ACTION: Condemn the Biden administration’s bombing of Syria and tell Biden to immediately de-escalate. We need peace in the Middle East!
(February 26, 2021) — When Biden promised a “return to normal”, did he mean normal atrocious US military actions in the Middle East? Because yesterday, out of nowhere, the US bombed the sovereign country of Syria. The militia bombed in Syria posed absolutely no threat to the United States and is actually involved in fighting ISIS.
Bombing Syria escalates the conflict in the Middle East. Such actions are not what Biden promised during his presidential campaign and they are certainly not what the people of the US want. Biden must de-escalate immediately!
The pro-war faction is claiming that bombing Syria will strengthen the US’s hand in its negotiations with Iran over the nuclear deal. But this is complete (as Joe Biden would say) malarkey! Instead,it will make it more difficult for the US to resume negotiations with Iran as it will give even more power to the Iranian factions who oppose diplomatic relations with the US and reviving the JCPOA.
Without an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), the Biden administration has no congressional authorization to go to war against a sovereign country. As Representative Ro Khanna said, “We cannot stand up for congressional authorization before military strikes only when there is a Republican president. The Administration should have sought congressional authorization here. We need to work to extricate from the Middle East, not escalate.”
It is urgent that the US cease military actions in the Middle East and immediately get the US back into the Iran Nuclear Deal. Tell Biden that Americans say NO MORE WAR!
THE LETTER
Dear President Biden,
We vigorously oppose your February 25 bombing of Syria. Syria is a sovereign nation. The militia you targeted poses absolutely no threat to the United States and is actually involved in fighting ISIS. Your actions simply escalate existing conflicts in the Middle East. This is not what you promised during your presidential campaign and it is certainly not what the American people want.
Your administration is claiming that its airstrikes were based on accurate intelligence regarding who was responsible for a recent rocket attack in Iraq. But a recent report by Middle East Eye suggests that Iran has strongly urged the militias it supports in Iraq to refrain from such attacks or any warlike actions that could disrupt its diplomacy to bring the US and Iran back into compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“None of our known factions carried out this [recent rocket] attack [in Iraq],” a senior Iraqi militia commander told Middle East Eye. “The Iranians are still keen to maintain calm with the Americans until they see how the new administration will act.”
The Pentagon has also made the incredible claim that the bombing “aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both Eastern Syria and Iraq.” But this was countered by a member of Russia’s Federation Council who called the attack “unlawful” and said any similar escalations in the area could lead to “a massive conflict.” President Biden, your administration is playing with fire.
Bombing Syria will not strengthen the US’s hand in its negotiations with Iran over the nuclear deal. Instead, it will make it more difficult for the US to resume negotiations with Iran as it will give even more power to the Iranian factions who oppose diplomatic relations with the US and reviving the JCPOA.
Lastly, without an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), you have no congressional authorization to go to war against a sovereign country. You must respect congressional war powers and cease military actions in the Middle East.
As Representative Ro Khanna said, “We cannot stand up for congressional authorization before military strikes only when there is a Republican president. The Administration should have sought congressional authorization here. We need to work to extricate from the Middle East, not escalate.”
It is urgent that you cease military actions in the Middle East and immediately get the US back into the Iran nuclear deal. We want diplomacy, not more war.
Toward peace,
Ariel, Medea, Ann, Angela, Carley, Ciara, Cody, Danaka, Emily, Farida, Grace, Jodie, Kelsey, Leila, Leonardo, Maxine, Mary, Medea, Nancy, Paki, Sana, and Teri.
David Swanson challenges Senator Tim Kaine over US policy
Biden Bombs Syria: We Demand US Out of the Middle East!
(February 27, 2021) — In what is now a rite of passage for a new US President, Joe Biden ordered a military assault on Syria on Feb. 25, just over a month after assuming the presidency. US missiles struck Syrian facilities in Boukamal, just over the Iraqi border. Reports indicate that anywhere from five to 22 people were killed in the assault.
The Pentagon and mainstream media allege the strikes targeted “Iranian-backed militias” in Syria in retaliation for a rocket attack against US occupation forces in Iraq earlier in the month. The US government and corporate-owned media routinely use the same deceptive branding when it targets Syrians who want to oust the US from the illegal occupation of their country.
The Pentagon’s spokesman John Kirby said the attack signals that “President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel.” The idea that the US can bomb Syria — a sovereign country — in self-defense while it occupies the country as well as neighboring Iraq flies in the face of all logic. Yet it is the same justification the Trump administration used for its Ja. 4, 2020 assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani when he landed at Baghdad International Airport on a mission to ease tensions in the region.
The real message the United States is trying to send is that the people of the Middle East must sit idly by while it occupies and wages endless war against their homelands, and that Biden will — like his predecessors — defend US imperialist interests in the region. This includes continuing the campaign of military action against Iran, Iraq, Syria, and any country that dares to stand in the way of the Pentagon war makers.
The only path to peace is the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all US troops from the region. US troops out NOW!
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