By Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who, outside of Bill Clinton, served under every president between Nixon and Donald Trump, once made an interesting point about Joe Biden in his book. He said, “I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”
That’s what everyone should remember when assessing the Biden administration’s foreign policy, from his disastrous leaving of Afghanistan to his current handling of issues in the Middle East.
Two weeks ago, Joe Biden tweeted a picture of some of the American hostages that had been taken by Hamas and freed by Israel. He said, “I will not rest until every hostage, like Abigail, ripped from their families and held by Hamas is back in the arms of their loved ones.
They have my word. Their families have my word.”
Yesterday, as Israel began its final assault on Hamas in the city of Rafah, the remaining hostages being held by the terrorist group learned what Joe Biden’s word means.
Absolutely nothing.
President Biden said Wednesday that he would halt the shipment of U.S. offensive weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if the country moves ahead with a long-planned ground invasion of the city of Rafah — the first time he has threatened to withhold U.S. military aid and the most direct warning he has issued to Israel in the seven-month war.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN, referring to 2,000-pound bombs supplied by the United States. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically … to deal with the cities.”
“It’s just wrong. We’re not going to — we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used,” Biden said. “I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet — they’re not going to get our support, if in fact they go on these population centers.” Bibi is the nickname of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose relationship with Biden has become testier as the Gaza conflict has unfolded.
Biden’s statements were a remarkable shift for the president, who has long had a visceral attachment to Israel and has resisted mounting pressure from prominent Democrats and key parts of his base to impose conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel or suspend it altogether.
Biden knows what he’s doing is wrong. Reporters shared that the president purposely tried to keep this arms boycott of Israel under wraps so that he could celebrate Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday.
“The White House National Security Council sought to keep the decision out of the public eye for several days… until Biden could deliver a long-planned speech on Tuesday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.” https://t.co/Qn9Er7sfbv
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) May 9, 2024
Biden’s move was met with fierce criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Richie Torres, a Democratic House member from New York, laid into the president on social media.
As the leader of the free world, America cannot claim that its commitment to Israel is “iron-clad” and then proceed to withhold aid from Israel.
The mixed messaging makes a mockery of our credibility as an ally. No one will take our word seriously.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) May 8, 2024
In an interview with Axios, the congressman said, “I suspect it’s pandering to the far left,” the staunchly pro-Israel lawmaker told Axios. “It looks like election year politics was driving it. That’s my impression. I’d like the president to do right by Israel and recognize that the far left is not representative of the rest of the country.”
Senator John Fetterman also told the outlet: “I strenuously disagree … We have to stand with our key ally throughout all of this.”
Biden in 2019 attacked Donald Trump for a similar move.
WHIPLASH:
Joe Biden in 2019 on cutting off military aid to Israel: "The idea that we would cut off military aid to an ally… is absolutely preposterous. It's just beyond my comprehension anyone would do that."
Joe Biden yesterday: "I'm not supplying the weapons." pic.twitter.com/3pWm1u8Y5L
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 9, 2024
To really drive home that the White House has changed sides and now hopes Hamas will win, the president also announced that it will be lifting sanctions against countries that have traditionally supplied terrorist regimes with weapons and support.
“Less than a day before the Biden administration announced its intent to cut off U.S. arms sales to Israel, it issued a sanctions waiver to bypass congressional prohibitions on arms sales to a host of Arab nations that boycott the Jewish state, including Hamas ally Qatar and Iran-controlled Lebanon,” the Washington Free Beacon reported.
“On Tuesday—just a day before President Joe Biden threatened to withhold key weapons deliveries from Israel if the country moves forward with an incursion in the Gaza Strip’s Rafah neighborhood—the State Department informed Congress that it intends to bypass laws that bar the United States from selling weapons to nations that boycott Israel, according to a copy of the notification obtained by the Free Beacon.
The Biden administration, which has waived these sanctions in the past, said in the notification that it intends to extend the waiver through April 30, 2025, allowing weapons to be sent to a host of nations that work closely with the Hamas terror group and other Iran-backed terror proxies.”
The request was met with scorn on Capitol Hill. Senator Ted Cruz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the Free Beacon, “The Biden administration’s policy toward Israel and around the world is to punish our allies and boost our enemies. They have sanctioned Israel and imposed an arms embargo. Meanwhile, they’ve spent hundreds of millions pouring aid into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, dismantled sanctions on Iran, and now are suspending congressional restrictions to send weapons to Israel’s enemies such as Qatar and Lebanon.”
Easing sanctions on Qatar especially raises eyebrows. In April, it was revealed that James Biden, the brother of the president, has received huge payments from the country, some of which may have found its way into the president’s pockets.
[Read More: Trump Judges Tries To Sway Jury]
