The NYT writes:
Forty House Democrats including Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, sent a letter on Friday to Mr. Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken expressing displeasure with their approach to Israel. The group called on the Biden administration to deny Israel weapons pending an independent investigation into how Israel's airstrikes killing 7 humanitarian aid workers last week happened, and tie any new aid to conditions “to ensure it is used in compliance with U.S. and international law.”
The letter reads, in part:
"Given the horrifying facts on the ground, we are also greatly concerned by your recent decision to authorize an arms transfer to Israel, which reportedly includes 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs, and 25 F-35A fighter jets.6 The MK-84 2000-pound bombs have been linked to multiple mass casualty events in Gaza and are capable of killing or wounding people more than 1,000 feet away. We are also concerned by recent reports that the administration is considering authorizing another $18 billion arms transfer to include dozens of F-15 aircraft.7
In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers. We again strongly urge you to withhold any offensive weapons transfers until the investigation into the airstrike is concluded and, if it is found this strike violated U.S. or international law, those responsible are held accountable. And we again urge you to ensure that any future military assistance to Israel, including already authorized transfers, is subject to conditions to ensure it is used in compliance with U.S. and international law."
It is important that the letter specifies that suspending and conditioning military assistance must include "already authorized transfers." As discussed below, and in a long NYT article published today, the funding of this war has been anything but transparent. Much of the military assistance has not been approved by the current Congress, but rather has been sent under a $38 billion aid agreement from the Obama-era. The reps in the letter are referring to that and other "pre-approved" spending, such as that discussed in this WaPo article on Biden's "quiet transfers" of money and weapons to Israel approved long ago in 2008. He "quietly transferred" those weapons and money 2 weeks ago without notifying lawmakers in Congress, even as tensions about funding the war were already beginning to mount.
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The humanitarian workers killed by Israel were Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. The leaders and citizens of those countries have expressed outrage, causing what appears to be a reappraisal of Biden's policy of unconditional aid in the US.
Several top Senators-- including staunch Biden ally and friend, Chris Coons, are no calling on Biden to condition aid to Israel. Sarah Sidner on CNN asked Coons if it was time to stop relying only on "carrots" and start using "sticks" to leverage any further aid to Israel. Coons replied:
"I think we're at that point...If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to were to order the IDF into Rafa at scale, if they were to drop thousand pound bombs and send in a battalion to go after Hamas make no provision for civilians and humanitarian aid, then I would vote to condition aid to Israel. I've never been here before. I've been a strong supporter of Israel the whole time I've served in congress...[B]ut the tactics by which the current PM is making decisions don't reflect the best interests of Israel or the United States." (CNN News Central with Sarah Sidner, April 4, 2024)
Biden called Netanyahu on Thursday. He stopped short of conditioning military aid. However, he issued a stark warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that future U.S. support for Israel's Gaza war depends on the swift implementation of new steps to protect civilians and aid workers. Though this is still only talk and not a policy change, Netanyahu-- after the call-- announced that Israel would open Gaza aid routes, including the Erez crossing. Israel depends on the US desperately right now, not vice versa. If tougher talk from Biden led to a promise like that, imagine what real diplomacy (using leverage as we do with other countries) might achieve. We've seen the carrots AND sticks approach work to achieve US ends in Israel under Reagan (the bombing of Lebanon in 1982 was stopped) and Bush I (who was able to pressure Israel using leverage in 90s). At the time, a younger Biden raised his voice objecting vehemently to Bush's approach at an AIPAC dinner. But Bush 1 laid the groundwork for what would become Oslo Accords, while Biden's approach of "never disagreeing with Israel publicly" has only led to the current impasse. He should revise his playbook if he wants the results he now says he wants, namely, an end to what he calls the "over the top" and "indiscriminate" killing of civilians, and immediate help for thousands and thousands of starving Gazans.
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Meanwhile, as the tone of many Democrats in office has changed after Israel killed American and European aid workers, so has that of mainstream media here. So, I'll end this update by linking to a NY Times piece which describes in some detail just how non-transparent the funding of this war has been to date. The NYT explains processes by which President Biden sends arms to Israel under an Obama-era $38 billion aid
agreement that runs until 2026. Israel’s purchases include the types of
bombs dropped in Gaza. The following is an excerpt.
The NYT writes:
"The process of arms delivery to Israel is opaque, and the pipeline for weapons to the country is long. The United States has sent tens of thousands of weapons to the country since the Oct. 7 killings by Hamas attackers, but many were approved by Congress and the State Department long ago and funded with money mandated by the Obama-era agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding.
“At any given time, delivery on these sales is constantly taking place,” said Dana Stroul, who recently departed as the Pentagon’s top official for Middle East affairs.
"Mr. Biden has
the power to limit any foreign arms deliveries, even ones previously
approved by Congress. Far from cutting off Israel, however, he is
pushing a request he made shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks for $14
billion in additional arms aid to the country and U.S. military
operations in the Middle East. The money has been stalled in Congress
amid disputes over Ukraine aid and U.S. border security and faces growing Democratic concern. "
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