20 Sep 2026
Biden justifies U.S. strike on Syria in letter to Senate
U.S. President Joe Biden provided an official explanation of the airstrike that targeted Iranian-backed fighters in eastern Syria, saying he was using his authority to deter attacks on U.S. and allied personnel in Iraq.
Biden’s letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Patrick Leahy, president pro tempore of the Senate, follows criticism by some Democrats of the circumstances of his first overt use of military force, about five weeks after taking office. Like a long line of his predecessors, Biden said he was informing Congress "consistent with" the War Powers Act, without acknowledging that he was required to do so.
The president said he "directed this military action to protect and defend our personnel and our partners against these attacks and future such attacks" under his constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign policy and as commander in chief, according to the letter, which was released by the White House on Saturday.
"Those non-state militia groups were involved in recent attacks against United States and Coalition personnel in Iraq," including a Feb. 15 attack in Erbil that wounded a U.S. service member and four U.S. contractors and killed a Filipino contractor, Biden wrote to Pelosi and Leahy.
In his letter, Biden said he was acting under the U.S.’s inherent right to self-defense reflected in the United Nations charter, Bloomberg reported.
Latest news
Latest newsUS Sanctions Target Russias Main Pillar as Moscow Faces New Pressure on Oil Revenues
19.Sep.2026
Russia Begins State Duma Elections Amid War in Ukraine
18.Sep.2026
Bulgaria Strengthens Protection of Strategic Infrastructure Against Drones and Other Threats
18.Sep.2026
Georgia and Enka: How the Namakhvani Dispute Could Affect the Investment Climate
17.Sep.2026
Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova: After Russia’s Invasion, Latvia Began Banning Russian-Language Media
17.Sep.2026
Rainer Saks: Russia сould lose its influence in Armenia, just as it did in the Baltics
16.Sep.2026
Russian Drones Violated Moldovan Airspace Twice During Zelenskys Trips
16.Sep.2026
Operation Vivaldi: Ukraine Reports Advances Near Lyman as Fighting Intensifies
16.Sep.2026
Kazakhstan and South Korea Elevate Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
16.Sep.2026
Armenia Energy Diversification: Testing the Limits of Dependence on Russian Gas
15.Sep.2026
Tbilisi Distances Itself from Brussels as Kobakhidze Intensifies Criticism of European Policy
14.Sep.2026
Russia Fuel Crisis Gives the US a New Diplomatic Leverage Tool
14.Sep.2026
Trump Calls on Zelenskyy to Stop Strikes on Russian Oil Infrastructure
13.Sep.2026
Ukraine Expands Pressure on Russia’s Shadow Fleet: Moscow’s Oil Logistics Under Threat
13.Sep.2026
The Riga Conference: Europe Prepares for Long-Term Confrontation with Russia and Reshapes Its Security Architecture
12.Sep.2026