Did Biden just escalate the Gaza War? | Responsible Statecraft

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On Thursday night, President Joe Biden — acting without congressional approval — ordered airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, an escalation in the regional spillover from Israel’s war in Gaza that now directly involves US military personnel.

Biden chose to escalate the conflict and bomb Yemen in response to Houthi fighters' Red Sea attacks. His unconditional support and steady flow of weapons to Israel appears to be increasing the likelihood of a regional war. Instead of using the U.S.’s considerable leverage over Israel to push for a ceasefire, Biden is enabling a brutal war that has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, and ties his administration to Israel’s decisions as it inches toward an all out war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Biden should be honest with Americans: the longer Israel's siege of Gaza persists, the greater the chances of a regional conflagration that will put American lives in danger.

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Why SCOTUS won’t deter Trump’s desire to weaponize trade

Top image credit: U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts on the day of his speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Why SCOTUS won’t deter Trump’s desire to weaponize trade

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court today ruled against the White House on a key economic initiative of the Trump administration, concluding that the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) does not give the president the right to impose tariffs.

The ruling was not really a surprise; the tone of the questioning by several justices in early November was overwhelmingly skeptical of the administration’s argument, as prediction markets rightly concluded. Given the likelihood of this result, it should also come as no surprise that the Trump administration has already been plotting ways to work around the decision.

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KC-135 Stratotanker

US Air Force (USAF) KC-135R Stratotanker, 92nd Air Refueling Wing (ARW), Fairchild AFB, Washington (US Air Force photo)

Military tankers for Iran attack deploying near Iraq War levels

Military experts say the U.S. asset mobilization in the Middle East theater is now resembling a real staging for war, with the prevailing chatter more about "when" than "if" an attack will happen.

One of the data points catching the eye of these experts is the number of air tankers — military aircraft used to refuel combat fighters in midair — that are in or headed to the region. Open source intelligence analysts say there are at least 108 such tankers either in CENTCOM theater as of Friday (31) or in strategic locations outside that command or staging in Europe. Most are KC-135 Stratotankers, made by Boeing. (Editor's note: This information has been updated).

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