330 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 4 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H1'ed 11/2/24

How Joe Biden Could Save Lives And Change American Politics On His Way Out The Door

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments

Thomas Knapp
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Thomas Knapp

Fars Photo of Casualties in Gaza Strip during 2023 War 05.
Fars Photo of Casualties in Gaza Strip during 2023 War 05.
(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Saleh Najm and Anas Sharif)
  Details   Source   DMCA

Wait, what? We're talking about Joe Biden? Why? He's a "lame duck." No matter who wins the US presidential election on November 5, he's going home to Delaware on January 20. His chances of asking for, and getting, much from Congress during that two-and-a-half month interregnum are negligible.

But as head of the US government's executive branch, what he can do is follow the laws, no matter how loudly Congress howls, absent Supreme Court intervention in support of criminal behavior.

He won't do it now for fear of harming Kamala Harris's chances versus Donald Trump, but once the votes are in he's free to follow his conscience ... if he still has one after decades in politics, where a conscience is a liability.

The laws I'm speaking of are Section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d), which applies to the Secretary of State, and its Department of Defense analog, 10 U.S.C. 362, informally known as the "Leahy Laws."

Those laws, according to the US State Department Fact Sheet on them, prohibit "the U.S. Government from using funds for assistance to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights."

Evidence that Israeli units have committed, and continue to commit, gross violations of human rights in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon isn't just credible, it's overwhelming.

Israeli forces have killed at least tens of thousands, and more likely in the 200,000 range, in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Lebanon, since last October. Most of the dead are non-combatants, many of them children.

Israeli forces have been caught red-handed in numerous atrocities, from bombing hospitals and refugee camps to anally raping male prisoners with metal rods. Israeli politicians openly defend and encourage even that last one.

There's no doubt whatsoever that Israeli forces are committing gross violations of human rights ... and it is therefore illegal for the US government to provide one thin dime of military aid or assistance to those forces. Period.

Why hasn't Biden already ordered the Secretaries of State and Defense to stop writing checks and shipping weapons to Israel?

Because Israel has a powerful political lobby in the US. Anything less than complete and unquestioning obedience to Benjamin Netanyahu's every demand is a "third rail" ... for politicians who face re-election.

Biden doesn't face re-election.

And these days, the Israel lobby's support goes mostly to Republicans. Its main intervention on behalf of Democrats is meddling in primaries to ensure "pro-Israel" Democrats get nominated in "safe" Democratic seats.

At some point, there's going to have to be one of those "national conversations" over whether it's really in the interests of the United States to unstintingly support a violent, atrocity-prone, ethno-supremacist regime.

That conversation is unlikely to go Israel's way. But it has to be started by a figure of national stature who needn't worry about re-election.

If Biden does possess a conscience, or even just desires a big "legacy" accomplishment, he'll cut the Israeli regime off come November 6.

Rate It | View Ratings

Thomas Knapp Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.


Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

The Big Question About the UN Security Council's Gaza Ceasefire Resolution

2020: I'm So Sick of Superlatives

America Doesn't Have Presidential Debates, But It Should

Hypocrisy Alert: Republicans Agreed with Ocasio-Cortez Until About One Minute Ago

Chickenhawk Donald: A Complete and Total Disgrace

The Nunes Memo Only Partially "Vindicates" Trump, But it Fully Indicts the FBI and the FISA Court

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend