Politics
Biden nearly launched SECOND Syria airstrike last week but called it off after being warned children were in blast zone
PRESIDENT Joe Biden nearly launched a second Syria airstrike last week but called it off after being warned children were in the blast zone.
Biden – who could be stripped of his ability to launch military attacks and has been accused of “stretching war powers” – was reportedly notified of an urgent warning about 30 minutes before bombs were set to fall in a second Syrian strike.
Biden was reportedly notified about 30 minutes before bombs were set to fall in a second Syrian strike that a woman and children were in the targeted area[/caption]
This satellite image shows the aftermath of the U.S. air strike in Syria[/caption]
The 78-year-old president ordered the Pentagon to follow through with two airstrikes in Syria on February 26, but called off the second strike when he received an urgent warning from an aide, according to The Wall Street Journal.
His push to conduct the strikes was made after nearly two weeks of deliberations – but one was abruptly terminated when a woman and a handful of children were spotted at one of the targets areas.
As per battlefield reconnaissance, the F-15E aircrafts were in the air when the second target was nixed, the WSJ reported.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly revealed the news about the woman and children to Biden – prompting Biden to cancel the second airstrike.
However, Biden proceeded with his first military operation at another target – where the U.S. dropped seven 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions ( JDAMs).
The strike reportedly killed 22 at a crossing used by Iranian-backed militia groups to move weapons across the border.
The U.S. dropped seven 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions ( JDAMs) in Syria on February 26[/caption]
This satellite image, taken on February 26, 2021, shows the aftermath of the recent attack[/caption]
The strike reportedly killed 22 at a crossing used by Iranian-backed militia groups to move weapons across the border[/caption]
The U.S. appeared to be retaliating for a February 15 rocket attack on the American military base at Erbil International Airport – which was later claimed by the Guardians of Blood Brigade.
That attack, in a region run by Kurds, killed one contractor who was not American and injured numerous American contractors and an American service member.
The U.S. has not definitively blamed any specific group for the outrage or attributed it to any Iranian proxies in the region, but the administration had made it clear where it places the blame.
“At President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces… conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby after the strike.
Kirby said that Biden ordered the strikes at Al Bukamal after consulting with U.S. allies, including coalition partners.
They were authorized “in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel,” he stated.
Biden proceeded with his first military operation on February 26, 2021[/caption]
This photo, taken October 4, 2014, shows two US Navy F-18E Super Hornets[/caption]
The Joint Direct Attack Munitions ( JDAMs) destroyed buildings in the targeted areas[/caption]
“President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.”
He revealed that the strikes destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS).
Pentagon officials later revealed they had offered up several larger groups of targets but Biden approved the smallest option.
“I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters flying with him from California to Washington.
He added: “We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes,” he said referring to the February 15 attack.
“We said a number of times that we will respond on our timeline. We wanted to be sure of the connectivity and we wanted to be sure that we had the right targets.”
Meanwhile, a bipartisan legislation was introduced by United States senators on Wednesday to repeal decades-old authorizations for the use of military force in the Middle East.
Most read in News
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said in a statement: “Last week’s airstrikes in Syria show that the Executive Branch, regardless of party, will continue to stretch its war powers.”
“Congress has a responsibility to not only vote to authorize new military action, but to repeal old authorizations that are no longer necessary.”
The measure to take away Biden’s war powers was led by Kain and Republican Senator Todd Young – and would invalidate 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq.
