GOP lawmakers blast Biden’s ‘weak’ and ‘uncertain’ response to American death in Syria

Congressional Republicans are displeased with President Joe Biden’s “weak” and “uncertain” response to the ongoing situation in Syria.

As previously reported, Iranian forces killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six others during a drone strike Thursday. In response, President Biden ordered retaliatory airstrikes. The strikes reportedly killed eight Iranians.

Following the president’s retaliatory strikes, Iranian-backed proxy forces carried out their own retaliatory strikes on Friday, launching rockets against a U.S. base in Syria. Since then, no additional counter-strikes have been ordered.

Leading the charge against the president’s current strategy in Syria is Sen. Lindsey Graham. In a 13-tweet Twitter thread posted Friday afternoon, he framed the president’s actions thus far as “weak” and “uncertain.”

“President Biden owes it to those Americans fighting radical Islam to respond vigorously to any attack on them and their position by Iranian proxies. The weak, uncertain response to the initial attack obviously did not work,” he wrote.

He added that there’s “only one path available” when the U.S. is attacked, and that’s for the U.S. to “respond swiftly and vigorously with overwhelming, punishing force.”

View the whole thread below:

Coming in next is Sen. Tom Cotton. In a tweet of his own, the Arkansas senator accused the Biden administration of having ignored “dozens of earlier Iranian attacks.”

He further claimed that had the administration dealt with the prior attacks, then the current tragedy (one dead contractor) could have been averted.

His claim appears to be legitimate.

“Attacks by Iranian proxies against bases housing U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Syria are increasing, U.S. officials say, and Washington has not responded with force since 2021,” NBC News reported last summer.

“There were seven attacks in May, as many attacks that month as February, March and April combined, and there have been a total of 29 since October without a kinetic U.S. response,” the establishment outlet added.

View Cotton’s tweet below:

Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Waltz responded to the current crisis by posting a tweet containing a graph showing how Iranian-backed attacks have “skyrocketed” ever since Biden assumed office in early 2021.

Under the Trump administration, he tweeted, “deterrence was restored.” But then Biden entered the picture and “rolled out the appeasement carpet.”

View the congressman’s tweets below:

Other Republicans have also responded.

“Biden’s backwards logic on Iran has real consequences. The attack by the IRGC in Syria that took the life of a US contractor & injured 6 other Americans is just the latest tragedy. The UK must disregard the Biden Admin & designate the IRGC a FTO,” Rep. Doug Lamborn tweeted.

“Yesterday, @SecYellen admitted during my questioning that the Biden administration’s weakened sanctions on Iran are NOT changing the regime’s behavior. After yesterday’s attack and loss of American life in Syria, that’s not a surprise,” Rep. Juan Ciscomani added.

“Biden can’t be this weak after Iran-sponsored attacks wounded several of our soldiers and killed an American contractor,” Rep. Darrell Issa opined in a tweet.

Vivek Saxena

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