How many airstrikes did the US conduct from 2021 to 2024 under Biden?
Executive summary
Available public reporting and official accounts in the supplied sources do not offer a single definitive tally of every U.S. airstrike from 2021 through 2024; instead they document multiple distinct strike episodes — including early Biden-authorized strikes in Syria (Feb. and June 2021), large coordinated waves in early 2024 across Iraq, Syria and Yemen (dozens to "more than 85" targets in one operation), and the January 2024 US–UK strikes on Houthi sites — but do not compile a cumulative count across 2021–2024 (not found in current reporting). Sources record specific events and sizes (for example, “dozens” and “more than 85 targets” in February 2024) but no single source in the set provides a full 2021–2024 total [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What the record actually documents: episodic strikes, not a single total
Reporting in these sources documents discrete episodes rather than a comprehensive cumulative number. Early in Biden’s term the administration ordered strikes in Syria in late February 2021 and again in June 2021; these actions were described as limited, calibrated responses to attacks on U.S. personnel (seven 500‑lb bombs in Feb. 2021 is one detailed example) [1] [5] [2]. In early 2024, U.S. forces led waves of strikes that journalists and officials described as “dozens” or “more than 85 targets” across Syria and Iraq in retaliation against Iran‑backed groups and following attacks on U.S. facilities [3] [6]. In January 2024 the U.S. and partners carried out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, again described as a series of strikes rather than a neat aggregate total in these dispatches [4] [7].
2. Why no neat cumulative count appears in these sources
The sources are event‑based and legal/political analyses rather than statistical repositories; Congress, news outlets and think‑tanks report on individual strikes or bursts of activity, and government 48‑hour and six‑month reports referenced by Congress discuss legal rationale and episodes rather than delivering a public cumulative tally across multiple theaters [8]. Where journalists quote numbers, they tend to describe the scale of particular operations (“dozens,” “scores,” “more than 85 targets”) rather than compile every strike in every theater over four years [3] [6].
3. Discrepancies in scale and language across outlets
Different outlets and documents use different language for the same events — “dozens,” “scores,” “more than 85 targets,” or specific munitions used — reflecting varying access to operational details and different editorial choices [3] [6] [1]. Analysts quoted in Reuters and NBC frame Biden’s actions as legally defensible under presidential authorities in some circumstances while members of Congress and civil‑liberties advocates stress the need for congressional authorization, which shapes how the events are reported and counted [9] [10] [11].
4. Legal and political context that shapes reporting and counts
The Biden administration has relied publicly on existing AUMFs and executive authority to justify strikes, and Congress and commentators debated whether new authorization was required for the 2024 Yemen and Middle East strikes — a debate that influenced how and when details were disclosed to the public and Capitol Hill [8] [10] [11]. The Library of Congress summary notes that the administration submitted multiple 48‑hour reports in 2024 but that those reports did not supply full legal justifications in publicly available form and that strikes continued as episodic sets [8].
5. What we can confidently say (and what we cannot)
We can say with confidence that the Biden administration authorized and oversaw multiple U.S. airstrike episodes between 2021 and 2024: limited strikes in Syria in February and June 2021, and major waves in early 2024 across Iraq, Syria and Yemen including U.S.–UK coordinated strikes on Houthi sites in January 2024 [1] [5] [3] [4]. We cannot provide a verified cumulative total of all airstrikes across 2021–2024 from these sources because none of the supplied documents compiles that figure (not found in current reporting) [12] [8].
6. How to get a cumulative number if you need one
To produce a reliable 2021–2024 total, assemble primary datasets: Department of Defense strike reports/incident logs and the 48‑hour and six‑month reports to Congress referenced in the Library of Congress brief, plus consolidated monitoring by third‑party trackers (e.g., Airwars) — none of which are provided here in a complete, cumulative form [8] [12]. The sources supplied show that data exists in fragments and episode reports; they do not present an authoritative, single aggregate for 2021–2024 [8] [12].
Limitations: These conclusions rely solely on the provided sources. Those sources document specific strike episodes and debates over authority but do not publish a single, consolidated tally for 2021–2024, so any numeric total would require additional primary data not contained in this set (not found in current reporting) [8] [12].