U.S. signs off on more bombs, warplanes for Israel
U.S. signs off on more bombs, warplanes for Israel
The Biden administration in recent days quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel despite Washington’s concerns about an anticipated military offensive in southern Gaza that could threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, according to Pentagon and State Department officials familiar with the matter. The 2,000 pound bombs have been linked to previous mass-casualty events throughout Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. These officials, like some others, spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because recent authorizations have not been disclosed publicly.
The 2,000 pound bombs, capable of leveling city blocks and leaving craters in the earth 40 feet across and larger, are almost never used anymore by Western militaries in densely populated locations due to the risk of civilian casualties.
A 2000lb bomb "can cause high casualty events and can have a lethal fragmentation radius – an area of exposure to injury or death around the target – of up to 365 meters (about 1,198 feet), or the equivalent of 58 soccer fields in area." Israel dropped hundreds in the first month alone. The USA dropped just one ever during all the time they were fighting ISIS.
But Biden and his administration care about limiting civilian casualties. They really mean it - do you folks want another press release? I'm sure we can get more heartfelt looks and earnest words from the White House press rep about serious commitments to ethics and how they're making sure Israel is innocent of wrongdoing.
Oh they've done better! You have to give Biden credit! His EO stating we'd investigate to make sure our weapons weren't being misused was satisfied. The State Department has now announced there is no evidence our weapons are being misused because, (checks notes) our best friend wrote us a note saying they aren't misusing the weapons. Obviously cause for breathless and strident declarations that there's no evidence we're supporting genocide!
I really really wish I was joking. The Executive Memorandum asked for a fucking letter to satisfy the Leahy Law.
They sent their thoughts and prayers didn't they? That totally trumps any massive bombs
Fuck Joe Biden and any apologists. ‘bUt tRuMp iS gOnNa bE wOrSe!!’ Trump is worse, but this shit is happening right now, and being authorized by Joe fucking Biden.
Right, but whether or not you vote, one of these two pro-genocide assholes will be president in the end. You not voting does not help the people of Gaza. It does not help anyone but you and you getting to say “well I refuse to vote for him!” And everyone claps you on the back for a job well done. And then if trump wins, those of us in this country will have less time to devote to the situation in Gaza because every goddamn day, we’ll be worried about that, plus whatever trump and his fascist cronies are doing to hold onto power illegally here. And then there will be nothing we can do for Palestine, because we will be fighting our own battles here. And that’s before we even discuss Republican climate policy—which literally none of us will survive four years of.
We don’t like voting for genocide light or genocide heavy. But trump will absolutely be an even worse case scenario for the Palestinian people. And he doesn’t give half a shit about what even “looks” better, so that vindictive prick will go full tilt with Israel. The democrats are facing calls from within their own party and from people who are sickened by what we’re seeing. And that might have an effect—maybe. But your and my anger at what’s happening in Gaza will only serve to spur the republicans/trump into an even crueler tact.
Whether we like it or not, these are the choices we have. And none of us fucking like it. But that doesn’t stop it from being reality. We all see how shitty this is. No one that gives a shit about the people of Gaza are happy about it, but we’re realistic.
Again, your not voting and telling other people not to, does not help the people of Gaza. Keeping trump away from the situation actually has a chance of us seeing the pressure actually change things.
It’s not a pretty situation, it’s so far from ideal that it’s sickening. But we have to be realistic. And I fucking hate having to advocate for this. But it unfortunately makes the most sense.
I am only voting local at this point, because presidential is pretty much assumed in my state. Biden officially lost my support at this point and I’ll never vote Trump (rfk jr or any of the other clowns). Between this, climate policy, healthcare, and all the other broken promises…I won’t feel guilty either because I’ve been here before and it’s not the people, but the DNC that’s to blame. They know where the votes are; come get them
Electoral Boycotts are actually kind of what you do when your government goes off the rails. They help build legitimacy for changing the system. Browbeating people to vote just manufactures consent. They're not going to turn around after the election and suddenly start listening to you. They're going to loudly proclaim the percentage of votes they got in relation to people who voted and call it a mandate to continue fucking us.
Fuck Biden and Fuck Trump. At this point Biden full well knows the Genocide he's in for. He seems to care more about flattening Rafah than "saving American Democracy".
The libs thinking they can shame people into voting for Genocide are the reason Biden thinks he can keep doing this.
We're not shaming anyone for voting for genocide. We're shaming you for helping usher in an American Dictatorship, as if you "abstaining from voting" is going to do literally anything but make things worse. But you do you, absolve your consciousness, and when you've lost all your rights and freedoms, you can at least be proud that you didn't vote Biden. Go you! I'm sure a Trump Dictatorship will be fan-fucking-tastic!
Go read up on Project 2025, and then go read up on the early days of Hitler's rise to power, pay attention to the distinct parallels.
Edit: This is what you can expect from our Christian State Dictatorship: https://www.meidastouch.com/news/texas-republicans-call-for-execution-of-women-who-receive-abortions-ivf-in-horrifying-video
"I love Palestine. Great people. They have some great people there. They asked me 'why did you move the US-Israeli embassy to Jerusalem?' and I told them to be closer to Palestine. Some of my best friends settled in Palestine"
Takes audience question
"Of course I know there was is a West Bank in Jerusalem. I've done business with West Bank. It's a great bank. Lot of good people there."
Bombs I understand. You need bombs to kill people and Israel has killed tens of thousands so they probably need more bombs to kill tens of thousands more (and of course why would they produce them themselves, or even buy them?). But planes? Did they lose some planes killing all those civilians? Or did a Hamas paraglider take out a couple fighter jets with his scimitar?
And to all the Americans that think they are the constituency of the U.S. government: fuck you.
