A longtime State Department official resigned Wednesday over President Biden’s decision to provide lethal weapons to Israel as it waged war against Hamas terrorists.
Josh Paul, a senior official in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, publicly announced his resignation in a letter posted on his LinkedIn page, arguing that supplying Israel with lethal weapons and ammunition was “impulsive” and “deeply disappointing.”
“I promised myself that I would stay as long as I felt the harm I might do was outweighed by the good I might do,” Paul, who worked in the State Department division that oversees arms sales, wrote in his book. Note. “In my 11 years, I have made more moral compromises than I can remember, each with weight, but each with my promise to myself in mind, and intact.”
“I’m leaving today because I believe that in our current course of dealing with the continued — indeed, expanded and accelerated — provision of lethal weapons to Israel, I have reached the end of the bargain,” he wrote.
Biden, 80, has vowed to “stand with Israel” and “make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its people, defend itself and respond” after the brutal October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on the Jewish state, which left more than a thousand dead. .
Josh Paul, a senior official in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, publicly announced his resignation in a letter posted on his LinkedIn page.Josh Paul/LinkedIn
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House last week that the US “has deployed missiles and interceptors to [Israel’s] Iron Dome missile defense system” on the president’s order, and will provide the Israeli military with “additional capabilities” soon.
Paul’s resignation comes the same day Biden, during a landmark visit to Israel, promised to ask Congress later this week “for an unprecedented package of support for Israel’s defense.”
However, the president also announced $100 million in humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territories during his visit, and he has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abide by the “laws of war” as he prepares to send ground troops to Gaza.
A Biden State Department official resigned after the president showed support for Israel following a Hamas terrorist attack on the country earlier this month.REUTERS In announcing his resignation, Paul argued that supplying Israel with lethal weapons and ammunition was “impulsive” and “deeply disappointing. ”AFP via Getty Images
Paul, who described the Hamas attack as “monstrous terrorism,” admitted that he was “gratified” by Biden’s efforts to moderate Israel’s response and provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, but that in his former role, “my responsibility was in the weapons transfer room.”
“I believe with all my heart that the response Israel receives, and thus America’s support for that response, and for the occupation status quo, will only lead to deeper and deeper suffering for both Israel and Israelis. The Palestinian people – and not in America’s long-term interests,” he argued.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets President Biden upon his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
“The response of this Administration — and much of Congress as well — is an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy and bureaucratic inertia. I mean, it’s very disappointing, and not surprising at all.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
