Less than one month into his presidency, Joe Biden ordered an airstrike on Eastern Syria, killing 22.
U.S. airstrikes targeted Iran-backed bases in Syria, the Pentagon announced late Thursday.
According to the Associated Press, the airstrikes were “recommended” to Biden by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,” Austin told reporters on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The news struck fear into the hearts of many Americans who enjoyed four war-free years under former President Donald Trump.
Even before the airstrikes in Syria, dozens of Democrats pressured Biden to give up his sole authority to launch nuclear weapons as commander in chief.
All presidents have the sole authority to launch nuclear weapons, but Biden’s own party wants him to give up that authority.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta, Democrat-Calif., said Monday in a tweet that he is “calling on” Biden “to install checks [and] balances in our nuclear command-and-control structure.”
The briefcase containing the nuclear codes — dubbed the “nuclear football” — was not handed off to Biden by his predecessor, Trump, as per tradition, since Trump declined to attend Biden’s inauguration in January.
Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi previously expressed concern over the nuclear codes when Republican President Donald Trump was in office.
But this time she is asking Biden to relinquish the nuclear codes, presumably due to his declining mental status.
“While any president would presumably consult with advisors before ordering a nuclear attack, there is no requirement to do so,” wrote Panetta in his letter. “The military is obligated to carry out the order if they assess it is legal under the laws of war. Under the current posture of U.S. nuclear forces, that attack would happen in minutes.”