Biden’s decision to continue the flow of weapons to Israel has been strongly supported by powerful pro-Israel interest groups in Washington, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is spending tens of millions of dollars this election cycle to unseat Democrats it views as insufficiently pro-Israel.
There's another kind of interesting point in this article and in Israel's history in general. It seems like every Israeli accusation is a confession- from mass sexual abuse to needing to defend themselves from invaders to
Israeli officials deny that their military campaign has been indiscriminate and say civilian casualties are the fault of Hamas for embedding its fighters among the population in Gaza.
When the Zionists started taking over Palestine in the early 1900s, they needed the cover and political legitimacy of regular people to disguise and obscure their terrorism, so the mass immigration of Jews to Palestine was a way for Zionists to embed their fighters among the Jewish population in Palestine. Then they could hide behind the shield of anti-semitism while they pursue their goal of expansion and ethnic cleansing.
Zionist leaders, in particular David Ben-Gurion, viewed the acceptance of the plan as a tactical step and a stepping stone to future territorial expansion over all of Palestine.
I really haven't found any accusation that Israel has made against Hamas that they are not themselves guilty of, but I would be happy to learn of some.
Edit: https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-30-2024-b1ba33c7c0c5c62f85932a20c2a0bc92
They don't need any of it. Israel could kill every single person in Gaza with the weapons it already has on hand.
But arms deals are extremely profitable and neoliberals just can't say no to profits, even when it involves murdering and starving children. So if the genocide needs to continue for the profits to continue, they're 100% on board for the genocide.
They'll just stand behind a podium and look sad about it occasionally, because that's the job of the center-left neoliberals.
The duopoly is just thrilled that it convinced the majority that voting for genocide is okay so long as there's a scarier genocide on the other side. If you don't seek alternatives when the lesser of two evils becomes the lesser of two genocided you'll never seek an alternative. Id rather lose trying to stop a genocide than win supporting one. Do all your mental gymnastics but the point remains if enough people voted against genocode instead of against trump, then it would necessarily mean a third party would win. If not now, during a literal genocide, you never will, just own that. If the choice was Hitler, Stalin, and a third party candidate would you still tell everyone that third party votes are wasted?
Fuck israel
Fuck the US
I love how I can't read about escalating genocide without paying Jeff Bezos first...
Here's an archive link I'll put it under the article as well.
I think it’s equally valid to focus on the hypocrisy going on right now, and the fact that not just the American public, but the rest of the world’s governments and people are all watching it unfold on a daily basis: the GOP will happily ship unguided bombs to the IDF so they can “hit terrorist strongholds”, but at the same time won’t lift a finger to ship Ukraine some air defense assets and ammunition, or any number of other desperately needed supplies. It’s fucking infuriating.
You mean the Democrats. Which haven't blocked this.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Biden administration in recent days quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel despite Washington’s concerns about an anticipated military offensive in southern Gaza that could threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
The development underscores that while rifts have emerged between the United States and Israel over the war’s conduct, the Biden administration views weapons transfers as off-limits when considering how to influence the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some Democrats, including allies of President Biden, say the U.S. government has a responsibility to withhold weapons in the absence of an Israeli commitment to limit civilian casualties during a planned operation in Rafah, a final Hamas stronghold, and ease restrictions on humanitarian aid into the enclave, which is on the brink of famine.
The 2,000 pound bombs, capable of leveling city blocks and leaving craters in the earth 40 feet across and larger, are almost never used anymore by Western militaries in densely populated locations due to the risk of civilian casualties.
The Post’s reporting on the new weapons authorizations follows a visit to Washington by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant this week in which he requested that the Biden administration expedite a range of weaponry.
A massive influx of aid trucks is required to remedy the situation, but U.S. officials say Israel has imposed onerous restrictions on deliveries, which are deeply unpopular inside Netanyahu’s far-right coalition government.
The original article contains 1,367 words, the summary contains 241 words. Saved 82%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Gotta keep voting for biden tho !!!
Please explain to me at this point how anyone could be worse than biden in this conflict?
Sorry, I am a single issue voter when it comes to genocide.
I'm not one to defend Genocide Joe, but don't think for a minute that someone else (or even Joe himself) couldn't be worse. Our policy could be way worse. I haven't yet decided whether I can stomach voting for Biden in the absence of a meaningful alternative, but I won't pretend that there aren't more hellish roads to tread here.
Turning attempted elimination into elimination is worse. Trump is on the wrong side on this single issue too.
Check this guy's post history.
Yeah I had to make an account to voice my anger about seeing 'no no but trump'. Like the audacity to think trump could somehow be worse on this issue. Fuck biden for this. Trump can fuck off too but he isnt in power and im not voting someone into office over this. And this issue is all I think about on a daily basis. Friends and family getting bombed out by Israel and you expect me to say exactly what you want.
Eighteen hundred 2000 pound bombs!!!
Genocide Joe wants every last Palestinian in refugee camps blown to bits!
Filling hospital complex or residential block sized craters with the dozers will be quicker now that bodies and debris will be just some small ramps around the craters, ready to be pushed in without any problem. It is no better than carpet bombing the city, just the delivery and saturation is different but the result is the same.
Fuck you Genocide Joe. Even as an outsider, I hoped you'd reflect your domestic reforms to the US' international genocidal approach and clean your hands a little, but it seems you are as much a Zionist genociding zealot as Bibi.
Fuck your American prosperity and freedom. I hope Trump gets elected and fucks you all in the ass while fading your international shenanigans tremendously. Fucking tired of your "If not Biden, it is Trump. If not the US, it is Russia or China." all the while perpetuating the horrors you say as fear-mongering campaigns against others.