IN MARCH, AS Israel threatened to invade Rafah in southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had been sheltering, President Joe Biden acknowledged that if Israel invaded the city, it would be crossing “a red line.”

It was Biden’s first public acknowledgement that any “red line,” limits, or conditions existed for U.S. support for Israel. In May, Biden followed up by halting the transfer of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs to Israel in an effort to limit civilian casualties in Rafah.

In July, however, the U.S. resumed shipments of 500-pound bombs. The following month, the Biden administration approved a $20 billion weapons sales deal to Israel for the coming years, which is currently being held up in Congress due to a resolution from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. In September, the Biden administration approved a separate $8.7 billion arms package.

  • Linktank@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    2 months ago

    It’s becoming more and more obvious that the peolpe “in charge” are being held hostage by the weapons manufacturers.

    • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      I wish they’d at least be honest about it and discuss exactly how that benefits the nation. There’s gotta be some reason. I can’t imagine it’s simply because most politicians invest in those companies, but idk maybe

        • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          2 months ago

          I was referring to the general support for the military industrial complex. Maybe the answer’s obvious but it feels like mainstream media has never noticed/accepted/publicized its effect on politicians and legislation in general