Vice President Kamala Harris has defended the Biden administration’s continued military aid to Israel amid major Israeli escalations in Lebanon and the relentless onslaught in the Gaza Strip.
“The aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were just meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel,” Harris said in an interview with 60 Minutes.
“And when we think about the threat that Hamas, Hezbollah presents Iran, I think that it is without any question, our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those kinds of attacks,” she added.
Harris made the comments when asked if the US had any sway over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The interviewer noted that Netanyahu had done many things the Biden administration said it opposed, including the escalation in Lebanon. The US hasn’t put any real pressure on Netanyahu to change course since it keeps providing weapons for Israel’s military operations.
Harris claimed that the US would push Israel to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas, but the administration hasn’t publicly criticized Netanyahu for doing everything he could to sabotage the chances of an agreement.
When pressed further about Netanyahu, Harris said, “The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things — including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”
When asked if the US has a “close ally” in Netanyahu, Harris said, “I think, with all due respect, the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people. And the answer to that question is yes.”
Harris has been a staunch supporter of Israel throughout her political career and has vowed that the US would continue providing military aid to Israel if she’s elected in November.
More U.S. treasure for other peoples wars!
Biden passed on the baton of lies to laughing cow.
HOT SPOT & @HotSpotHotSpot
US State Spox Matt Miller says "we never wanted a diplomatic solution with Hamas" and less than a minute later said "we wish Hamas would come to the table"
Video:
https://x.com/HotSpotHotSpot/status/1841122763521626427
Norman Finkelstein called her that. On the mark!
That’s where it came from.
Never thought I could love a man more than I can love Norman Finkelstein.
You can tell he has had it with bullshit and has no punches to pull. Although he was kinder to Chomsky’s change in opinion with lesser evil nonsense. But I’m thinking maybe because Chomsky’s age diminished his reasoning?
Yes. He was careful not to diminish Chomsky’s contributions, which at the time (a decade ago?), were the best we had.
He had a stroke or something recently?
I don’t know.
I didn't know about Chomsky. That's disappointing. Any link?
Link for what?
'Chomsky's change of opinion with lesser evil nonsense.'
Chomsky: Republican Party 'most dangerous organisation on earth'
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-39879374
Democratic party has offered no effective positive response to the decades long drift of the US into totalitarian neoliberal dictatorship.
Yes. I think age has altered Chomsky. He is very old and living in Brazil after a stroke. But his past should not be disregarded.
He’s supported slavery (“conscription”) and victim disarmament (“gun control”) for decades, all while pretending to be an anarchist.
I have never read this conscription part. Do you have a link, please?
The Wayback Machine is down so I can’t grab an archive of the original statement as made at Democracy Now:
https://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/15/1448219
Here’s the quote you’ll find if you plug that URL into the Wayback Machine when it’s back up (you can find the quote reproduced in multiple places using Google):
“I was very much involved in the resistance movement in the 1960’s. In fact, I was just barely — the only reason I missed a long jail sentence is because the Tet Offensive came along and the trials were called off. So I was very much involved in the resistance, but I was never against the draft. … if there’s going to be an army, I think it ought to be a citizen’s army. … [Mercenaries are] the standard way to run imperial wars. They’re just too brutal and violent and murderous. Civilians are not going to be able to do it for very long. … And that’s why I think that they’re not going to have a draft. That’s why I’m in favor of it.”
I think it was more rhetorical than deep conviction. Being against wars, obviously there should be no volunteer or conscripted army for same.
It was the standard elaboration of a position you’ll find some on espousing in this very forum — that a draft would somehow magically reduce the incidence of war.
In a way it’s true. FWIW, I do not support the draft at all. But in the US, as we see, most people go on with their lives and don’t care about deaths. And the US govt largely keeps quiet on deaths happening across the global bases. When it reaches into a large section of populations’ families, then they care to stop it.
I think that was what he was trying to say.
I have never read this conscription part. Do you have a link, please?
From his website
I did not know that. I don't really follow the guy.
https://apnews.com/article/noam-chomsky-hospitalized-stroke-recovery-brazil-4fb6782abf6a7b6d0bbb30cefa05cede
This?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0iF9qUGvU3E
What alliance?
Btw, she just lost the election.
Not so quick, Cali. Money determines the election, hook or crook. And the American public is suspended in a trance-like state.
It was my frustration talking 🙁 … but these modern elections have everything to do with turning out your base and this Israel issue is going to kill a portion of the Dem base, I think. I feel much more energy on the R side, God help us all.
I think no matter who wins, we lose.
The Democrats tend to be the more effective evil because all is excused, rationalized, covered up by media and the security state. No one fights it, at least not in giant numbers.
The narrative is that behind every horrible act, there are good intentions.
What alliance?
Btw, she just lost the election.
That we have to take The Cackler seriously says all that needs saying about where we are…and where we might shortly be.
