Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine demanded Friday that the Biden administration provide an answer as to why President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead for an airstrike in Syria, according to Newsweek.
“The American people deserve to hear the Administration’s rationale for these strikes and its legal justification for acting without coming to Congress,” Kaine explained in his Friday statement after Biden ordered Thursday’s airstrike against Iran-backed militias without letting Congress know, Newsweek reported.
Tim Kaine goes after Biden administration for the Syria strikes last night.
“Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances.” pic.twitter.com/uXXSdgEUeg
— Sam Stein (@samstein) February 26, 2021
“Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances. Congress must be fully briefed on this matter expeditiously,” Kaine added.
“At President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria. These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel. Specifically, the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kait’ib Hezbollah (Kh) and Kait’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS),” The Department of Defense explained in a statement Thursday night regarding the airstrike which left at least one Iraqi militia member dead and others wounded.
Just in: DoD conducts “defensive precision strike” in eastern Syria. pic.twitter.com/oGxhnEPlCQ
— Hope Hodge Seck (@HopeSeck) February 26, 2021
In recent weeks, several rocket attacks have been aimed towards U.S. military and diplomatic installations. (RELATED: US Missile Strikes Hit Iranian-Backed Militias As Joe Biden Orders Retaliation For Rocket Attacks)
One of the most recent rocket attacks involved rockets being aimed toward the U.S. Embassy in Iraq on Feb. 22, while another attack occurring a week earlier involved four rockets hitting Balad Air Base, an Iraqi Air Force base that hosts a multitude of U.S. military personnel and contractors.