In meetings in Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conveyed to Israeli leaders that it’s important to observe international rules of warfare.
As Israel girds for a fearsome ground assault into Gaza, senior Biden administration officials are warning their Israeli counterparts to show restraint and avoid mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian disaster that could turn world opinion against the Jewish state, according to two current and one former U.S. official.
Yes, becasue it’s the fallout from bad PR that matters, not, you know, mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian disaster.
Fuck I hate people rn.
Well, clearly the second part doesn’t bother them, so I can understand appealing to the psychopaths instead.
People are generally more responsive to arguments regarding their interests than their values.
From one psychopathic government to another. Trust us bro.
OK, but privately privately, they said you’re doing great champ.
Also, publicly,
In messages circulated on Friday, State Department staff wrote that high-level officials do not want press materials to include three specific phrases: “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.”
Are we the baddies?
I’m not sure how any American could question that since the countries birth
Jbfc, what is wrong with us?
A lot
600 children dead… and the warnings are still private… jfc.
Publicly telling everyone to act like rational human beings would be way more beneficial
Privately, because outloud, would appears as antisemitic, for Zionists and all the voices on their sides
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Nope. It needs to be said loudly, publicly, repeatedly. Until then, we are enablers of atrocities.
Biden said it publicly, too:
We uphold the laws of war — the law of war. It matters. There’s a difference.
And repeated something similar today, when asked about retaliation against Hamas:
Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people … there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state … It would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.
A bit late for that champ
Neten-yahoo is a fucking criminal goon and beyond ‘telling’. Much like a few US politicians whose name sounds a lot like. “Trump”.
They haven’t even started yet and already burned through all their good will.
Meanwhile Hamas leaders are probably off in some lavish bunker getting sucked off by their 4 wives while waiting for a Israel to recruit a new army of bereaved future terrorists for them.
More fucking lies.
Leaked internal emails reveal that the U.S. State Department is discouraging diplomats from advocating for Israeli “de-escalation” in the ongoing conflict with Gaza. The emails instruct officials not to use phrases like “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed,” and “restoring calm” in their public statements, indicating the Biden administration’s reluctance to push for Israeli restraint. Israel recently ordered over a million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate, and the UN warned of devastating humanitarian consequences. U.S. officials have avoided discussing a ceasefire, focusing on supporting Israel’s response to Hamas attacks. Some lawmakers are urging stronger humanitarian calls, but public pressure is delicate due to Israel’s significant losses and U.S. support. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is engaged in diplomatic efforts in the region, including visits to influential Arab states.
State and Defense are on the same page, you just need to read between the lines.
They want a targeted strike against Hamas leadership (i.e. not “de-escalation” or a “ceasefire” or an “end to bloodshed”) but they don’t want unnecessary civilian casualties. In other words less “Shock and Awe”, more “Seal Team Six”.
I don’t know the truth of the matter, these are internal things after all. But what you posted isn’t necessarily inconsistent with the article. It’s possible they were instructed not to say those things publicly, as your article says, but are privately pushing Israel to restrain themselves, as the above article says.
You’re talking about something different. Internal communications within the state department about what language to use is completely different from private communication return Israel.
I mean this is pretty standard when it comes to interpersonal relationships even. If a friend does something questionable I’m likely going to avoid discussing it in public until I can talk to them in private about how bad the thing was.
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As a wise man/woman once said around here:
The US has two parties: One believes the US should keep supporting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, another believes the US should support Israel’s genocide of Palestinians harder.
There are no liberals when it comes to Israel in most of the world (props for Ireland for being the exception).
What exactly is a Biden defender?
Do you believe people deserve carte Blanche defence at all times.
Or can people do some things you agree with and other things you don’t?
Do you think losing an election is going to make moderate Democrats less shitty? Because 2016 just seemed to turbo charge their left-punching impulses. For progressives, I think the best shot at change is giving the Democratic party supermajorities in Congress and control of the White House, demanding they do the popular things they ran on, exposing all the two-faced hacks who never had any intention of doing those things, and then primarying the hell out of them. Allowing Republicans to win just gives the hacks something to hide behind (and it turbocharges their fundraising when that money could be going to a lot better causes).