If she thought otherwise. her husband, Doug Emhoff would give a whistle to his AIPAC brethren and her political career would be over. Would also be divorced.
Kamala & Doug planted a pomegranate tree in their yard in honor of israel. He gave the dedication speech, but I couldn't finish listening to it.
You hit the "jack pot". Both an antisemitic comment and a sexist comment all rolled up in one.
You use that word, “antisemitic.” I do not think it means what you think it means. AIPAC is not representative of semites.
By “antisemitic” and “racist” do you mean “spot on”?
Does anyone care what Harris thinks or says? She's as much a crash test dummy as Biden is. We know what this administration wants: war with Iran. So who cares whether Harris makes another campaign speech or news interview reiterating the same old crap?
It would be smarter to cover the story about the alleged Iranian underground nuclear test. That story, although complete bullshit, was obviously planted by the Deep State as justification for the upcoming US/Israeli strike on Iran.
Antiwar.com needs to catch up and stop just following election babble. No one cares.
Yes, but it does signify their utter contempt for their public, and provides an insight into the types that are in control of all our fates.
The nuclear testing remains “alleged”.
Cowards
How many "American people are in alliance with Israeli people?"
Vote yes or no right here right now. Practice using an online constituent assembly.
I vote no. How do you vote?
No.
Ditto that for me.
The American people are not even necessarily in alliance with US empire.
no. not our fight and not our problem. we are broke.
I will not vote for war criminals, Israeli proxies. No, no way.
Fuck no. 47% supported those barbarians who shoved electrified steel rods up prisoner's asses.
No.
No is the answer.
Suporting Israel is nothing but maintaining US imperilism and hegemeony…!
That is what they get paid for.
She is an advocate for Crimes against Humanity. She says she is a Lawyer, yet BREAKS International Laws, BREAKS Humanitarian Laws, BREAKS the Laws of the United States. Harris is a FRAUD, just like Trump, both serve the Zionist State of Israel and their conduct is proof that STOMPING on our Constitution gives them great pleasure. Vote AGAINST these two War Criminals, who promise to continue the slaughtering of defenseless Humans. These two TRAITORS should never be the POTUS.
The other choices are Green Party and Peace & Freedom Party…!
Anything but the DEM and GOP.
Both know nothing about domestic social politics and really don't care, they know nothing about economics and labor laws or social affects, and absolutely nothing about foreign politics and diplomacy, nothing about the historical contexts about wars, they believe wars fall out of the sky without any historical roots. The stupidity of these people and predecessors is mindboggling.
But they do know where their money comes from.
Real caring and proud patriotic officials they are not, they Care about: I, ME, AND MYSELF AND NOTHING ELSE.
When asked if the US has a “close ally” in Netanyahu, Harris said, “I think, with all due respect, the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people. And the answer to that question is yes.”
Yes? Here's an example of that alliance she's referring to:
A clip from an English-language Israeli podcast showing hosts Naor Meningher and Eytan Weinstein discussing the idea of eradicating all Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza has gone viral online.
In an episode of Two Nice Jewish Boys, which aired three weeks ago, host Weinstein said: “If you gave me a button to just erase Gaza, every single living being in Gaza would no longer be living tomorrow. I would press it in a second.”
He claimed that “most Israelis” would do the same.
Meningher added that they would also want to wipe out Palestinians in “the territories”.
“Because that’s the reality we live in, it’s us or them, and it has to be them,” Weinstein said.
He added that Israelis want “full-scale war”.
“Full-scale war wouldn’t mean that we’re just in Gaza,” he added. “And it also wouldn’t mean what we’re doing in Gaza, because in Gaza, maybe there’s mass destruction but there's not massive death.”
“Forgive us if we don’t give a shit if everybody there dies. It’s just the way we feel. It’s just the way Israelis feel,” Weinstein said.
In a later episode, the two discussed what they deemed to be Israel’s failures in its ongoing war on Gaza, with Weinstein saying that the government should stop “trying to get international acceptance” and “instil sovereignty over and annex the West Bank, Gaza… make it all Israel”.
Weinstein added that Israel’s “50-year plan” should involve conquering Lebanon. He also referred to Hezbollah and its allies as “goat fuckers”.
On the UN-led polio vaccination programme currently underway in Gaza, Meningher said: “It’s unclear to me, why do we give this humanitarian relief when our hostages never saw a Red Cross?”
“The baby that’s born in Gaza is technically innocent, I could give zero fucks, I don’t care if he gets polio,” Weinstein said.
I guess Kamala doesn't have a very high opinion of the American people.
The nations elected officials, the ruling establishment elite, are no more than proxies of the corporate elite which owns the USA and the government. They proxy club of millionaire legislators voted and legalized the laws the lobbyists wrote. They legalized corruption. They reward the proxy officials for serving them well after the elections.