One hundred employees from the State Department and the Agency for International Development signed a scathing internal dissent memo criticizing President Biden’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war, accusing him of “spreading misinformation” and unwilling to defuse the conflict.
The five-page memo, organized by a young diplomat on Nov. 3, blames Biden for failing to call out Israel for “war crimes” in Gaza during his speech on Oct. 10, in which the president said the US stands with the Jewish State, Axios reported.
“[Biden] doubling our undivided military assistance to [Israeli government] without clear or actionable red lines,” the memo reads.
The staff continued to accuse Biden of spreading misinformation about the war, but they failed to cite any specific instances when the president allegedly lied about the conflict.
The memo also accused Israel of committing “war crimes” after it initially cut power and humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, which the Jewish State defended as a way to stop supplies from reaching Hamas.
A hundred employees from the State Department and the Agency for International Development criticized Joe Biden’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war. POOL/AFP via Getty Images The staff accused Biden of making the country complicit in war crimes in Gaza when Israel carried out airstrikes. AFP via Getty Images
With the State Department employing more than 77,000 people, and USAID with more than 10,000 employees, the dissidents amount to only 0.11% of their workforce.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken – who has been working hard to help de-escalate the Middle East crisis – acknowledged internal differences of opinion in a memo to staff on Monday.
“I know that for many of you, the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a deep personal toll,” the country’s head of state said, according to CNN. “The pain that comes with seeing the daily images of babies, children, the elderly, women, and other civilians suffering in this crisis is heartbreaking. I felt it myself.
“Some people in the Department may disagree with the approach we are taking or have views on what we could do better,” Blinken wrote.
“As I have said privately and publicly, we believe the voice of the Palestinian people must be at the center of post-crisis governance in Gaza. We believe in Palestinian-led governance of Gaza, with Gaza united with the West Bank. The reconstruction of Gaza must be supported by an ongoing mechanism.”
“The overarching objective of the White House remains the same: to end this terrible conflict as quickly as possible, while standing by Israel’s rights and obligations, in full compliance with international humanitarian law, to ensure that terrorist attacks like October 7 never happen again. ,” said the secretary of state.
Injured Palestinians take shelter at Nasser Hospital on Monday.AFP via Getty Images
State Department representative Matthew Miller separately added that officials are open to hearing from all of his employees, as the memo was submitted through the department’s dissent channel, which allows employees to voice their displeasure with government policies.
“The secretary wants to hear from the employee. He wants to hear their opinions,” Miller said.
This is not the first time that a dissenting memo has been submitted to the State Department regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
Last week, it was revealed that another memo had been filed with the department calling on Blinken to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Politico reported.
As Miller mentioned, people across the US are also divided about the war, with many rallies breaking out across the country since the conflict began, with people showing support for either Israel or Palestine.
The Israeli army vowed to eliminate Hamas as it launched a ground invasion in Gaza.EyePress News/Shutterstock
Last week, pro-Palestinian groups marched in Washington DC, condemning the president and demanding a ceasefire in Gaza amid Israel’s ground invasion to eliminate Hamas.
More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel following the October 7 massacre by Hamas, and since the IDF began its counterattack, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The death toll is unprecedented in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
