The $14 billion in additional military aid for Israel that President Biden is seeking was designed not just for operations in Gaza but also to prepare Israel for a “multi-front war,” The Times of Israel has reported.
A senior Biden administration official told The Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the $14 billion is “for Israel to defend itself in a multi-front war and to be sure it can deter a multi-front war.”
Israel has been escalating airstrikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah, though many strikes have killed civilians. The fire across the border risks a full-blown war, and there are no signs tensions will ease anytime soon. Israeli officials have been threatening to invade if Hezbollah doesn’t move back from the Israel-Lebanon border.
US officials have acknowledged to The Washington Post that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might view war in Lebanon as key to his political survival, as polling has shown Israelis want him to step down after the current conflict.
Israel also appears to be attempting to provoke Iran as several members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Syria since October 7. According to The New York Times, Israel was also behind a covert attack on two natural gas pipelines inside Iran.
The $14 billion is packed into the $95 billion foreign military aid bill that passed through the Senate but has yet to be brought to the House floor for a vote as Republicans are still looking for a border deal. The legislation also includes about $60 billion for Ukraine, and $4.8 billion for Taiwan and other spending in the Asia Pacific.
The $14 billion for Israel is on top of the $3.8 billion the country receives from the US each year. According to The Times of Israel, It includes $5.2 billion to go toward Israeli missile defense, which is seen as a critical necessity for a war with Hezbollah.
Another $3.5 billion will replenish munitions Israel has used in Gaza. The US will use $4 billion US to refill its own stockpiles, including a contingency stockpile located in Israel that the Israeli military has been allowed to use for its operations in Gaza.
Since October 7, the US has been shipping bombs and other types of weapons on a near-daily basis. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, the US has shipped over 25,000 tons of military equipment to support the Israeli slaughter in Gaza, which has killed over 29,000 Palestinians.
BBC program with Edward Said from the 1980s
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ghfqZgugpdo&pp=ygUPZWR3YXJkIHNhaWQgYmJj
When I see him and listen to him, his courage makes my knees shake.
There is no denying that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians lost their homes-were evicted-as a result of the Israeli war for Independence.There is no denying that hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the Islamic world were evicted as a result of the establishment of the state of Israel.Israeli eviction of west Bank Arabs is totally wrong,as is Iran’s current leader’s plans to destroy Israel.So give us your solution.
My solution ?
Follow international law as per UNR 181, UNR 194, ICJ advisory opinion 2004, and UNSC 2334…..
Pay up
In other words,submit to national defenselessness,dissection, and inevitable destruction.The UN never really took meaningful actions against Arab terrorists slaughtering Israeli children,so frok them.
It’s not paranoid when everyone’s out to get you – says the crazy person
Jake, wanted a real solution.
True “Israelis” see America as nothing more than a slave.
WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why not just declare Israel the 51st state and install Netanyahoo in the white House?
Clearly the Gov’t, the entire Power Elite, of the US is loyal to Israel. The US is a colony of Israel. A near perfect parallel to the original Colonial America; and one which calls for another declaration of independence.
The reason why they don’t make Israel the 51st state is that its support would go down … have you seen how the FedGov treats the actual 50 states?
Kind of like they treat actual citizens.
The news insists on calling Israel “the Jewish STATE”…and its only in western media……..
I think they forgot to tell us about that pesky 51st state….but they tell us it’s so subliminally….
I thought we have reached rock bottom, but they know how to dig even deeper.
We are being ruled by IDIOTS, genocide Biden and Netanyahu both are worse than Hitler. They want WWIII.
Rock bottom? They like to think more like the Mariana Trench and ways to sink further not grasping the eventuality of mass pressure crushing them to death.
Help from the USA is a guarantee of defeat. So, go ahead!
I like war, but a “multi-front war” sounds better. Send them more billions!
Hey go for it….money does not equate to manpower….and Muslims often fight for beliefs, not money….a far more powerful motivator!
Israel cannot take on the entire Islamic state (minus Indonesia who’s oddly quiet over this!)United against them….at this point its worth suggesting that the only reason Islam hasn’t rolled on the opportunity is bribes from the US government….of course of which would be very hard to prove on our end, but, it fits the modus operandi.
I say we take the leash off the Muslims and let em have it! From the US perspective, the Arabs can manage the area cheaper than the jews…Israel is too much of a liability when it comes to foreign markets, unreliable….
