We are war criminals. Thanks, Joe Biden

benfell

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.

Ishaan Tharoor notes that Binyamin Netanyahu’s plan for Gaza flies in the face of what Arab governments, the U.S., and Europe (we can add the Palestinians themselves[2]) are all demanding. He’s right, of course, to say all that, but he also notes that Netanyahu “can justifiably argue that he’s in line with Israeli public opinion.”[3] This raises a larger problem, one not constrained to Netanyahu, in which I worry that as completely unrealistic as Netanyahu’s plan may be, it may be the only one on offer.

Getting past that would mean Joe Biden applying serious pressure to Israel. But even reversing Donald Trump’s policy deeming West Bank settlements as “legitimate”[4] amounts to ““a signaling to the international community that the [Biden] administration is unhappy, but not necessarily so unhappy that he’s willing to do anything about it.”[5] Genocide is not a deal-breaker for Biden. He continues diplomatic, financial, and military support to a government[6] that is thumbing its nose at him at every turn. That makes him and the U.S. complicit. We are war criminals.

Hunger and severe malnutrition are widespread in the Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million Palestinians are facing severe shortages resulting from Israel destroying food supplies and severely restricting the flow of food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies. Aid trucks and Palestinians waiting for humanitarian relief have come under Israeli fire.

“There is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses and orchards in Gaza – other than to deny people access to food,” Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told the Guardian.

“Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. In my view as a UN human rights expert, this is now a situation of genocide. This means the State of Israel in its entirety is culpable and should be held accountable – not just individuals or this government, or that person.”[7]

Ibrahim Dahman, “Palestinian Authority prime minister and government resign,” CNN, February 26, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/middleeast/palestinian-authority-prime-minister-resigns-intl/index.html

Nina Lakhani, “Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says,” Guardian, February 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/27/un-israel-food-starvation-palestinians-war-crime-genocide

Ishaan Tharoor, “Netanyahu’s ‘day after’ plan for Gaza is unviable,” Washington Post, February 27, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/02/27/post-war-gaza-plan-netanyahu-israel-day-after-future-abbas/

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 2. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[8] fair use.

Emmanuel Macron has been an outlier among European leaders. Even well after it was clear that diplomatic efforts were foundering, he persisted in seeking a diplomatic solution. Now, he’s threatening to send in troops.[9] Whatever we think of the likelihood this actually happens—“‘It is not at all relevant right now,’ said Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister, on Tuesday [February 27],”[10] and Russia responded with the bellicosity one should expect[11]—the war ain’t going away on its own, folks, it ain’t getting better, and the Republican politicians holding up aid to Ukraine should be arrested for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Leila Abboud and Henry Foy, “Macron says sending western troops to Ukraine cannot be ruled out,” Financial Times, February 27, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/83b8a80d-ab22-47fc-bbbb-6b1fd9df68ba

Laura Kayali and Claudia Chiappa, “Russia: Conflict with NATO certain if Western troops go to Ukraine,” Politico, February 27, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-conflict-with-nato-inevitable-if-western-troops-go-to-ukraine/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump


Fig. 3. Donald Trump, depicted in an orange jumpsuit, reportedly by the Drudge, date unknown, via Mediaite,[12] fair use. Apparently, no mugshot was taken when he was actually arrested over hush money paid to Stormy Daniels.[13]

We still don’t know how Donald Trump is coming up with the money to appeal:[14]

[Donald] Trump’s notice of appeal doesn’t stop New York Attorney General Letitia James from seeking to enforce the judgment and its penalties. Trump is expected to ask a higher court to suspend enforcement of [Arthur] Engoron’s ruling while he pursues his appeal. Without a stay, he will have to post a bond worth upward of around half a billion dollars to prevent James from moving to collect. . . .

It is unclear how Trump would pay the judgment—and the roughly $100,000-a-day in interest that is being added on to it. His net worth has been estimated at around $3 billion, but the amount of liquid assets he has isn’t clear. In a deposition last year, he testified that he had $400 million in cash.[15]

Jonathan O’Connell, Shayna Jacobs, and Josh Dawsey, “Clock is ticking for Trump to post bonds worth half a billion dollars,” Washington Post, February 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/02/26/trump-money-bonds-engoron-carroll/

Jacob Gershman, Corinne Ramey, and James Fanelli, “Trump Appeals $355 Million Civil-Fraud Ruling,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/us-news/donald-trump-appeals-new-york-fraud-lawsuit-ruling-307cd30c

