Biden’s attack on anti-terror forces in Syria, a gift to Daesh terrorists: US politician

US President Joe Biden has aided the Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq after he ordered airstrikes against facilities belonging to anti-terror resistance groups on the Iraqi-Syrian border, a US politician says.

Biden authorized the deadly strikes late last month, destroying facilities at a Syrian border point used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, including members of Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada groups.

The White House claimed without providing any evidence that the fatal raids were in response to attacks against American and allied personnel in Iraq.

Richard Black, a former Republican member of the Virginia State Senate told Press TV that, “The (Iraqi) PMU forces have mainly fought against Daesh, and they have been highly effective against them. Therefore, when the US attacks the PMU, it assists Daesh terrorists in Iraq and Syria.”

The US fatal attack was carried out after rockets hit the Green Zone in Baghdad, which houses the US embassy and other diplomatic missions in late February. The American military base at the Erbil International Airport had also been attacked in a similar fashion earlier.

“The Biden Administration chose to use the rocket attacks on the Green Zone as a pretext to attack Iraqi (anti-terror) forces, who were effectively blocking Daesh militants from operating along the Syrian-Iraqi border. The attacks targeted sovereign Syrian territory and were in clear violation of international law,” Black said.

The US politician noted that, “It is unlikely that the US really knows who fired the rockets.”

The Daesh remnants, who are seeking to make a comeback after the Takfiri terrorist group was vanquished in Iraq in 2017, have switched to new tactics against the anti-terror forces, Black said.

“A (US) policy that always assumes that Iraqi anti-terror forces fired the rockets gives Daesh the power to trigger an American airstrike against its enemies whenever Daesh chooses. Daesh fires rockets; we blame the Iraqi militias; the US bombs Iraqi forces. That strategy is unfair and immoral,” the US Republican added.

He said CNN quoted US officials, who falsely characterized Iraqi casualties as militants. “This implied that Iraqis killed in the bombed facilities (on the border with Syria) were “terrorists” rather than legitimate elements of the Iraqi Armed Forces,” Black underlined.

President Biden’s Syria attack has been sharply criticized by both US political parties as he decided to launch the airstrikes without consulting Congress.

Black told Press TV that Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who serves on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, demanded that Americans know the justification for attacking targets without first coming to Congress. Kaine said, "Offensive military action without Congressional approval is not constitutional, absent extraordinary circumstances."

Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the most ardent opponent of America's undeclared wars against Syria and Iraq tweeted, "What authority does @POTUS have to strike Syria?"

“Some in Congress are criticizing the expansive use of the open-ended 2001 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force [AUMFs] that paved the way for the US to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. They have since been used to justify 41 military operations in 19 countries. No nation on earth conducts more military attacks against foreign nations than the US,” Black pointed out.

Since assuming office, Biden has not only followed in Trump’s footsteps regarding Syria, but ratcheted up US interventionist policies in the war-torn country.

“Two days after President Biden’s inauguration, US troops that Trump had ordered out of Syria, were sent back in from Iraq. It is unclear whether President Biden was even made unaware that troops were being reinserted back into Syria,” Black said.

The US politician slammed the US military industrial complex and “Deep State” for reinforcing America's warmongering and hegemonic policies, and blocking ways to peace.

“Elements within the Deep State will work hard to block any movement toward peace. The continuation of war is so lucrative that any move toward peace will encounter stiff resistance,” Black pointed out.

“It is within the power of the US President to stop these wars. However, he cannot accomplish this without totally removing military forces from the region.  The US has repeatedly used attacks on its military forces as justification for new troop build-ups. If Joe Biden wanted to create a lasting, positive, legacy, he would order all US troops to leave the Middle East within 90 days. However, I do not expect this to happen,” the US politician underlined.

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