The clock has started with Israel…..
There is no “entire Islamic state.”
Yet.
Yes, true, but just as the war with Russia has driven China & Russia closer together, Israels genocidal actions in Gaza and their flippant disregard for other than Jewish life will drive the Arabs, Muslims and others whose land they covet or have Stolen like Syrans & Lebanese.
You do realize that roughly 40% of Palestinians are Christians. Most of the Palestian Chrotians were exiled first by Irgun terror, also Roughly 30% of the populations in the Levant are Christian.
40 % ??? Try to document that number. Good luck.
Many are still there. All the Churches have been destroyed, iirc:
https://x.com/AlfredSherwin/status/1760919707241382167?s=20
that figure is way too high for minority confessional groups. but point accepted, there are plenty of ancient christian communities in levant/palestine.
And many are full citizens of the State of Israel.
I grew up evangelical so I have heard all that before, but it has been pretty surprising to see lock-step unity among the christians of the Middle East man, they are harassed by state of Israel too. monastery properties being taken for settlements, etc etc.
Ummmmmmmmm….
It’s a war torn area????? It’s been known for how long????
Why in the actual ****! are there still Christians there??? Move to Europe maybe??? There has been plenty of time to get out of the way…besides, you don’t think with Israel gone that Christians wouldn’t be treated better???? Iran might have something to say about that, considering Christians have good standing in iran….
Loyalties over religion, without taking the actual people into consideration is rather naive…Christian, doesn’t make a country worth saving than any other excuse, especially for one as criminal and blasphemous as Israel….especially when the population that has brain cells on active duty would know that real Israel would have the Christians the Bible promised…..awkward but…that’s Europe, Germany and great Britain specifically….if a lie gets swept away….I recommend getting out of the way!
90+ Pluto Babies would not agree-Masada shall not fall,and Never Gain means just that.
Only ever mentioned once on CNN, what Johnson is actually dragging his feet on is someone telling him what the plan for Ukraine winning the war is. No one ever tells us, because there isn’t one and no one is even willing to ask for the sum of resources that might accomplish that.
Its the typical American “mo” plan. We need mo money, mo manpower and mo time.
US preparing SOMEONE for war. Now there’s a headline we rarely see. /S
I am not responsible for debts contracted in my name by anyone other than myself.
Yes, but we keep saying that as our $ collapses over the decades and thus the debt becomes your debt …
“Israel also appears to be attempting to provoke”
We ought to stop them from provoking trouble, not prepare and help them to do it.
The money will be used to confront Hezbollah and possibly Syria as I said last week. Israel is already defeated in Gaza so no more funds for that operation…!
2 of 2: comment by “ABC” from NYT Goldberg editorial thread
re the ‘undecided’ movement’s ‘failure’ to condemn Hamas:
[T]he article is about the perspective of voters…specifically concerned about the US’s support for what they view as war crimes against civilians with whom many closely identify or to whom they are related. The US does not, and has not ever, supported Hamas (the same cannot be said for Israel), but is the only country (besides some tepid and likely diminishing support from the UK) that finances, arms and diplomatically shields Israel. It is this choice by the Biden administration that infuriates this politically key block of voters. Hamas’ actions, abhorrent as they are, aren’t relevant to their views. That is to say, none of these voters think that factoring in Hamas’ atrocities makes Israel’s campaign against Gaza legally or morally justifiable. Welcome to the feeling that the political left has all the time – that your politics on this don’t matter. The perspective that matters is that of voters in swing states who care enough about something to stay home or vote for another party, and right now that thing is not supporting Israel’s war. If Biden doesn’t figure that out he’ll loose this election. ‘Trump is worse’ doesn’t work when you think the current situation is a genocide and Biden is bankrolling it and sending weapons to enable it. People will take their chances rather than support that.
Wouldn’t it be funny if Israel provoked a war with Iran and the US stepped back and did nothing,
Iran is exceedingly well armed,no one would rationally start a war with them. It is Iran who speaks of destroying Israel, not vice versa.
Iran doesn’t speak any more menacingly towards Israel than Israel does towards Iran. It is Israel that has openly been pushing the US to go to war with Iran since at least 1992. And it is Israel that has done terrorists attacks inside Iran, not vice versa.