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Fair enough, that was a rhetorical question, which is kind of lazy/obnoxious writing, so let me re-phrase - losing elections to Republicans only makes moderate Democratic party members more obnoxious, and not voting for Dems in general elections is likely to produce that result
Which part of “show restraint and don’t kill civilians when taking out the terrorists” strikes you as not “liberal”?
You haven’t made it clear at all what you take issue with of telling someone to show restraint. Do you find the very act of retaliation against Hamas for their attack to be unacceptable or something?
According to the article, Biden said:
“This was act of pure evil… Terrorists purposefully target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war — the law of war. It matters. There’s a difference."
All of these statements are very easy to defend.
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Biden isn’t a leftist. He’s just less right than his opposition.
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If your options were Hitler or Mussolini, which one would be the leftist in your mind since surely there must always be one.
The center is left of the right, genius…
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It’s not a relative word though. It describes a specific set of political beliefs, which Biden does not hold… so he’s not a leftist. He’s a liberal, and barely one at that.
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I have personally made the decision to abstain from voting in the 2024 presidential election at this point if Biden is the nominee. I cannot in good conscience vote for another president who clearly learned nothing from the protracted “War on Terror”, and who now publicly supports ethnic cleansing by Israel simply to score political points.
I had similar reasons in 2016… regretful
Be sure to vote in the primaries.
Unfortunately with first past the post the only way to vote against the republican candidate is to vote for the Democrat even if he’s awful. That’s how Biden got elected. And that’s why the primaries are so important.
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I don’t know why you’re sharing your opinion if you aren’t planning on voting. You don’t care about it so why should anyone else?
Who said I didn’t care? I shared my opinion because it’s the internet. That’s what people do.
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I always vote down ballot in every election, and have voted in every election since I was legally able to vote. I understand the importance of local and state elections.
Oh ok so by not voting, you’re actually voting for the GOP, therefore making the problem even worse.
Good job!
Great. What’s your address, so when Trump wins and we descend into ChristoFascism, I can send you flowers and a thank you note?
You entered into this discussion because I said I had an ethical problem with voting for Biden when he continues to justify and tacitly support Israeli war crimes and their continued ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Let’s not forget that.
Your stupid fucking bullshit take was that I’m the asshole because I even suggested that I was uncomfortable voting for him after that, and was therefore guilty by association in the hypothetical event Donald Trump gets reelected.
I then continued by pointing out that my vote has no legitimate bearing on the electoral process due to the fact that we don’t elect candidates based on the popular vote, and my state is already a Democrat stronghold. You want to make me guilty by association to justify your own guilt for supporting imperialist, genocidal, zionist foreign policy with your hypothetical vote I guess. You voted for it, so by your logic that makes you equally responsible for the evil & death carried out in your name via the democratic process that you want to jerk yourself off for supporting.
So, don’t be surprised when someone holds you responsible for being an enabler of an ongoing genocide, and an establishment sycophant I guess.
I prefer to be on the side of not supporting psychopathic behavior that is being carried out in the name of religion regardless what fucking flag their country flies, or how much they want to permanently paint themselves out to be the victim. That’s something you and Israel have in common actually. You both think you’re the victim when really you’re the one defending the process of further victimization.
“I’m relying on someone else to do something that I won’t do” is not a very compelling statement of personal ethics.
Right there with “My personal ethics is to keep moving, because someone else will stop to help that stranger in need.”
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You won’t do something because you are certain that someone else will do it for you.
That’s not personal conviction.
Democrats have won by +60% in every single presidential election in my state since before I was even born.
That’s only possible if you are 18 years old or younger. In which case it’s not saying much.
I don’t know where you are getting this idea of “doing something for me”.
I explained what the statistical reality is, and you somehow take that as me relying on someone else to do my dirty work by holding their nose and voting for someone they don’t want to vote for in order to make up the gap. Well that just isn’t the fucking case.
I was being slightly hyperbolic about Democrats winning with 60% of the vote, so I actually just looked up the statistics since 1990. It has tilted blue by an average of +20% points since then.
So please, be more pedantic, and tell me how you think me choosing not to vote for Biden makes a shit bit of difference because it doesn’t.
