Update 5/20, 6:40 a.m. ET : Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) says he is prepared to introduce a bill in the Senate today that would put a hold on the $735 million sale of precision guided missiles to Israel.
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As the Biden administration muddles through efforts to end the fighting in Israel and Gaza, progressives in Congress appear to be stepping in to fill the leadership vacuum.
One day after House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) reversed course on his plan to ask the White House to pause an arms sale to Israel amid the ongoing fighting, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) announced on Wednesday that they would introduce a resolution disapproving of the sale.
“The United States should not be rubber-stamping weapons sales to the Israeli government as they deploy our resources to target international media outlets, schools, hospitals, humanitarian missions and civilian sites for bombing,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “We have a responsibility to protect human rights.”
The measure is unlikely to go very far as the period for congressional review expires on Friday, but supporters praised its symbolism.
“This is a historic day.” said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for the human rights group Democracy for the Arab World. “Congress has never attempted to block an arms sale to Israel before, and it sends a clear message to the Israeli government that its days of impunity are coming to an end.”
Meanwhile, in the Senate, Sen Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced on Wednesday that he would block a GOP-led resolution offering “full and unequivocal U.S. support” for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza with a resolution of his own calling for an immediate ceasefire and supporting diplomatic effort to resolve the conflict.
Ben Armbruster is the Managing Editor of Responsible Statecraft. He has more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of politics, foreign policy, and media. Ben previously held senior editorial and management positions at Media Matters, ThinkProgress, ReThink Media, and Win Without War.
Photos: Diego G Diaz and lev radin via shutterstock.com
News Monday that President-elect Trump was eyeing three hawks for top slots in his administration has put a bit of a damper on the headiness that restrainers on the right were feeling over weekend news that Nikki Haley or Mike Pompeo would not be joining the administration.
By 8 p.m. Monday, there was confirmation that Elise Stefanik, arch-defender of Israel who once worked for the neocon outfit Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Bill Kristol's Foreign Policy Initiative, is Trump's pick for UN ambassador.
China hawk Rep. Mike Waltz, who spent much of his time on Capitol Hill this year saber rattling about Chinese military and spies in our backyard, and calling for a "new Monroe Doctrine" and a lot more military build-up to confront them, is Trump's pick for National Security Advisor. He worked in the George W. Bush Pentagon and for Vice President Dick Cheney as a counterterrorism advisor.
Add to that, he resisted Trump's efforts to get the U.S. military out of the 20-year war in Afghanistan, and like many uber-hawks in Congress, has been open to bombing Iran.
Some point out that he recently voted against Ukraine aid, and has said the war in Ukraine must end in a negotiated settlement. However, on Israel and Iran he has never wavered. Rubio, who was reportedly close to late-pro-Israel billionaire Sheldon Adelson and other big neocon donors, has supported illegal settlement building in the West Bank and has suggested that the U.S. may have to go to war with Iran over its nuclear program. On the current conflict, he has defended Israel's every move in the war in Gaza and Lebanon. He has warned that Iran wants to make Israel "an unlivable place."
He has always been a staunch opponent to any U.S. deal that would hem in Iran's nuclear program, including the JCPOA.
Later Monday, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a pro-Israel evangelical Christian supporter of Israel who has been a vocal supporter of illegal settlements in the West Bank, was named by Trump as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. By night it was announced that FOX News personality and Iraq/Afghanistan war vet Pete Hesgeth is Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense.
The appointments of Stefanik, Waltz, Huckabee, and Hesgeth have been announced by Trump. As of Monday afternoon, Rubio's nomination had yet to be confirmed. But the day's news has left observers with the feeling that it is déjà vu all over again.
"Trump often deviated from the views of his top advisers. And I know @DonaldJTrumpJr and others are doing what he said below," said Glenn Greenwald, pointing to a X post reply by Don Trump Jr. about keeping neoconservatives out of the administration. "But Trump's last 3 appointees - Elise Stefanik, Mike Weltz (sic), and Rubio - are war hawks fully aligned with the worst prongs of bipartisan DC consensus."
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Top photo credit: President Joe Biden on the White House Lawn, July 14, 2023. (Shutterstock/Salma Bashir)
Freed of the constraints of the presidential campaign, the Biden administration can use the next two months to recalibrate U.S. policy abroad, clean up several messes, and — maybe — rehabilitate the reputation of his team and our country.
Here’s a bucket list of executive actions the Biden administration should take to leave the United States, the world, and its legacy in a better place.
Most immediately, demand a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces from southern Lebanon, Gaza and Palestinian Authority-administered areas of the West Bank, and an end to all aerial bombardment in order to obtain the release of hostages and protect the lives of U.S. citizens and others in the region. Use this ceasefire to test whether the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas halt their attacks on Israel.
If Israel refuses, announce the immediate cessation of U.S. arms shipments and aid flows other than those intended for the Iron Dome shield. This move would follow the October 13 letter from Secretary of Defense Austin and Secretary of State Blinken to their Israeli counterparts warning them that if Israel did not comply with its obligations to allow U.S.-supported humanitarian aid into Gaza within 30 days, there would be “implications” pursuant to U.S. law. The 30 days are up as of today, and not one of the conditions has been met.
