Oh fuck off on this one, Joe.
What exactly did you think would happen when you went on tv and announced that we would completely back Israel no matter what they did?
You expected restraint from an apartheid government in a blood rage?
Don’t play dumb.
US military advisors also have been directly helping the IDF plan the invasion into Gaza. He’s definitely trying to play dumb, probably because there’s actual backlash to this stuff that’s reaching the mainstream. Like, when you get Wolf Blitzer of all people stunned speechless on live TV at the IDF justification for striking a refugee camp, you know it’s out of hand over there.
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Wait what happened with Wolf Blitzer?
An IDF admitted to him that they purposely bombed the Jabalia refugee camp
The next day, they bombed it again
The day after, they bombed it a third time
He was interviewing an IDF Lt Col about the initial bombing of the refugee camp. He was pushing about if the IDF didn’t care about the civilian casualties and looked rather taken aback after several attempts to push for a straight answer the only one he got was that “This is the tragedy of war.”
So god damned stupid/malicious. Both him and the majority of Europe it seems said something to the like off: Israel are allowed to defend themselves. Defend themselves on Palestinian land. With weapons sold by us. And now we “encourage” restraint, like Israel has ever done that when it comes to civilians. They are more than happy to bomb the women and children being used as shields by Hamad.
went on tv and announced that we would completely back Israel no matter what they did?
That never happened. In fact, a few days after the attack by Hamas, Biden warned Israel to follow the rules of war.
(postscript : I don’t think Biden wanted to see the tit-for-tat atrocities from Israel, I think he has recoiled and is trying to put a lid on it now. But the speech was a major and foreseeable fuckup on the practical and moral levels)
So here’s the bit talking about restraint:
We also discussed how democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law.
Terrorists purpo- — purposefully target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war — the law of war. It matters. There’s a difference.
The rest is a lot like this
So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.
And let there be no doubt: The United States has Israel’s back.
We’re — we’re with Israel. Let’s make no mistake.
Interpretations can differ, but on balance I can easily understand why Bibi (correctly) interpreted that as a blank check. Yeah maybe we’d tut-tut and furrow our brow, but the guns and bombs are gonna flow regardless.
First of all, Biden hasn’t sent any weapons to Israel since October 7. And he’s not planning to send “guns and bombs”, he is asking Congress for anti-missile systems accompanied by humanitarian aid for Gaza. Which I think is appropriate.
Second, I don’t think Bibi interpreted that as a blank check. I think Bibi is an idiot who doesn’t care what Biden thinks. In a follow-up speech on 10/19, Biden had much more to say:
President Netanyahu and I discussed again, yesterday, the critical need for Israel to operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can. The people of Gaza urgently need food, water and medicine. …
As I said in Israel, as hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution. Israel and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity and peace. …
When I was in Israel yesterday, I said that when America experienced the hell of 9/11, we felt enraged as well, and while we sought and got justice, we made mistakes. So I caution the government of Israel not to be blinded by rage.
However, Israel is a sovereign country and unfortunately isn’t taking orders from the US. The US is trying its usual approach of attempting to bribe a foreign government into better behavior, but success is hardly guaranteed.
What are the rules of war against a prison camp? We could perhaps consult the Federal Bureau of Prisons manual, but I did not find the word “war” in it. Unfortunately, I don’t read Hebrew, so I came up blank there too.
Not sure what you’re referring to, but rules of war do not prohibit prison camps.
What did Biden think was gonna happen? They pass around cans of Pepsi and world peace is gonna break out?
Might’ve worked if we sold them a shit load of 24packs…. Instead of bombs and bullets
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Sends bombs
Bombs kill people
Why does this keep happening?
Idk, just keep sending bombs I guess?
Inb4 bombs don’t kill people, people kill people
sends people to train other people how to kill people with the bombs
Yeah, well, Joe already knew Israel was ruled by a Fascist well before he hitched his country to the choices of said Fascist with his “unwavering support” speech and sending another shipment of weaponry and ammo.
It’s like entering a bank alongside a guy wearing a ski mask and carrying a submachine gun, loudly declaring “unwavering support” for him and openning up a suitcase with a broad selection of handheld guns and saying “Would you like some more?”: you can hardly honestly claim you’re not in on the subsequent bank robbery after doing something like that.
The US hasn’t sent any military equipment to Israel since the attack on October 7.
