Just days ago President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the military operation in refugee-packed Rafah “should not proceed” unless civilians are evacuated first.
Yet at the same time, the Biden administration is preparing another major weapons transfer to Israel. Not only is Washington pushing for another ceasefire (ostensibly at least) but Biden recently called the Israeli operation in Gaza “over the top” amid the soaring civilian death toll.
All of this serves to highlight that the White House is talking out of both sides of its mouth – on the one hand seeking to deflect international and domestic criticism by issuing statements warning over the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, but on the other directly fueling the Israeli war machine.
On this latter point, the Wall Street Journal has detailed in a fresh weekend report:
The proposed arms delivery includes roughly a thousand each of MK-82 bombs, KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions that add precision guidance to bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses, the officials said. The arms are estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars. The proposed delivery is still being reviewed internally by the administration, a U.S. official said, and the details of the proposal could change before the Biden administration notifies congressional committee leaders who would need to approve the transfer.
Since the Hamas terror attack of Oct.7, the US administration has given Israel 21,000 precision-guided munitions to Israel, an estimated half of which have been used.
This new proposed transfer is valued at “tens of millions of dollars”. Already the bulk of Israel’s arsenal is supplied from the US, also given it has historically been the biggest recipient of American foreign aid.
The WSJ says that even now, with a reported over 28,000 Gazans killed and a massive refugee crisis, the Biden White House is not expected to attach any conditions to the use of these weapons:
An assessment of the proposed arms transfer drafted by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, said the Israeli government requested “rapid acquisition of these items for the defense of Israel against continued and emerging regional threats.”
The assessment said there were no potential human rights concerns with the sale. “Israel takes effective action to prevent gross violations of human rights and to hold security forces responsible that violate those rights. In the past, Israel has been a transparent partner in U.S. investigations into allegations of defense article misuse,” the assessment says.
Below: an example of Biden’s change in rhetoric toward sharply criticizing Israel…
Biden’s full answer on Gaza. He calls the response from Israel “over the top,” says he got humanitarian aid into Gaza adding “there are a lot of innocent people are starving. Lot innocent people or in trouble and dying. And it’s got to stop” pic.twitter.com/EZM01RP9HX
— Andy Kaczynski (@KFILE) February 9, 2024
But again, strangely Biden himself has highlighted the humanitarian disaster, and has warned Israel. This is yet another example of Biden’s contradictory policies and statements, while apparently having no long-term plan. The current policy is tantamount to Biden telling Netanyahu to stop killing so many civilians, while simultaneously handing him more guns and military hardware ‘with no strings attached’. Biden’s progressive supporters are taking note going into November too, and he’s likely to lose some of his base.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 02/17/2024 – 18:05