Finances


Fig. 4. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Jonathan O’Connell, Shayna Jacobs, and Josh Dawsey, “Clock is ticking for Trump to post bonds worth half a billion dollars,” Washington Post, February 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/02/26/trump-money-bonds-engoron-carroll/

Jacob Gershman, Corinne Ramey, and James Fanelli, “Trump Appeals $355 Million Civil-Fraud Ruling,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/us-news/donald-trump-appeals-new-york-fraud-lawsuit-ruling-307cd30c

  1. [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  2. [2]Ron Kampeas, “Will the US recognize a State of Palestine? The Biden-Netanyahu gap deepens over plans for Gaza’s future,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 23, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/02/23/politics/will-the-us-recognize-a-state-of-palestine-the-biden-netanyahu-gap-deepens-over-plans-for-gazas-future↩
  3. [3]Ishaan Tharoor, “Netanyahu’s ‘day after’ plan for Gaza is unviable,” Washington Post, February 27, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/02/27/post-war-gaza-plan-netanyahu-israel-day-after-future-abbas/↩
  4. [4]John Hudson and Karen DeYoung, “White House reverses West Bank policy, calling Israeli settlements illegal,” Washington Post, February 23, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/02/23/israel-west-bank-settlements-illegal/↩
  5. [5]Trita Parsi, quoted in Ron Kampeas, “Will the US recognize a State of Palestine? The Biden-Netanyahu gap deepens over plans for Gaza’s future,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 23, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/02/23/politics/will-the-us-recognize-a-state-of-palestine-the-biden-netanyahu-gap-deepens-over-plans-for-gazas-future↩
  6. [6]Ron Kampeas, “Will the US recognize a State of Palestine? The Biden-Netanyahu gap deepens over plans for Gaza’s future,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 23, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/02/23/politics/will-the-us-recognize-a-state-of-palestine-the-biden-netanyahu-gap-deepens-over-plans-for-gazas-future↩
  7. [7]Nina Lakhani, “Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says,” Guardian, February 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/27/un-israel-food-starvation-palestinians-war-crime-genocide↩
  8. [8]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
  9. [9]Leila Abboud and Henry Foy, “Macron says sending western troops to Ukraine cannot be ruled out,” Financial Times, February 27, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/83b8a80d-ab22-47fc-bbbb-6b1fd9df68ba↩
  10. [10]Leila Abboud and Henry Foy, “Macron says sending western troops to Ukraine cannot be ruled out,” Financial Times, February 27, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/83b8a80d-ab22-47fc-bbbb-6b1fd9df68ba↩
  11. [11]Laura Kayali and Claudia Chiappa, “Russia: Conflict with NATO certain if Western troops go to Ukraine,” Politico, February 27, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-conflict-with-nato-inevitable-if-western-troops-go-to-ukraine/↩
  12. [12]Alex Griffing, “Drudge Puts Trump in an Orange Jumpsuit as Site Monitors His Potential Indictment,” Mediaite, August 29, 2022, https://www.mediaite.com/news/drudge-puts-trump-in-an-orange-jumpsuit-as-site-monitors-his-potential-indictment/↩
  13. [13]Sarah D. Wire and Alexandra E. Petri, “Trump charged with 34 felony counts in alleged hush money cover-up case,” Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-04-04/donald-trump-alleged-hush-money-investigation-indictment-arraignment↩
  14. [14]William D. Cohan, “Sussing the Trump Estate Sale,” Puck, February 21, 2024, https://puck.news/sussing-the-trump-estate-sale/; Jacob Gershman, Corinne Ramey, and James Fanelli, “Trump Appeals $355 Million Civil-Fraud Ruling,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/us-news/donald-trump-appeals-new-york-fraud-lawsuit-ruling-307cd30c; Jonathan O’Connell, Shayna Jacobs, and Josh Dawsey, “Clock is ticking for Trump to post bonds worth half a billion dollars,” Washington Post, February 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/02/26/trump-money-bonds-engoron-carroll/; Tori Otten, “It Sure Looks Like Trump Can’t Pay the Bond in His Fraud Trial,” New Republic, February 22, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/179203/trump-pay-fraud-trial-judgment-delay↩
  15. [15]Jacob Gershman, Corinne Ramey, and James Fanelli, “Trump Appeals $355 Million Civil-Fraud Ruling,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/us-news/donald-trump-appeals-new-york-fraud-lawsuit-ruling-307cd30c↩

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