Two more US officials resign over Biden administration’s position on Gaza war
Two more US officials resign over Biden administration’s position on Gaza war
The officials accuse the administration of not telling the truth about Israel’s obstruction of aid to Palestinians in Gaza
Alexander Smith, a contractor for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said he was given a choice between resignation and dismissal after preparing a presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians, which was cancelled at the last minute by USAID leadership last week.
Smith, a senior adviser on gender, maternal health, child health, and nutrition chose to resign on Monday after four years at USAID. In his resignation letter to the head of the agency, Samantha Power, he complained about the inconsistencies in USAID’s approach to different countries and humanitarian crises, and the general treatment of Palestinians.
“I cannot do my job in an environment in which specific people cannot be acknowledged as fully human, or where gender and human rights principles apply to some, but not to others, depending on their race,” he wrote.
“I cannot do my job in an environment in which specific people cannot be acknowledged as fully human, or where gender and human rights principles apply to some, but not to others, depending on their race,” he wrote.
Ugh terrible. Like how do you receive a letter like this and still think "yeah I'm the right one and not a racist POS war mongering profiteer". Theres no shame anymore
71Biden really wants to die on this hill? Wtf fuck Biden who going sit back and let Trump win. I going vote Biden but it will be the last time. After that fuck Democrats.
27Biden is a doddering old man who still has this romanticized vision of Israel from the 1970s as the young scrappy country rather than apartheid rightwing ethnostate that bombs its neighbors that it is now. As senator Biden took more AIPAC lobbying money than any other member, so of course he sucks on this issue. But incredibly he’s ignoring his own advisors who warn him he’s going too far and could lose the election as a result. His political instincts are failing him this time.
1
I'm glad that they chose to put up rather than shut up.
63The US president had threatened to cut off the supply of arms for use in any Rafah offensive, but his administration has not delivered on that threat, arguing that the assault on the city did not amount to a major operation as it did not involve large numbers of troops.
What a relief to know that when we bombed the shit out of Hiroshima and Nagasaki we weren’t involved in major operations. There were only a small number of troops involved, so I guess they were more skirmishes. I’ll sleep better knowing that.
Sigh… I just have to put my head down and avoid most news or my mental health suffers from feeling so helpless and outraged.
62Gentle reminder that USAID is essentially another branch of the CIA.
41I was about to say, if you’re losing people from the coup factory, you’re doing something wrong.
18This. Though I support his stand and the good work that him and people like him do using aid funds despite the organization’s geopolitical bent, the man forgot who he was actually working for.
It has been decided that the status quo will continue despite the mounting costs, your criticism and resistance is meaningless to them.
8
Am I bad at reading or did they get fired for reporting on war crimes?
35If you're given a choice to resign or accept a false statement, it's a threat of firing.
14Yup
5No no. Not fired. 😆 They were told to resign. Totally different right? Lmao America needs a slap to the face.
3All we ever do is get slapped in the face.
Politicians and PAC members need to be fucking slapped continuously for the next century. Instead they'll get wealthier and wealthier as is tradition...
3
Don't they know that Trump would be worse? We all need to support Biden right now to stop Trump. After the election we can start to discuss if Biden facilitating a genocide is bad or not
-14He unambiguously would be worse.
8A bunch of democrats ignoring the genocide would not turn voters away from Republicans, tbh.
2Genocidal fucks like you are gonna be why trump wins. Biden is gonna lose if he keeps supporting blatant genocide, no matter how bloodthirsty you are about it
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It’s astonishing that Biden/the administration has decided that Israel is worth throwing away the post-WW2 global system for.
The US is going to need alliances and partnerships to counter future and current Chinese and Russian revanchist aggression, and Europe has already broken away from the US global leadership because of Gaza. They’ve all reinstated UNRAWA funding, several now formally recognize Palestine, multiple heads of state are openly calling it genocide, and the US sits alone wielding UNSC veto to protect
the unsinkable aircraft carrierIsrael.28Way to call them out on their bullshit. I hope this gets remembered later in history.
I hope he becomes a spokesperson in support of a complete ceasefire and a defender of Palestinian lives.
28TBH it feels like so much happens that it will be difficult to teach it all even if we record it properly. Imagine future lawyers learning about Trumps 3 concurrent criminal trials, two held up by judges in different courts and 1 with 34 unanimous guilty verdicts and trump violating gag orders before sentencing even begins. It's gonna be a wild timeline of events to read through.
The Israel situation is that but instead of months it's Decades of constant events.
1Of course it will be remembered in history.
Who looks better in history books today; the student protestors against Vietnam or the soldiers at Kent State and Nixon? The students protesting Apartheid in South Africa or the South African apartheid government? John McCain blocking LGBT in the military or the soldiers who fought for representation?
Biden will go down very badly in history for this, as will all those who enable the genocide.
1
I don't know if I should be happy or sad. On one hand officials actually taking a stand against injustice, and on the other the only people who actually gives a shit about the good and will of the people are
leavingbeing fired.12Seriously, we are losing maybe okay officials over and over. That just means their positions will be filled by people who don't care about it.
2