On the political front, I have no doubt that Joe Biden and his team are by far the better choice against convicted felon Donald Trump and the authoritarian clown-car of people he will bring into a Project 2025 Administration.
But now that the whole world has seen Biden’s confused performance last Thursday, along with other worries that he’s too old for the job of President, that means we also need to look at his policy decisions, particularly in the Ukraine and Gaza wars. For instance, the “floating pier” for Gaza humanitarian aid looks like it was a foolish boondoggle from the start, something that whoever was making that decision should have seen and called off long ago. Cenk Uygur mentions the obvious alternative in the report above, i.e., require our ally Israel to allow the US and/or humanitarian agencies to deliver aid across the land border.
In fact, the pier has hardly been effective at all in providing aid to Gazans starving during to Israel’s hunger blockade.
In the two months since the ships that comprise the modular pier arrived off Gaza's coast, following a journey across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, the pier has been in operation for a total of 28 days – less than half the possible time. It has been moved three times due to sea conditions and, in one case, needed to be towed to Ashdod Port for repairs. ...
The massive compound built by the IDF allows for the supplies to be brought to shore and then stacked in the three storage areas, just south of Gaza City. This takes place during daylight, while the distribution is usually scheduled for nighttime through the eastern section of the landing area, further away from the shore and connected to the Saladin road leading from Gaza City to the southern part of the Strip.
This is supposed to be the main distribution hub for supplies arriving over the floating pier and, for the first days in which it was in operation, it worked well. However, in the last two weeks of operations, the international organizations that were supposed to be distributing the supplies – mainly the World Food Program – stopped sending trucks.
As the mountains of pallets grew on the sand, accusations were traded. UN officials blamed Israel for not providing security. Israeli officers claimed that the organizations were being intimidated by Hamas as it did not want to see the joint U.S.-Israeli venture succeed.
As a result, most of the 6,500 tons of supplies brought over the pier – over 7,000 pallets – are still waiting on the shore, instead of reaching Gazan citizens. [my emphasis] (2)
The Canadian CBC reported two days ago on the apparently impending war in Lebanon - which at a lower level is already under way: (3)
As important as the electoral politics are, we actually need to worry about whether important decision-making is functioning as it should. And, seriously, “as it should” means that somebody with the necessary qualifications should be fully involved in the substantive decisions that have brought us – and “us” includes the US military - to what may be a major military conflagration in the Near East.
I also watched a brand new report from PBS Newshour on the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border. (4) It is indistinguishable from an Israeli propaganda video. That does not mean that it’s false; the best propaganda is careful about using facts, selectively, of course. But much of the video is narrated by uniformed Israeli Defense Forces personnel armed with talking points aimed at a US audience. One of them uses an analogy that Hezbollah firing at Israeli targets to someone in Tijuana, Mexico, firing missiles at San Diego.
I know that the IDF is supposed to be The Most Moral Army In The World. But, seriously? Shouldn’t the fact of their spectacular dishonesty and criminal conduct over the last nine months make a responsible news organization cautious about recording a propaganda video for them?
The latest reporting on the situation on the Lebanese border sounds bad. At times like this, it’s particularly important to have a President that (1) actually knows something about foreign policy; (2) is focused and able process information clearly; (3) is capable of assessing risks and opportunities in difficult crisis situations: and, (4) can make competent decisions in complicated risk situations.
I’m very confident that none of those four are the case with convicted felon Donald Trump. In Biden’s case at this point, I’m confident that the first consideration applies.
With the Ukraine and Gaza wars in process and a new Lebanon war that could very well draw in Iran, there is not as much media bandwidth on the fact that the Biden Administration is working actively on an agreement with Saudi Arabia that would greatly increase their capability to develop nuclear weapons. (4)
That alone should be worthy of a 30-minute interview with Joe Biden by a major media outlet. Because, “The real problem is the nuclear bit, which raises the curtain on a Saudi bomb and a future nuclear food fight in the Middle East.” (5) Yeah, a multi-sided race among Middle Eastern countries to acquire nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong?
Seriously, can he address the risks and alleged benefits of such a deal coherently for half an hour? The fact that it goes without saying that Trump could not answer the question in any substantive way does not make the quest of whether Biden could any less important.
Also, it’s not only rightwing Supreme Court Justice that are willing to accept money under dubious circumstances from dubious sources like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E.g.: “Jared Kushner defends controversial $2bn Saudi investment.” (6)
By the way, have we yet tracked down what exactly the Saudi Arabian role in the 9/11 attacks was? Just asking.
Also, the billionaire-owned John Roberts Supreme Court just ruled that the President can illegally share nuclear secrets with foreign governments. So long as it’s part of an “official” act. It’s pretty much the Richard Nixon rule: “when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal."
Notes:
(1) The U.S. Gov't Just Gave Israel Approval To Expand War In The Middle East. The Young Turks YouTube channel 07/02/2024. <https://youtu.be/AGHI97iZZbs?si=NQfWfMkkQkL8WeKb> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
(2) Pfeffer, Anshal (2024): Was Biden's Floating Aid Delivery Pier Off the Gaza Coast Always Dead in the Water? Haaretz 07/01/2024. <https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-07-01/ty-article/.premium/was-bidens-floating-aid-delivery-pier-off-the-gaza-coast-always-dead-in-the-water/00000190-6e48-d4b8-a7b9-fec9b4f30000> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
(3) How devastating would war between Israel and Hezbollah be for both sides? CBC News YouTube channel 06/30/2024. <https://youtu.be/nl1wPiXe8EI?si=D2pxXHwsoWHjsZD4> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
(4) Hezbollah strikes on northern Israel raise fears that full-fledged war could be next. PBS Newshour YouTube channel 07/02/2024. <https://youtu.be/nl1wPiXe8EI?si=jPIZkQrYm8WdAc9H> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
(5) Will Biden’s Saudi Security Pact Spark a Nuclear Arms Race? Quincy Institute YouTube channel 07/01/2024. <https://www.youtube.com/live/eWKTS2olIOQ?si=K0rxwDEFf7RvUKTs> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
Spetalnick, Matt and Shalal, Andrea (2024): US-Saudi defense deal with civil nuclear component nears completion, official says. Reuters 05/22/2024. <https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-saudi-defense-deal-with-civil-nuclear-component-nears-completion-official-2024-05-21/> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
Sokolski, Henry & Squassoni, Sharon (2024): The coming US-Saudi nuclear deal: Keep it honest. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 01/05/2024. <https://thebulletin.org/2024/01/the-coming-us-saudi-nuclear-deal-keep-it-honest/> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
Debusmann, Jr., Bernd (2024): Jared Kushner defends controversial $2bn Saudi investment. BBC News 02/14/2024. <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68296877> (Accessed: 2024-02-07).
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