El-Sayed criticized Biden over 2022 Zawahiri strike in resurfaced essay

El-Sayed criticized President Joe Biden for using the 2022 drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri to boost his political standing, calling it a troubling attempt to capitalize on the event for domestic support. In a 2022 essay for The New Republic, El-Sayed wrote that Biden was using the strike to bolster his approval ahead of the midterm elections. He also argued that Biden should have challenged autocratic leaders in the Middle East instead of using the strike as a political tool.

El-Sayed condemned al-Zawahiri as a terrorist in the essay, calling him a 'craven terrorist' who 'died with the blood of innocent civilians on his hands.' He also warned that Biden should have projected strength in the region, rather than using the strike as a fig leaf to demonstrate that Afghanistan is not off-limits for direct action against terrorist targets.

El-Sayed has previously criticized other high-profile U.S. military and counterterrorism operations. When President Donald Trump ordered the 2020 drone strike of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, El-Sayed warned that 'one shouldn't kick a rabid dog.' When President Barack Obama’s administration killed terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen living in Yemen, El-Sayed characterized it as an 'extrajudicial assassination.' He has also compared Trump to Osama bin Laden, suggesting that both inspired people to engage in terrorism and that Trump should be held to account like bin Laden was.

The Washington Free Beacon was the first to report on the newly unearthed essay, which highlights El-Sayed’s continued criticism of U.S. military and counterterrorism operations. El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.