It’s way past time to end U.S. complicity in the slaughter and starvation of tens of thousands of innocents.
Also clearly reiterate U.S. opposition to the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank and to construction of new settlements in Gaza. Announce increased U.S. sanctions on individuals and entities complicit in settler violence or threats against Palestinians in the West Bank.
To de-escalate the spiral of violence across the Middle East, reach an interim deal with the new Iranian government on its nuclear program. At a minimum, revive the informal understanding worked on during the summer of 2023. This will hopefully serve as a break on further retaliation by Iran against Israel and offer an opening for further diplomacy by the Trump administration.
Draw down U.S. forces from Iraq. The United States does not need to maintain thousands of sitting-duck troops in Iraq to deter the return of ISIS. A plan for gradual withdrawal through 2026 has been announced. Recommit to the implementation of this plan and take the next step in transferring to the Iraqi government full responsibility for its national security.
Do not escalate U.S. support for the war in Ukraine and refrain from taking any action that could undermine prospects for a negotiated settlement. As Richard Haass and NYT national security reporters are now acknowledging, and my colleagues at Quincy Institute have long maintained, time is not on Ukraine’s side in the war. Russian forces are advancing, and this winter is going to be hellish unless the fighting is brought to an end and Ukraine’s electrical grid is repaired.
The war is also destabilizing politics in Europe and beyond. The Biden team should consult with the incoming administration on what assistance Ukraine needs, to be paired with outreach to incentivize a positive Russian response to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
End comprehensive sanctions on Venezuela. Hundreds of thousands of people are emigrating from Cuba and Venezuela, where U.S. sanctions have helped make life unbearable for large parts of the population. Instead of achieving the desired policy outcomes, counterproductive sanctions have hurt people and forced many to make the difficult decision to leave their homeland for the United States.
Take steps to normalize relations with Cuba. Remove Cuba from the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism; enable more normal travel by allowing cruises, use of hotels, independent people-to-people trips and performances; and suspend Title III of the Helms-Burton law, as President Obama did, to prevent nuisance lawsuits that interfere with U.S. investment and business in Cuba.
In his waning days in office, Trump imposed comprehensive sanctions on Cuba; Biden can undo them — better late than never. This is particularly pressing given public concern over unauthorized immigration to the United States.
Take additional steps to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp by overriding the decision by Secretary of Defense Austin to pursue further court action to reject the military commission plea agreement he authorized with the 9/11 masterminds. Put an end to the 22-year-long global public relations problem that Guantanamo has posed by escalating efforts to find third-country homes for those remaining prisoners who have never been charged.
Take steps to normalize relations with Afghanistan. Ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan was courageous and correct. Now President Biden needs to lead the way toward restoring diplomatic relations by empowering the Afghanistan Affairs Unit in Doha to proactively engage senior Taliban figures and set a positive precedent by sending a U.S. diplomat to meet with the Taliban in Kabul. The Fulbright program for Afghans should be reinstated, and processing of the remaining special immigrant visa (SIV) holders located outside the United States should be fast-tracked.
Reinstate the Fulbright and Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange programs with China/Hong Kong. We need to know more, not less, about China. President Biden should restore these important programs that Trump killed with a stroke of his pen.
President Biden has an extraordinary opportunity in this period to act on his conscience, free of domestic political constraints. For the good of the country and its reputation abroad, his historical legacy, and those who have suffered from destructive U.S. policies, I hope he will act with alacrity to check them off of his bucket list.
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REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
photo : U.S. President Joe Biden attends a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 18, 2023.
A group of 60 national, state, and local organizations sent a letter to President Biden on Monday urging him to “hold Israel accountable to U.S. law [by] ending arms sales to Israel to protect U.S. interests, achieve a ceasefire, protect civilians, increase aid access in Gaza, and work towards a stable future for the region.”
The policy, humanitarian, and faith-based organizations — which include Amnesty International, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and the Quincy Institute, publisher of Responsible Statecraft — expressed disappointment with Biden’s policy of “unconditional support of Israel paired with empty threats,” saying the policy has not yielded any meaningful results and serves to harm America’s global reputation.
Rather than curbing Israel’s actions, the signatories say the Biden administration has enabled it to bomb hospitals, schools, and residential areas, block humanitarian aid, and kill tens of thousands of civilians, journalists, and aid workers, all at the expense of the taxpayer.
The organizations say a letter sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant asking Israel to allow humanitarian aid in Gaza “provides an opportunity to course correct U.S. policy” and enforce U.S. law which would require the United States to withhold aid until humanitarian assistance is delivered.
“The longer the U.S. allows its power and global standing to be undermined by this conflict, the more cost the United States will bear in reputation, taxpayer dollars, and possibly servicemember and citizens’ lives,” they write. “In your final months in office, we urge you to do everything in your power to end U.S. military aid to Israel to stop Israel’s assaults on civilians and maintain regional stability.”
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