US lawmakers demand White House to justify the airstrike launched against areas in Syria’s Deir Ezzor without congress approval
US democratic Senator Tim Kaine has stressed that “offensive military action” without congressional approval is not constitutional.
In a statement on Friday, Kaine called on the White House to provide legal justification for an airstrike launched Thursday against areas in Syria’s Deir Ezzor near the Syrian-Iraqi borders.
He stressed that lawmakers need to know why President Joe Biden ordered the attack without first consulting them.
“The American people deserve to hear the Administration’s rationale for these strikes and its legal justification for acting without coming to Congress,” said Kaine according to Politico magazine.
Syria on Friday condemned this American aggression, stressing that it is a negative indication about the policies of the new US administration, which are supposed to adhere to international legitimacy not to the law of the jungle.
On his part, Chris Murphy, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee member, affirmed that offensive strikes must fall within the definition of an existing congressional authorization of military force.
“Congress should hold this administration to the same standard it did to prior administrations, and require clear legal justifications for military action, especially inside theaters like Syria, where Congress has not explicitly authorized any American military action,” Murphy said.
Hamda Mustafa