Actions speak louder than words. Israel has shown they have no problem bombing other nations, well, because they can. The demographics work against Israel and by their actions they are doing the one thing that up to now has been impossible to do, unite most Arab factions against them. They will be lucky to survive as a nation.
It would be a lot more dangerous than it would beg funny.
The US-Israeli war on Gaza is a disgrace. How dare Biden talk about “saving democracy” either in Ukraine, Israel, or the US (supposedly against Trump) when he is a partner to genocide and crimes against humanity. That’s a crazy kind of democracy. And damn the Democrats who continue to support this monster.
The Hamas atrocity pogrom provoked this war,and a harsh message is being sent.
Of course the hostile occupation, or the IDF shooting & killing Palestinian kidfs had no place in events. Just business as usual.
yesterday I was asked for money on my way in to my local Co-op by two separate pooryoung women; after shopping I was asked for money by a poor young man.
Joe Biden is a damn fool if he thinks this broke ass country wants more elective wars in the Middle East.
Israel provides universal healthcare coverage to Israeli citizens and permanent residents via four independent health management organizations (HMOs) and a network of mandated benefit packages, including hospital, primary, specialty, mental health, and maternity care, as well as prescription drugs and other services.
With USA taxpayer money!!
So,is that good or bad,in your view.
You’re pretending to miss his point.
How much is a dollar really worth these days? Them eleven billion the U.S. is going to send to Israel is not going to do anything (except to be recycled to further bribe the U.S. Congress.) One needs soldiers, and Israel just does not have enough to take on all the people who are pissed off at them. It is going to come down to putting a lot of U.S. boots on the ground with U.S. soldiers in them. I don’t think the greater American public is going to go for having themselves killed for the purpose of defending Israel. It would be a lot easier for our leaders to simply settle for some peace, but unfortunately war is exactly what Genocide Joe and Psycho-killer Nutandyahoo are out to do.
War is the only trick Biden has learned over an entire lifetime.
Well another trick was putting Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.
And trashing Anita Hill. What a guy……………….
She was a stooge for the demoncrats, probably paid to lie.
Sounds like you have some racism in U….yes..
The US is already overextended in the world with its volunteer army. It would have to re-institute the draft. That’s what had allowed it to deploy 600,000 soldiers in Vietnam at its height.
In other news, Smoltrich has said he plans for there to be 3300 new homes in the West Bank. For the settlers.
Lebensraum. Except I doubt this will be a thousand year Reich.
never again.
Its the final stage of the decades long plan to take out seven Muslim countries to allow Israel to expand. The Lebanese and most Syrians will have to move to Europe or the USA.
How many of (what’s left) of those 2 million angry Gazan refugees will end up in the US?
Europe and the US will get most of them, another reason I don’t support Israel. I notice that everytime the US goes out messing around in the 3rd world the only things the US has to show for its efforts is dead people, wasted money and a load of the natives.
I have long wondered if the millions of refugees were an unexpected consequence of US efforts to impose regime change, or an intentional effort to weaken Europe.
I think it nearly certain that the immigration issue was instrumental in gaining voter approval for Brexit, and wonder how long Germany can preserve its cultural heritage.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/new-evidence-emerges-israel-killing-its-own-civilians
New evidence emerges of Israel killing its own civilians
“ Israel’s expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank was inconsistent with international law, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken”
Apparently the ongoing genocide of Palestinians is adhering to International Laws.
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/23/blinken-oppose-new-israeli-settlements
“It includes $5.2 billion to go toward Israeli missile defense, which is seen as a critical necessity for a war with Hezbollah.”
LOL Good luck with that. Israel’s air defense sucks rocks and Hezbollah has more than enough missiles to overwhelm it. An Israeli think tank issued a report that said Hezbollah could fire as many as 2,500-3,000 missiles PER DAY – for weeks. There’s zero chance Israel’s AD can defeat that.
1 of 2 posts
Dear Antiwar Readers,
1/ See Michelle Goldberg’s 2/23 editorial, “Will Gaza Cost Biden Re-election?” on the “Listen to Michigan” campaign, which calls for Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in the upcoming Michigan primary.
For those who don’t know, Goldberg is the NYT’s token left liberal in an editorial stable dominated by right liberals and right wingers.
