Follow us on social

Biden has the leverage to stop the war in Israel

Biden has the leverage to stop the war in Israel

But it only works if he decides to use it. What is he waiting for?

Analysis | Video Section

Saying that the U.S. has the right to defend itself doesn't mean the United States must defer to Israel on all things, especially when it is harming American interests abroad. Washington officials say are concerned about protecting civilians amid ongoing Israeli military operations on the ground in Gaza, but these same officials continue to support $3.8 billion a year in military aid, plus more on the way.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza increases the risk of the United States itself getting into a wider war. Biden's unwavering support is putting U.S. global standing at risk and harming its national security.

The president has the leverage to stop this. But leverage doesn't work unless you specify a cost or apply real pressure, a step the Biden administration has so far, been unwilling to take. Watch more below:

How Biden Can End the War in Gaza
Analysis | Video Section
China United Staes

TSViPhoto via shutterstock.com

House passes $1.6 billion to deliver anti-China propaganda overseas

Asia-Pacific

Since at least 2016, foreign interference in American elections and civil society have become central to American political discourse. The issue is taken extremely seriously by the U.S. government, which has levied sanctions and called out foreign adversaries for sowing “discord and chaos” through their propaganda efforts.

But apparently Washington takes a different view when it comes to American propaganda operations in foreign countries. On Monday, the House passed HR 1157, the “Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund,” by a bipartisan 351-36 majority. This legislation authorizes more than $1.6 billion for the State Department and USAID over the next five years to, among other purposes, subsidize media and civil society sources around the world that counter Chinese “malign influence” globally.

keep readingShow less
Is Nigeria using Russia as an excuse for bloody crackdown?

Protesters continue anti-government demonstrations against bad governance and economic hardship, in Lagos, Nigeria August 5, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

Is Nigeria using Russia as an excuse for bloody crackdown?

Africa

Nigeria is on edge as individuals linked to the deadly protests that recently shook the West African country are to be put on trial on charges that carry the death penalty.

Their arrest is part of a wider dragnet that has been triggered in part by the president's fears that the demonstrations are part of a Russian-inspired plot to overthrow his government.

keep readingShow less
space weapon

Marko Aliaksandr via shutterstock.com

How the US made space more dangerous

Global Crises

The past year has witnessed a growing chorus of alarm in Washington regarding the military utility of space. From the proliferation of space debris to the hastened tempo of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons development by China and Russia, there is a fear that U.S. space assets are held in peril by the threat of direct attack and the destruction of orbital usability. In November of last year, Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman went as far as to designate China’s adoption of ASATs in 2007 as a key moment of inflection in the militarization of space.

These worries have a legitimate basis — scientists have posited that space debris has the potential to render certain orbital clouds such as low earth orbit (LEO) unusable through cascading collisions. ASATs only compound this risk, as even individual tests can generate thousands of pieces of debris. Further, LEO and other orbits are a vital terrain for U.S. military satellites, whose uses range from communication to positioning systems and intelligence collection. This led the Biden administration to adopt a unilateral moratorium on ASAT testing in 2022.

keep readingShow less

Election 2024

Latest

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.