“When you get to be my age, certainthingsgettobekeererthanever” … one of the things that doesn’t get clearer is the second half of Biden’s sentences.
This is the most disgusting Israel-bashing speech I’ve ever heard from a U.S. president. Biden starts off his discussion of Oct. 7th by talking about how “gut-wrenching” it has been for both sides. After a cursory mention of the Oct. 7th massacre, he launches into a much longer and more passionate attack on Israel for suffering in Gaza, during which he accepted Hamas casualty figures that his own administration has questioned. He climbed down from his initial position of supporting Israel’s effort to destroy Hamas to saying they have a right to “go after Hamas.” Even has administration works behind the scenes to undermine Israel’s mission every day.
Biden’s performance notably seems to be flagging as the speech goes on.
I get that the speech is written well in advance. But the part about the “coalition to defend international shipping” was particularly tone-deaf, considering that two innocent people were just killed on a commercial vessel yesterday due to a Houthi attack.
“I’ve ordered strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities and defend U.S. Forces in the region,” Biden says as though that is a mark of strength not an admission of failure. Houthi strikes on international shipping produced their first casualties this week, and its piracy and terrorism continue unabated. Those strikes are not achieving their desired effect. Biden is boasting over his impotence.
Biden talks about a “two-state solution,” but given that Israel, Gaza, & the West Bank have three different governments, he doesn’t specify which two.
“To the leadership of Israel I say this,” Biden challenged America’s stalwart partner. “Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.”
As of this writing, Israel has inspected and overseen the disbursement of 292,700 tons of aid delivered in over 15,000 trucks which crossed the border with both Egypt and Israel proper, dangerous missions that take place despite “threats of sniper fire, anti-tank missile shooting, among other threats to civilian life.”
Whatever else Israel is doing in its war of self-defense, it is not reducing the distribution of relief to a “secondary consideration.”
America building a temporary pier in Gaza is a terrible idea. It reminds me of America’s fateful mission in Mogadishu, which began as a humanitarian effort.
Biden could run into some trouble with his allies in organized labor if this “temporary pier” in Gaza doesn’t use union longshoremen.
“No U.S. boots will be on the ground,” Biden says, emphasizing that they will instead be on a “temporary pier.”