Suspend Arms to Israel
A new statement from the Center for International Policy calls for freeing the hostages and ending the slaughter of Palestinians.
I haven’t published this newsletter for the past few weeks. It is not for lack of news. It is that many people are saying what I’ve been thinking better than I can say it. So what can I add?
Sometimes, it helps to simply amplify the good work of others.
Today, I’d like to share a statement from my friend, Matt Duss. Matt and I met when we both worked at the Center for American Progress in 2008. He and I were among the few Obama supporters in this largely pro-Hillary Clinton research institute. Matt went on to serve as president for the Foundation for Middle East Peace and then as foreign policy advisor for Senator Bernie Sanders. Last year, he became the executive vice president of the revitalized Center for International Policy led by President Nancy Okail, a scholar on human rights, democracy, and security in the Middle East.
I agree with every word in the Center’s statement. We all share the anguish and horror at the brutal rape, torture and killing of 1200 Israelis by Hamas on October 7. Nothing can take that away. But that atrocity does not justify what followed. What may have begun as retaliation soon became sadistic collective punishment and now approaches genocide. I don’t know what else to call a five-month military campaign that threatens the lives of over two million people, first by indiscriminant bombings and shootings, now by starvation and disease.
I supported President Biden’s original approach: Stand with Israel; use persuasion to restrain its response; push for a two-state solution. That approach has clearly failed.
The most extreme, authoritarian government in Israel’s history has now slaughtered over 30,000 Palestinians, the overwhelming majority of whom had nothing to do with October 7. Most are women and children. As famine and disease spread, the death rate will accelerate.
After this week’s massacre of desperate Palestinians seeking food, Matt penned the following statement for the Center. It calls for suspending all military aid to Israel. Biden must move beyond attempts at persuasion. Air dropping food is not enough. If Biden cannot stop the killing he can at least end our complicity in the slaughter.
FEBRUARY 29, 2024 BY MATT DUSS
The Slaughter and Starvation of Gaza Cannot Continue; US Must Suspend Arms to Israel
President Biden must say ‘enough is enough’ and finally end US support for and complicity in the ongoing carnage in Gaza. Importantly, he should suspend transfers to Israel of the arms it is using in Gaza, as he is already obligated to do under US law given the obvious reality – including an open admission by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu – that the Israeli government is limiting the amount of humanitarian aid delivered to the territory.
President Biden should also continue his efforts to reach a ceasefire that includes the release of all hostages and a massive emergency surge in humanitarian aid. We regret that both Israel and Hamas have recently failed to reach a ceasefire, but the US approach should not be contingent on the decisions of others. It should be based on our own values and our own laws. Diplomacy must be prioritized not only as a means of reaching peace, but in order to uphold our own principles. The ongoing provision of arms to Israel despite its open hindrance of humanitarian efforts is a clear departure from those principles.
A full ceasefire and massive humanitarian relief effort is not just a moral necessity but a security one. The ongoing war in Gaza has triggered fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as between the United States and Houthi forces in the Red Sea and Yemen – both of which threaten to spread and possibly draw Iran and others in the region into a larger, even more devastating conflict.
Nearly five months of slaughter and starvation of civilians in Gaza, and the continued holding and abuse of Israeli hostages, must not continue. It is time for President Biden and US partners to finally use their leverage to end this catastrophe.
After retiring from the military I spent a number of years advising the US government on counterinsurgency operations in Iraq. I was in country with the Marines in Anbar province in 2007. I can state that the enemy was most certainly embedded in the population. At no time did the US forces ever contemplate using the tactics currently employed by the IDF in Gaza. Our forces were successful while employing strict rules of engagement that minimized civilian casualties. While this was often frustrating it is what civilized countries do. Israeli has crossed the line and needs to be held accountable. In addition to withholding offensive arms shipments I believe the US should strongly consider sanctions against members of the current Israeli government.
To All: Vice P”resident, Kamala Harris, on Sunday, called for “an immediate cease-fire in Gaza”, “because of the immense scale of the suffering.”This is a major development in the administration policy. It’s moving in the right direction.