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.”
The revelation provides a stunning signal about the Biden administration’s reluctance to push for Israeli restraint as the close U.S. partner expands the offensive it launched after Hamas ― which rules Gaza ― attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7.
The emails were sent hours after Israel told more than 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza that they should leave their homes and shelters ahead of an expected ground invasion of the region. On Thursday, the United Nations said Israel had given Gazans a 24-hour deadline to move to the south of the strip, adding it would be “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
Asked about Israel’s evacuation order on Friday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to reject or endorse it, calling it “a tall order.”
“We’re going to be careful not to get into armchair quarterbacking the tactics on the ground by the [Israel Defense Forces],” he added. “What I can tell you is we understand what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to move civilians out of harm’s way and giving them fair warning.”
IMO - The Biden Administration is tacitly endorsing what seems to me to be a coming genocide, and it's kind of freaking me out. I don't know if this is about domestic politics or if the Biden administration is actually low key cheering the slaughter on. Hamas is evil and should be destroyed, no argument here. But in the same way Hamas doesn't believe Israel should exist, a good chunk of Isreal, particularly their current far right government, feels the same way about Palestinians, all of them. It seems Israel is not going to let a good crisis go to waste. Israeli military leaders have been using dehumanizing language, which is a tell tale sign of a coming genocide, they have suspended rules of engagement, my non expert opinion is the current blockade of food, water, and electricity, while inhumane on its face, is also in part to limit the ability of the world to learn about the war crimes about to be committed. The 24 hour order to move out of northern Gaza is impossible, Israel knows that, the Biden administration knows that, it's clearly an effort to give Israel political cover for the mass amounts of civilians about to be slaughtered - if they stayed, they were part of or supportive of Hamas and so were legitimate targets, and even if not we gave them a warning to move and they failed to do so, so not our fault. I'd except this from a government who before all of this happened openly believed apartied was the ideal solution to the Palestinian conflict. I'm legitimately surprised the Biden administration is straight up cool with this going down, to the point that "end the violence/bloodshed" is by written policy a verboten phrase. It seems like some sick shit is about to go down, and the Biden Administrations hands are going to be dirty.
Joe Biden is worried about turning out the youth vote for he's relection. He's decided to be a passive accomplice to genocide. It's a bold strategy Cotton let's see how it plays out.
The Administration knows there is no solution to this conflict. It also knows there is no state-side position which is politically expedient.
I’m going to say this as loud as I can. There will be no winners in this conflict. Ever. For anyone, involved or on the sidelines.
This memo is confirmation that the US administration knows there is no solution and doesn’t want anyone to say anything because no matter what they say it will make things worse. This is a tacit admission that there is nothing anyone outside can do. It’s like trying to extinguish a lithium battery fire - the stored energy will continue to be exothermic until it’s expended and any attempt to tamp it down is likely to make things worse.
It’s a shitty position were in, but this isn’t some Hollywood script where you can just write a happy ending. There is no happy ending.
They could make the statement that killing civilians will result in the immediate cease of funding and access to US munitions.
We aren't exactly on the side lines here.
Yeah, we don’t exactly hold the high ground in the “not killing civilians when we’re on a patriotic rampage in a foreign country.” Heck, we don’t hold that high ground in our own country.
There is no strategy which will is acceptable to all political factions.
Certainly.
But given the extreme restraint Ukraine has been showing, it seems clear that "moral warfare" must have been emphasized as a condition for our support.
I would like those conditions to be passed on
I believe the Israeli government has made itself invaluable to us from an Intel perspective. That's certainly going to factor in any calculus.
Right or wrong, this is what's happening.
The Onion article about "steadfastly supporting Israel" being the better option because fewer people will get angry at you just keeps ringing true.
Perhaps. I mean your right on the eventual ending being bad. But the administration could at least pay lip service to "ending violence" and "restoring calm" even if they know that won't happen. This memo demonstrates that the administration doesn't want there to be any suggestion that the US is critical of whatever actions Israel chooses to take, up to and including genocide. They want the public to know the US is 100% behind Israel, no matter what. While also fully knowing Israel is currently committing war crimes and likely to escalate the violence. It's not a good look.
I do wonder if Biden should be drawing some lines that would trigger embargoes. I agree that there's no winning, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be pushing toward minimizing bloodshed. Right now, we can't trust Israel to have restraint in how they root out hamas.
You're probably right that there will be no winners.
But the US has blood on it's hands because we are the ones providing Israel with weapons and seemingly endless military backing. We didn't pull the trigger but we gave them the guns.
And continued giving them the guns after they repeatedly misused them
Israel wins.
This is absolute defeatist hogwash and/or deflecting complicity in a genocide. The US can absolutely step in and de-escalate the situation. There’s nothing holding us back except our alliance with Israel. If the US moves to de-escalate, the rest of the West and the world, will follow.
Arms dealers always win.
Point goes to the arms dealer faction from lemm.ee
Absent some unforeseen, HUGE event, these two sides are so entrenched and polarized that I've long theorized that the only way this ends is with genocide by either party.
They both have ancestral traditions and history on that land. Both have religious rights. There is NOT an enforced respect of sharing of the spaces or agreements.
How does one know their heritage, learn they have a birthright and yield it?
I'm not saying I want genocide. I don't. I just don't see these two groups going a different way now.
I want to be wrong.
I agree that there will never be a real solution between these two... except one or the other getting wiped out the face of the earth.
srael will win, and by proxy, the US.
Also, the US benefits from Israel receiving American support because we can sell more weapons to them.
My current fear is that this conflict could spin out of control even more and plunge us into another world war, as hezbola is also threatened to join the fight from the north, as well as Iran and then the rest of the Arab nations.