Biden, the Arms Supplier
No more! Earlier this week, some 3,500 bombs that were meant to be delivered to Israel did not actually make it there. President Joe Biden, long a major arms supplier to Israel, decided that the best way to make his opposition to the Rafah invasion known would be to temporarily stem the flow of weapons.
Biden also “said on Wednesday that he would also block the delivery of artillery shells that could be fired into the urban neighborhoods of Rafah,” per The New York Times. Note that the Biden administration is not pausing all arms shipments, but rather trying to exert specific pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rethink the Rafah offensive.
“Israel…took control of the Gaza side of a key border crossing to Egypt on Tuesday, securing a strategic corridor as negotiators met in Cairo for talks on a truce and hostage releases,” reported The Wall Street Journal. “The seizure of the crossing closed a critical gateway for humanitarian assistance for Palestinians, prompting the U.S. to renew calls to reopen the gate.”
Bear in mind, also, that the Rafah invasion was not merely to attempt to starve the remaining Gazans in the region through blocking humanitarian aid; an estimated 5,000–8,000 Hamas fighters are believed to be hiding in that city in southern Gaza. The Israeli offensive, which has been smaller in scope than originally thought, aims to stamp them out. It remains to be seen whether the Biden administration exerting pressure in this way will affect Israeli military actions—or how the Rafah offensive is perceived on a national stage.
Many Republicans in Congress reacted unfavorably to this unilateral action by the Biden administration. “It wasn’t the Israelis that started this conflict. And I’m just very concerned that we do not try to micromanage Israel’s right to defend itself against the terrorist group backed by Iran,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R–Maine) at an Appropriations subcommittee hearing yesterday.
Of course, the Biden administration is really just interested in using leverage. Once a humanitarian plan for getting refugees safely out of Rafah is communicated by Israel, the White House says the weapons shipments will likely resume.
Climate Guy Gavin: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who continues to very convincingly swear that he’s not running for president, seems to be eyeing the climate-concerned demographic of voters.
All the way back in 2020, when the grid faced blackouts and the state was roiled by wildfires, Newsom pinned blame on climate change, and majorly misrepresented his prioritization of wildfire management strategies like controlled burns.
During a visit to China last year, Newsom made headlines over a glitzy new partnership between California and Shanghai, which Newsom’s press office said are “teaming up to fight the climate crisis by cleaning up ports and reducing emissions from the transportation sector.” (Whether this has any real effect on emissions coming out of Shanghai seems beside the point.) During an audience with Pope Francis scheduled for next week, Newsom is expected to emphasize how “global temperatures [are] hurtling towards alarming
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