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Galraedia

(5,031 posts)
Thu May 9, 2024, 06:27 PM May 9

Republicans Want to Give Netanyahu a Blank Check

During the 2012 presidential contest, one of Mitt Romney’s signature messages was that Barack Obama had allowed “daylight” to appear between the U.S. and Israel. Then as now, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was doing everything possible to undermine a two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. It was a pretty remarkable position for the leader of the allegedly superpatriotic party of “American exceptionalism,” as I noted at the time:

Mitt Romney is running for president on a platform of indistinguishable and conjoined exceptionalism for the U.S. and Israel. And because Israel faces a vastly greater military threat, this means America would abandon its own independence of action and consign its fate to Bibi Netanyahu, a man whose views on peace and security are highly controversial in Israel itself.


Well, some things never change. As President Biden made it clear on Wednesday that he was ready to act on his warnings to withhold U.S. weapons if Israel uses them to destroy Rafah, the last city left in Gaza, now-Senator Mitt Romney again stood behind Netanyahu unconditionally:




He’s hardly alone. Reports earlier this week that the Biden administration was “pausing” delivery of offensive weapons to Israel as that country’s government seemed to greenlight a deadly Rafah ground offensive sent leading congressional Republicans into a frenzy, as Politico reported:

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) all voiced frustration with the move and said the administration must explain itself.


McConnell, in a floor speech Wednesday, jeered the administration’s professed ironclad commitment as bending “under the heat of domestic political pressure from his party’s anti-Israel base and the campus Communists who decided to wrap themselves in the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah.”


Read more: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/republicans-want-to-give-netanyahu-a-blank-check.html

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brewens

(13,706 posts)
1. I'm not sure why we would be giving away money to Israel in the first place. Are they not a rich country? They have
Thu May 9, 2024, 06:41 PM
May 9

better wages and benefits than we do. Let them pay their own way.

Lonestarblue

(10,239 posts)
2. Netanyahu is a war criminal and a man leading his country to commit genocide.
Thu May 9, 2024, 06:43 PM
May 9

The US should not be a partner for a blatantly corrupt leader who stands for everything we supposedly do not.

LeftInTX

(25,903 posts)
6. We just approved a huge military aid package for Israel. The aid also applied to Ukraine. Israel aid is "on hold"
Thu May 9, 2024, 07:05 PM
May 9

I agree with Biden, but the GOP is claiming "bait and switch".

There will be more opportunity for us to appropriate this funding to Israel later. Israel has enough funds. BIden is concerned about civilian deaths if he releases those 2,000 lb bombs. Israel has been like kid in a candy store with our bombs.

LiberaBlueDem

(954 posts)
7. Why is Biden finally stopping arms
Thu May 9, 2024, 09:38 PM
May 9

There is a law against sending weapons to other countries to be used for killing civilians.

Today is the day that Biden is supposed to tell congress if it thinks Israel will use the weapons for killing civilians. Everyone knows what the weapons will be used for and to send weapons would be breaking the law.

Biden is no lawbreaker, unlike the Banana Republicans who are lawbreakers.

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