A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To Jerusalem: Gaza/Israel conflict

[myboynoah]

Gut Israel's leverage right in the middle of the most critical negotiation in the conflict. Not to mention the damage this will do to his campaign. What an idiot.

Yeah, I just don't get it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yeah, I just don't get it.

He has handled things pretty well up to now. Go figure.

[Uncle Ted]

Gut Israel's leverage right in the middle of the most critical negotiation in the conflict. Not to mention the damage this will do to his campaign. What an idiot.

I blame the worm that ate his entire brain.

[Omaha 680]

He has handled things pretty well up to now. Go figure.

He has been solid. But he has let things like this slip before. Not this egregious, but he shouldn't even be making any statements about pressuring Israel to not go into Rafah at all. All Hamas cares about at this point is surviving as an organization and they have known from the beginning they would lose the ground war but plan on winning the propaganda war. Statements like this give them more confidence they can convince the west to take away Israel's hammer in these negotiations. There have been several cease fire offers rejected by Hamas. They only do this because they count on western leaders like Biden buckling in the end. The west is getting played.

Biden is clearly terrified of his left flank in this election year. It really makes no sense given the general opinion of Americans on the war, but there's no other reason to talk like this. Maybe his advisors have convinced him he needs to do this to win Michigan.

[USUC]

Biden is clearly terrified of his left flank in this election year. It really makes no sense given the general opinion of Americans on the war, but there's no other reason to talk like this. Maybe his advisors have convinced him he needs to do this to win Michigan.

I don't think you can rule out that his administration is staffed by enough people that believe in the settler/colonialism framing of everything and it is driving this more than some electoral strategy.

[Jeff Lebowski]

He made this statement in the context of an interview with CNN. I’m not sure this is a well thought out strategy. It could be just senile old grandpa Joe saying something stupid off the cuff.

[Maximus]

I don't think you can rule out that his administration is staffed by enough people that believe in the settler/colonialism framing of everything and it is driving this more than some electoral strategy.

ok youre in bidens shoes, knowing a rafah invasion means end of saudi normalization efforts and mass casualtiers. private pressure isnt working

What do you do on israel right now?

[USUC]

ok youre in bidens shoes, knowing a rafah invasion means end of saudi normalization efforts and mass casualtiers. private pressure isnt working

What do you do on israel right now?

Normalization efforts died on Oct 7 as Hamas had anticipated. The Saudis in power want Hamas eradicated, but the population doesn't and whatever leverage they had before is gone. The US is in a lose-lose situation to a certain extent. But propping up those sympathetic to Hamas just seems like it will come back to haunt us in the long run.

[USUC]

I don't think you can rule out that his administration is staffed by enough people that believe in the settler/colonialism framing of everything and it is driving this more than some electoral strategy.

Another POV about Biden's foreign policy instincts from Robert Gates

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[Shaka]

ok youre in bidens shoes, knowing a rafah invasion means end of saudi normalization efforts and mass casualtiers. private pressure isnt working

What do you do on israel right now?

You have to pick your poison. I'd choose to let Isreal destroy Hamas while I exerted pressure on the rest of the reason to stay out of it. Hamas made their bed and they need to sleep in it.

Biden's strategy is incredible dumb.

[Maximus]

He has been solid. But he has let things like this slip before. Not this egregious, but he shouldn't even be making any statements about pressuring Israel to not go into Rafah at all. All Hamas cares about at this point is surviving as an organization and they have known from the beginning they would lose the ground war but plan on winning the propaganda war. Statements like this give them more confidence they can convince the west to take away Israel's hammer in these negotiations. There have been several cease fire offers rejected by Hamas. They only do this because they count on western leaders like Biden buckling in the end. The west is getting played.

Biden is clearly terrified of his left flank in this election year. It really makes no sense given the general opinion of Americans on the war, but there's no other reason to talk like this. Maybe his advisors have convinced him he needs to do this to win Michigan.

sauids basically said recently its still possible when the war ends. I dont think the leader of either side (hamas x100 though) wants it to end

[Omaha 680]

sauids basically said recently its still possible when the war ends. I dont think the leader of either side (hamas x100 though) wants it to end

Wait you think Israel and Hamas both want the war to continue? They both want it to end, just in very different ways.

If Israel had gone into Rafah 3 months ago it would all be over and they would be on the path to normalization with Saudi Arabia. It's going to happen. Keeping the war going and/or leaving Hamas in place only delays it.

[fusnik]

You have to pick your poison. I'd choose to let Isreal destroy Hamas while I exerted pressure on the rest of the reason to stay out of it. Hamas made their bed and they need to sleep in it.

Biden's strategy is incredible dumb.

What part of the strategy is dumb?

Begging republicans for an aide package to give Israel billions of dollars?

Calling out antisemitism?

Condemning the far left campus freaks?

Warning Bibi publicly not to attack the home of 1mm people?

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/politics/inside-bidens-public-ultimatum/index.html

[Jeff Lebowski]

What part of the strategy is dumb?

Begging republicans for an aide package to give Israel billions of dollars?

Calling out antisemitism?

Condemning the far left campus freaks?

Warning Bibi publicly not to attack the home of 1mm people?

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/polit...tum/index.html

Publicly gutting Israel's leverage in negotiations that could have negated the need for an invasion. Duh.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Hat's off to Hamas, I guess. Their overall strategy has worked.

1. Rape, murder, kidnap on a scale so large that it warrants a forceful response from Israel.
2. Embed your military assets in the middle of an highly congested urban setting to ensure massive civilian casualties.
3. Use the resulting casualties to inflame public outrage at Israel's response.
4. Delay or kill the Saudi/Israel alliance and ignite global anti-semite/anti-Israel movements.

Terrorism works.