As Israel escalates its attacks on Gaza, the State Department is discouraging diplomats working on Middle East issues from making public statements suggesting the U.S. wants to see less violence, according to internal emails viewed by HuffPost.
In messages circulated on Friday, State Department staff wrote that high-level officials do not want press materials to include three specific phrases: “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.”
The revelation provides a stunning signal about the Biden administration’s reluctance to push for Israeli restraint as the close U.S. partner expands the offensive it launched after Hamas ― which rules Gaza ― attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7.
Solid take, hadn’t thought of that. Talk of “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm”, is utterly useless, for the reasons you outlined.
Talking like that is a lose/lose proposition. What’s to gain? Might as well STFU, do your best, see how it goes.
It’s lose/lose unless you consider the humanitarian outcome to have value. Which is kind of the main thing, isn’t it?
Israel is emboldened by U.S. support. Materially, ideologically. I forget the figure for annual U.S. military aid to Israel but if I recall it’s 20-30 billion. The U.S. government has probably the single greatest influence on Israel, so frankly they bear great responsibility for the outcome here.
Frankly, this memo is disgusting. And it would have been virtually unchanged in a GOP administration, save that we wouldn’t even have the single word Biden said in defense of Palestinians. It’s just a glimpse into the bizarre preoccupation the U.S. government has in remaining complicit in perpetuating this conflict, in favor of the Israeli side.
The funding certainly matters (even though it mostly goes back to US corporations), but this isn’t talking about the funding.
This is talking about saying useless words and watering down the influence of the US. It’s nice to say “deescalation” and “end of bloodshed”, but unless those words are likely to happen, it’s worse than nothing. It means when and if there IS ever a chance for peace, we’ll have spent years calling wolf.
This is simply “don’t say useless platitudes”.
I don’t think so, they’d be free to use them if they aligned with their goals.