Americans want US to help get Gaza civilians out of harm’s way: Survey

A poll shows 78 percent of American respondents want Washington to work on a plan to allow civilians in Gaza to flee Israel’s bombardments.

Published On 16 Oct 2023AL JAZEERA / 16 Oct 2023

A bipartisan majority of Americans wants the United States to help get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way in Gaza amid Israel’s attacks, but the US public’s support for Israel in the conflict appears stronger than in the past, a Reuters/Ipsos poll finds.

The results of the two-day poll, which closed on Friday, showed 78 percent of respondents – including 94 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Republicans – agreed with a statement that “American diplomats should actively be working on a plan to allow civilians fleeing fighting in Gaza to move to a safe country”.end of list

Twenty-two percent of respondents disagreed.

Hamas fighters burst across the Gaza barrier fence into Israel on October 7, killing 1,300 and abducting dozens more, including Americans.

Israel has responded with the most intensive air attacks of its 75-year-old conflict with the Palestinians, killing at least 2,750 and sparking a humanitarian crisis.

US and global media have been awash with images of massacred Israelis, including graphic accounts of Hamas atrocities, as well as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip searching for survivors after Israeli air strikes levelled neighbourhoods.

Support among Americans for Israel’s position in the conflict was higher in the new poll than it was in a survey in 2014, when Israeli ground forces surged into the coastal enclave in a clash with Hamas aimed at stopping rocket fire into Israel. The current war has escalated into a much more serious, far-reaching conflict.

Forty-one percent of respondents in the new poll, which closed as Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally, was preparing a ground invasion into Gaza, said they agreed with a statement that “the US should support Israel” in its conflict with Hamas, while 2 percent said, “the US should support the Palestinians”.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted during the 2014 conflict, 22 percent of respondents said the US should support Israel’s position, and 2 percent wanted support for the Palestinians’ position.

Support for Israel’s position in the new poll was strongest among Republicans, with 54 percent of the party backing Israel’s position compared to 37 percent of Democrats.

In recent years, Democrats have grappled with internal friction between pro-Israel moderates and a faction of progressives increasingly critical of Israel, especially for its treatment of the Palestinians and expansion of Jewish settlements by the country’s far-right government.

Younger Americans

Large shares of respondents in the poll backed other stances in the conflict, including 27 percent who said the US “should be a neutral mediator” and 21 percent who said the US should not be involved at all.

About 40 percent of respondents under age 40 said the US should be a neutral mediator, roughly double the 19 percent of people age 40 and above who said the same.

Those under 40 were also less likely to back supporting Israel than were older Americans, a potentially worrisome sign for Israel, which has long counted on Washington for weapons aid and international diplomatic support.

About 20 percent of respondents under 40 backed supporting Israel, compared to 53 percent of older respondents.

The poll results illustrated a high level of concern among Americans over the plight of ordinary Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled territory of more than two million people.

Eighty-one percent of respondents agreed with a statement that “Israel should avoid killing civilians in its retaliatory strikes against Hamas”, compared to 19 percent who disagreed.

US officials have urged Israel to protect civilians while pointing the finger directly at Hamas, which Washington designates a “terrorist” group, for what they describe as using Gaza residents as human shields.

Israel has insisted its military takes every precaution to minimise civilian casualties.

As the deaths mount, no neighbouring state or other third country so far has shown any willingness to take in large numbers of Gaza refugees.

But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza would reopen and the US was working to get humanitarian assistance through it to ease the crisis.

The US on Saturday advised its 500 to 600 dual nationals in Gaza to move closer to the crossing for possible safe passage into Egypt.

Israel has imposed a full-scale blockade around the rest of the Gaza Strip.The Israeli military sparked an international outcry last week when it ordered all residents of Gaza City to evacuate. Hundreds of thousands have already fled south.

About 69 percent of poll respondents said they were following news about the fighting “very closely” or “somewhat closely”.

When presented with a list of options for who is most responsible for the current conflict, 49 percent of respondents picked Hamas, far more than the 9 percent who picked Israel.

The war, which threatens stability in a region that is critical for global energy supplies, could be a significant political issue as US President Joe Biden seeks re-election in 2024.

While Biden has offered staunch support for Israel, he has also urged it to follow the laws of war. On Sunday, he said on social media that “the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas’s appalling attacks”.

Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Biden in the election, criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a lack of preparation for the Hamas attack, saying “they’ve gotta straighten it out”.

The Reuters poll showed Americans have little faith in the ability of either Biden or Trump to solve the crisis.

Just 26 percent of respondents said they trusted Biden more “to broker peace in the Middle East”, compared to 32 percent who picked Trump. The rest said they did not trust either or did not know who would be better.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and nationwide, gathering responses from 1,003 US adults. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about four percentage points.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Democratic Reps Introduce Resolution Urging De-Escalation and Ceasefire In Gaza

'We can’t bomb our way to peace,' Bush said in a statement announcing the resolution

Published 10/16/23 

Eva Surovell

Rep. Cori Bush says the meaning of wokeness is misunderstood at House Oversight Committee hearing on June 6. GOP Oversight/YouTube

A group of Democratic lawmakers on Monday introduced a resolution calling for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel, where Israeli forces are targeting the Gaza Strip after being attacked by the militant group Hamas.

"The United States bears a unique responsibility to exhaust every diplomatic tool at our disposal to prevent mass atrocities and save lives," Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said in a press release. "We can’t bomb our way to peace, equality, and freedom. With thousands of lives lost and millions more at stake, we need a ceasefire now.”

Bush, alongside Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., André Carson, D-Ind., Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., are leading the effort to support the resolution. The group is joined in support by Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., Jesús García, D-Ill., Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-N.Y., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Nydia Veláquez, D-N.Y.

As the House of Representatives does not currently have a Speaker, the resolution cannot be voted on.

Biden calls for humanitarian aid into Gaza & path to Palestine state, but emphasises Hamas needs to be eliminated

Negotiations are ongoing for aid to enter Gaza.


Sulaiman Daud |  October 16, 2023 

U.S. President Joe Biden has reiterated his and America's support for Israel, but also stressed the importance of avoiding civilian casualties and there must be "path to a Palestinian state."

In an interview on "60 Minutes", as reported by CBS, Biden touched upon a number of other issues related to Israel's war against Hamas, and spoke of the efforts his administration is undertaking to help alleviate the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Israel-Hamas war

Following the attacks, massacres and abductions conducted by Hamas militants out of Gaza in southern Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and a siege of Gaza, cutting off electricity, fuel and water.


This raised concerns of a humanitarian crisis within Gaza, with bodies like the United Nations and the World Health Organization sounding warnings against the siege.

They also spoke up against Israel's 24-hour ultimatum for Gazans to evacuate the northern area and move to the south, ahead of a likely ground military offensive. Israel believes Hamas militants are sheltering in tunnels under certain buildings in northern Gaza.

However, the UN pointed out the sheer logistical difficulties involved in asking 1.1 million people to evacuate within 24 hours.

The deadline appears to have been extended unofficially, but there is no clear indication as to how long it will last.

Humanitarian corridor

During his interview, Biden called Hamas a "bunch of cowards" and pointed out that they are hiding among civilians in Gaza, and deliberately situated their headquarters in civilian areas.

Hamas leaders have called upon Gazans not to flee northern Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.

Biden also pointed out that Israel "has to respond" after Hamas engaged in "barbarism" against civilians, both Israeli and foreign.

"60 Minutes" interviewer Scott Pelley asked Biden about the creation of a humanitarian corridor into Gaza, to allow humanitarian supplies in and some refugees out.

Biden said his administration is speaking to the Israelis about a possible safe zone, and also to the Egyptians about evacuees. However, he said it's "hard".

The Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border is not controlled by Israel, but Egypt has backed the blockade of the Gaza Strip since 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza.


There were earlier reports of discussions with Egypt to open such a corridor, with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi indicating that allowing aid to enter was likely, but accepting refugees was less likely.

However, Reuters reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters in Cairo, Egypt on Oct. 15, said that he had a good conversation with Al-Sisi and Rafah will be "re-opened".

Hamas does not represent Palestine. There has to be a path to a Palestinian state.

Biden then addressed the important distinction that Hamas does not represent the entirety of the Palestinians.

Pelley asked about the siege, to which Biden said that democratic countries hold to certain standards and was confident that Israel would act under the rules of war.

However, Biden said he opposed Israeli occupation of Gaza, calling it a big mistake.

"Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don't represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that...It would be a mistake to...for Israel to occupy...Gaza again."

He then emphasised that the elimination of Hamas is a "requirement", and that there needs to be a Palestinian authority and state.

"Pelley: Do you believe that Hamas must be eliminated entirely?

Biden: Yes, I do. But there needs to be a Palestinian authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state."

You can read the full transcript of Biden's interview here at CBS.

Water supply

AP reported that water has run out at UN shelters across Gaza as a result of the siege.

Across Gaza, families have resorted to rationing their water, drinking dirty or brackish water or even going to the sea, increasing the risk of disease.

Power outages have compounded the crisis, with hospital staff worried that they would be unable to provide critical care for patients once the fuel for generators runs out.

The Wall Street Journal reported that White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, said in an interview with CNN that Israel had "turned the water pipe back on" in southern Gaza.

Sullivan added that the Biden Administration's goal is to ensure innocent Palestinians get access to basic commodities and are protected from bombardment.

However, AP cited aid workers in Gaza who had not seen the water come back on, and quoted a spokesperson from the Gaza government who said it was "not flowing."

Israel Opens Another ‘Safe Passage’ for Gazans to Move South

Galit Altstein, Henry Meyer and Salma El Wardany
Mon, October 16, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- Israel announced another “safe corridor” in Gaza as it urges civilians to move to the south of the territory from the north, where it’s concentrating the bulk of its military activities.

The Israel Defense Forces said it would “refrain from targeting a designated axis” between 8 a.m. and midday local time on Monday “to allow safe evacuation from north Gaza to the area south of Wadi Gaza and Khan Yunis.”

Israel Latest: Blinken Set to Return as US Tries to Contain War

Israel has made similar daily announcements since Saturday. The military is urging civilians to move for their own safety and last night said that 600,000 people had left northern Gaza. Israel is blaming Hamas for trying to stop civilians evacuating. It has emphasized that the safe corridor does not amount to a ceasefire.

Over one million people, around half the total population of Gaza, have already been displaced, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which serves Palestinian refugees. It said 400,000 have taken refuge in UNRWA facilities, “much exceeding our capacity to assist in any meaningful way, including with space in our shelters, food, water or psychological support. ”

According to the United Nations, the IDF initially set a 24-hour deadline for the evacuation when it was first called for on Friday. The UN said that would involve the movement of 1.1 million people, most of them in and around Gaza City, and would be “impossible.” Israel denies it ever gave a deadline of 24 hours.

Israel is widely expected to launch a ground assault on Gaza as it looks to “wipe out” Hamas following the group’s Oct. 7 attacks, which killed at least 1,300 Israelis. More than 2,650 people have since been killed in Gaza because of Israeli airstrikes.

The enclave, which is ruled by Hamas, is now under a near-total blockade. Israel isn’t allowing people or goods in or out and has cut power to it.

Convoys of humanitarian aid are lined up in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula waiting to cross into Gaza, according to the head of the Egyptian Food Bank, an aid organization. That’s in anticipation of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt being opened for a short while to allow aid deliveries, though none of the Egyptians, Israelis or Hamas have confirmed that will happen.

A Million Gazans Have Nowhere to Hide From Coming Israel Troops

Israel said that 199 people are confirmed to have been taken as hostages to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attacks, when Hamas and other militants swarmed into southern Israel and rampaged through communities and military bases.

Hezbollah Tensions

Separately on Monday, the IDF said it would evacuate residents of northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon. Tensions there are rising with Hezbollah and the Israeli military exchanging fire frequently.

Read more: Your Guide to Understanding the Roots of the Israel-Hamas War

Israeli residents living within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of the border will be moved to state-funded guest houses. Israel has already evacuated communities and towns near Gaza in the south.

The IDF said its response to a more aggressive action from Hezbollah, one of the most powerful militias in the Middle East, would be “lethal.”

Hamas and Hezbollah are both backed by Iran and designated as terrorist groups by the US.

 Bloomberg Businessweek

Iran: US Complicit in Gaza War


TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana’ani slammed the US for providing unconditional support to Israel during the war against the Gaza Strip, and underlined that Washington is becoming complicit in the Zionist regime’s atrocities against the Palestinian people.


