bombed Syria. The bombs were dropped on Syrian facilities near the border of Iraq and Syria that was being used by Iranian-backed militias to sneak in weapons. 22 people died. Most, but not all, were members of the militia groups, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The seven 500-pound bombs destroyed multiple facilities at a border controlled and used by the militia groups like Kataib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada. 

“You can’t acted with impunity. Be careful,” said President Biden to Iran after the strikes.

U.S. Representative Michael McCaul stated the airstrike was necessary and that attacks on the U.S. interests are not to be tolerated, but Congress thinks differently. Congress criticized Biden because they thought the strikes were classified as unconstitutional.

“[There is] no justification for a president to authorize a military strike that is not self-defense against an imminent threat without congressional authorization,” said Representative Ro Khanna.

Notre Dame law professor Mary Ellen O’Connell said to the Associated Press that the bombing was a clear violation of international law. The use of military force is allowed by The United States Charter only if the targeted country was responsible itself for an armed attack, which Syria did not commit. 

The Win Without War coalition defended Biden and stated that the problem was a  result of President Trump’s failed pressure campaign against Iran. Peace advocates are urging President Biden to follow through with his commitment to walk away from war towards diplomacy, starting with the Iran Nuclear Deal.

President Biden, according to Rep. Khanna, is the the seventh consecutive U.S. president to order strikes in the Middle East.