Biden requested a package, but Congress hasn’t yet approved it. It consists mainly of missile defense systems, not weapons for the current offensive. And it includes an almost equal dollar amount in humanitarian aid.
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So what you’re saying is that I should’ve used “and once the bank robbery was happenning, pulled out two RPGs and offered more guns to the bank robber ‘once my buddies approve it’” in my metaphor rather than the whole “openning a suitcase full of guns before the robbery” thing: after all, the US did send 2 aircraft carriers to “support Israel” and will be sending an “aid” package now that the fascists in Israel have already and clearly been acting for several weeks far beyond self-defense and into Genocide territory.
Indeed, all things considered, it’s even harder for Joe and his posse to feign surprise at their greatest Fascist buddy going full Fascist than it would’ve been per my over-optimistic early point.
Good point and well spotted.
Biden’s aid package consists of anti-missile defense systems and humanitarian aid to Gazans. I have no problem with either of those, and neither should Gazans.
The aircraft carrier and other naval forces aren’t doing anything except trying to keep other countries from entering the conflict and shooting down missiles. Which again I have no problem with.
If you must draw a silly analogy, it’s like showing up to the bank robbery and opening a suitcase full of bulletproof vests.
We’ve been giving Israel billions every year for 40 plus years so it’s more like we took the bank robber shopping for his mask and guns and then drove him to the bank
They’re actively trying to bypass Congress right now.
Quite the opposite, Biden just threatened to veto an Israeli military aid package.
Solelybecause it had a “poison-pill” of defunding the IRSEdit: there were also other issues with it in the reply to this comment
Also because it had no humanitarian aid for Gaza and no military aid for Ukraine
“We only gave them millions of dollars, weapons, and made sure that no other countries got involved, we never thought they’d take the opportunity to commit the genocide they’ve been talking about for
3,00070 years”-
We also cast doubt on the death counts, even though they were verified by third parties and found to be accurate for every prior conflict
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We then refused to apologize when fucking hamas of all people showed the receipts 2 days later with name, age, and Israeli-issued ID number
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We also sent diplomats to Israel multiple times throughout the conflict and encouraged them to “defend” themselves
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We also pretended that we have no ability to force a pause in the conflict, even though we recently admitted we successfully paused Israeli attacks twice to get US citizens through Rafah crossing
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We blocked multiple UNSC resolutions even after forcing the changes through that we bitched about in the first place
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We waited multiple days to even mention the islamophobic attack that led to a Palestinian boy being stabbed to death and his mother being hospitalized
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We then patronized American Muslims by shifting the conversation to domestic islamophobia rather than actually addressing their grievances of America’s decades of involvement in destabilizing the Muslim world and killing of innocent civilians
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We silenced officials who spoke out against excessive violence by the IDF and made memos preventing the mention of a ceasefire
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We sent 2 aircraft carriers to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel and ensure no neighboring nations could prevent the massacre against Gazan women and children
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We pushed for tens of billions of dollars in aid to a country thousands of miles away led by an openly fascist and genocidal governing party. A country that we have sent over a hundred billion dollars of aid in total since its founding.
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A member of our government (paraphrasing) said “civilians die in war 🤷♂️” without any reprimand
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As commander-in-chief, we authorized American military specialists to help plan the ground invasion into Gaza
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We didn’t give a damn about hundreds (at least) of Palestinian-Americans who were literally starving to death and were stuck in Gaza as it was bombed for weeks
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So many more things I could write an essay on it
Biden administration:
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*billions of dollars
Muslims didn’t exist 3000 years ago.
Thank you Hall Monitor, jaybone.
This belongs in nottheonion
I can’t help be cynical that this sudden concern comes at the same time that Arab American Organisations have indicated they may ask their communities to sit out the next election.
Joe might have to stop backing Israel.
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Never has the moniker Sleepy Joe been so applicable.
Better late than never, I fucking guess…
Next time there’s a UNSC vote on a ceasefire: US veto
What does the Jewish population think in the US? Are they backing Israel no matter what?
The jewish population isn’t a monolith. There are some orgs that back Israel, and others, like Jewish Voice for Peace which do incredible work advocating for Palestinian liberation.
Probably some sciencey poll on it. I had to change my route recently because of a protest against this war by Jewish groups blocked my train station one night.
You know that scene from the simpsons where mr. burns is running for governor, and he spits the 3 eyed fish chunk across the room?
And the political dude is like “ruined before it hit the ground”
This is that moment lol. This dude is not going to be winning the next election they way he’s handling all this.
