Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Fact check: Did Biden support wars in Iraq, Serbia, Syria and Libya?

Fact check: Did Biden support wars in Iraq, Serbia, Syria and Libya?

Republican Sen. Rand Paul advocated for President Donald Trump’s re-election by portraying him as someone who wants to end wars and casting Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as someone "who consistently called for more war."

"Joe Biden voted for the Iraq War, which President Trump has long called the worst geopolitical mistake of our generation," Paul said Aug. 25 during the second night of the Republican National Convention. "I fear Biden will choose war again. He supported the war in Serbia, Syria, Libya."

Is the senator from Kentucky right about Biden’s record? Biden voted for a resolution that paved the way for the Iraq War, and for a non-binding resolution to authorize military air operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).

The conflicts in Syria and Libya happened when Biden was vice president and followed the policies of President Barack Obama.

Biden ‘voted for the Iraq War’


This checks out. In 2002, President George W. Bush argued that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons, sought nuclear weapons, supported terrorism, and threatened peace.

In October 2002, then-U.S. Sen. Biden voted in favor of a resolution that authorized Bush to enforce ''all relevant'' United Nations Security Council resolutions on Iraq and if needed, to use military force against Iraq.

In a Senate floor speech before voting for the resolution, Biden said that "failure to overwhelmingly support" the resolution was "likely to enhance the prospects that war will occur."

The objective of the resolution was to compel Iraq to destroy its weapons of mass destruction, Biden said. He left open the possibility that Hussein might "miscalculate" and "misjudge" U.S. resolve. In that event, use of military force might be needed, Biden said.

The United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, and the war officially ended in late 2011. No weapons of mass destruction were found.

In 2005, Biden was asked in an interview if his 2002 vote was a mistake.

"It was a mistake," Biden answered. "It was a mistake to assume the president would use the authority we gave him properly. … We gave the president the authority to unite the world to isolate Saddam. And the fact of the matter is, we went too soon. We went without sufficient force. And we went without a plan."


Biden ‘supported war in Serbia, Syria, Libya’


Serbia: Biden voted for a 1999 concurrent resolution authorizing President Bill Clinton to conduct military air operations and missile strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), in cooperation with North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies. (Concurrent resolutions express the sentiment of Congress, but are not signed by the president and do not carry the force of law.)

Clinton in March 1999 ordered air strikes in response to Yugoslavia’s campaign of violence against ethnic Albanians in the province of Kosovo.

The Kosovo conflict erupted in the 1990s between two groups within the former Yugoslavia — Kosovars, who are primarily ethnic Albanians, and Serbs, who are of Slavic descent. The two groups long disputed the territory known as Kosovo.

After greater Yugoslavia fractured in the early 1990s, the dispute over Kosovo became violent, pitting the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army against the Serb-dominated government of what remained of Yugoslavia.

Paul’s office referenced conflicts in Syria and Libya that started in 2011, when Biden was vice president.

Syria: Syrians began protesting their government in early 2011, calling for political and social reforms and the ouster of their president. The protests prompted a violent response from the Syrian government.

The conflict escalated as different groups within the country, foreign countries, and terrorists became involved. The United States since 2011 has called for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to step aside. The Obama administration in 2014 launched air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria and in 2015 deployed troops there to fight the terrorist group.

Biden’s campaign said the Obama-Biden administration supported the Syrian opposition in a variety of ways, including by deploying U.S. forces to combat ISIS.

Libya: The United States, as part of a NATO operation, provided air support in an intervention that resulted in the ouster of the country’s longtime dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Obama said Gadhafi was launching military actions that were causing civilian deaths and forcing ordinary Libyans to escape to neighboring countries, threatening a humanitarian crisis within Libya and instability for its neighbors, Egypt and Tunisia.

The U.S. military spent about $2 billion and several months backing the Libyan uprising against Gadhafi. The uprising — part of the Arab Spring — toppled Gadhafi in August 2011, and rebel forces killed him that October.

Paul’s office sent us as a 2011 fact-check of Biden as evidence for his support of the U.S. intervention. In that fact-check, we examined Biden’s claim that in Libya, "America spent $2 billion total and didn’t lose a single life." We rated that Mostly True. (The fact-check did not focus on Biden’s own position on the issue.)

Biden’s campaign, however, pointed to a 2016 Politico report that referenced an interview Biden gave to journalist Charlie Rose in which he said that intervening in Libya was wrong.

The Politico story said that Biden told Rose that he had "argued strongly" within the White House "against going ... to Libya." Politico reported that Biden in that interview also said the United States should not use force unless the interests of the country or its allies are directly threatened, whether it can be done "efficaciously" and whether it can be sustained.

PolitiFact ruling


Paul said Biden, "Voted for the Iraq war … He supported war in Serbia, Syria, Libya."

Biden as a senator voted for resolutions that supported interventions in Iraq and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). As vice president, he followed the policies of the Obama administration, which included interventions in Syria and Libya.

Biden’s campaign said that Biden as vice president supported going into Syria, but pointed to 2016 reporting that said Biden within the White House argued against intervention in Libya.

Paul’s claim is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. We rate it Mostly True.

Concurrent resolutions express the sentiment of Congress, but are not signed by the president and do not carry the force of law.)

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×