Though the editorial pulls punches, the fact of its being published – on the heels of an NYT ed by the liberal Ezra Klein calling for Biden not to run again – is an important index of how both mainstream media and the Democratic Party are being forced to face that genocide Joe’s antidemocratic ‘Israel policy’ may lose him the election…that, where it’s a question of genocide, the standard Democratic Party ‘lesser of two evil’ tactic will fail to force the Democratic electorate into line…so that it really is a question of the burden being on the White House to change policy or lose.
2/ Significantly, the reader ‘comment’ thread mainly supports a ceasefire and warns that this will be a ‘defining issue.’
3/ Note I am posting – in a 2nd post – a particularly good NYT comment that says a lot of things antiwar folks here have been saying.
Correction: I was wrong about NYT Biden/Gaza/election editorial comment calls for ceasefire
I wrote:
“Significantly, the reader ‘comment’ thread mainly supports a ceasefire and warns that this will be a ‘defining issue.'”
Looked that way – I didn’t look closely enough…didn’t do a detailed ‘like’ count,’ but now looks like…somewhat more ‘likes’ for US assisted genocide apologists and defenders.
I am 100% opposed to every single one of Biden’s foreign policy decisions and will advocate to as many people I can reach for a total defeat for Biden and anyone who sides with him on his foreign policy nightmares in the coming election cycle.
I don’t care one single iota if we get Joe the Plumber in his place. I want him and any democrat who backs his nightmares gone in 2024.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr is not making any “foreign policy decisions”. He is being briefed on what foreign policy decisions are being made.
They do tell him where to sign, or not?
“X”
Understood, but I would feel a bit compensated if he is retired by the electorate.
Yep, he barely knows what country he’s in when he wakes up in the morning. Too old and senile to be charged with a crime but ok to run a country. If only Rod Serling were alive today.
Imagine him in the middle of the night answering the call of an enlarged prostate. Stumbling around in his GI Joe PJ’s with one of those stocking hats on. I’d be willing to bet someone is assigned to bathroom patrol to make sure the commander in chief can find his way to the bathroom and then back to bed.
Funny and probably true.
Yep, he barely knows what country he’s in when he wakes up in the morning. Too old and senile to be charged with a crime but ok to run a country. If only Rod Serling were alive today.
But if he was still senile, he’d be in lockstep with those decisions.
There is no one with honor in the whole Biden administration that I can think of.
Who in politics has both honor and wisdom? Tulsi is gone.
Neither Tulsi’s presence nor Tulsi’s absence did much to affect that equation.
I hear you and agree with you. But we’ll be saying the same thing within months (probably days) of Trumps second term.
Why do we keep appeasing Israel. As the mongers always point out, appeasement is always bad, as evidenced by their favorite year – 1938.
to avoid WW III.
Well, you only need to see who controls the money in D.C. AIPAC is one of the major players, and there are others tied to Israel.
Remember the USS Liberty!!!!!
Yes, (1) a good lesson in the fog of war and (2) a wonderful lesson on how the “tin foil hat” folks can invent conspiracies that make no sense.
NO “fog of war” but a blatant and cold blooded attack on a USA navy ship by our great “friend” Israel. The evidence is overwhelming.
For sure and for certain Israel meant to massacre all Americans on that ship on that day. 100%. f### I#####.
To a large extent behaviors of America is following the footsteps of imperial British behaviors until it was forced to hightail . America has been forced to choose same path but it cant acknowledge that to itself.It is painful and repugnant to the essence of the cocnept of the self preservation..It is eating slwoly its body parts and it is anouncing all those pains as price for freedom with head held high .
Just other day Jon Stewart echoed those sentiments by suggesting that between clean toilet of Russia and dirty nonfunctioning or absent one from the west lies FREEDOM .
The word “prepare”,means to ready oneself.No more,and no less.
“US Aid Package for Israel Crafted to Prepare for ‘Multi-Front War,’ Not Just Gaza”. Where do you get “oneself” in that header. Isn’t it more likely to prepare Israel for a mulifront war than “us”.. ???
Ukraine is already a disaster in many ways, but the fun is just getting started, you’ll see ‘ecological damage’ the world over if this continues to escalate, and unfortunately, it will. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-warns-of-disaster-amid-oil-slick-in-red-sea-from-ship-hit-by-houthis/ar-BB1iOmKZ?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=ee4e8106353a49fa982735141752c70c&ei=19
WITH WHOM….??????