Speaking to reporters at a weekly press conference on Monday, Kana’ani stated the US is already involved in the Israeli military campaign against the besieged enclave and the Palestinians and should be shouldered the responsibility.

"Iran considers that the United States is already militarily involved in the conflict between Israel and Palestinians," the diplomat told reporters.

"The crimes of the Zionist regime are carried out with the support of the United States and Washington must be held accountable," the spokesperson added at the news conference.

He warned that the continuation of the Zionist regime’s brutal onslaught against the besieged territory will pose a serious risk to peace in the entire region.

The Iranian diplomat also raised the alarm that any scenario will be possible if Israel’s brutal policies against Palestine continue.

“The resistance across the region won’t shut its eyes to the crimes committed by the Zionists,” Kana’ani cautioned.

He also described the Israeli actions in Gaza as a war crime, pointing to Israel’s repeated use of internationally-banned weapons against civilians in the enclave as well as its decision to cut off water, food and medicine supplies to the area.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kana’ani lashed out at certain Arab states over the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel, stressing that “Normalization with the Zionist regime will not guarantee security for any party in the region. Those who once deemed that normalization could stop the Zionists’ crimes have now realized that they were mistaken.”

Last Saturday, Hamas initiated a multi-pronged surprise military operation via land, sea and air. The group announced it was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians. The attacks have so far killed more than 1,400 and injured over 3,800, according to Israeli officials.

Following the multi-front attack by Hamas, Israel carried out heavy bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 2,700 Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, and wounding over 9,700 others. Tel Aviv has also ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza, saying he would halt its supply of electricity, food, water and fuel.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has confirmed that nearly 1 million people have been displaced in one week alone, while the Israeli military prepares for an expected ground invasion as the next stages of its war.

Israel’s military has also ordered 1.1 million people living in Northern Gaza to evacuate their homes, amid signs it is set to ramp up its offensive. Half a million residents have left Northern Gaza for the South, according to Israel. Many Palestinians say they would not heed the order.

The UN has warned it is “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences". The World Health Organization (WHO) has also cautioned that a mass evacuation of the Northern Gaza Strip would be "disastrous" for hospital patients, with hospitals in the South already at full capacity.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles. It has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 17 years. More than half of its population lives in poverty and is food insecure, with nearly 80% of its population relying on humanitarian assistance.

Human rights groups have stressed that depriving an occupied population of basic necessities is a war crime. Palestinian health officials have warned Gaza is rapidly running out of water and electricity, and the population faces severe shortages of food and medicine. They say hospitals in the besieged territory are under constant bombardment and facing imminent shutdown due to a lack of fuel.

Tehran says the history of the apartheid regime is full of assassinations, massacre, torture and killing of Palestinian kids, and described Tel Aviv regime's atrocities and massacre of Palestinian women and children as indicative of the destitute of Zionists. Iranian officials say the Tel Aviv regime has been struggling for more than 70 years to exit its identity crisis which has been mixed with genocide, plunder, forced displacement and scores of other inhumane moves.

Iran Slams US Destructive Role in Gaza War


TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian lashed out at the United States for its unequivocal backing to Israel in the war against civilians in the Gaza Strip, and cautioned that further offensive in the besieged territory could escalate conflicts elsewhere in the region.

The minister made the remarks in a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on Sunday, warning about the dire consequences of Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged enclave. Iran's top diplomat was in Qatar on Sunday as part of a regional tour that also included stops in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

“In case Israel continues attacking the defenseless people of Gaza, there will be no guarantee that the situation would come under control and the conflict would not spill over,” Amir Abdollahian said.

The top diplomat stressed that those who do not favor the expansion of the current war must stop Israel’s savagery.

He also censured Washington for its contradictory attitude, adding the United States invites others to exercise self-restraint but at the same time evades commitment and ramps up its all-out support for Israel.

The Qatari emir, for his part, expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and stressed that his country’s stance on the Palestinian issue would never change as it prioritizes an end to the crimes of Israel in the besieged enclave.

The remarks comes as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the deployment of the second aircraft carrier on Saturday “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”. In the eastern Mediterranean the carrier USS Eisenhower and its accompanying ships will join the USS Gerald R. Ford.

Hours after the Hamas military operation against Israel last Saturday, US officials promised ‘rock-solid and unwavering’ support to its closest ally in the Middle East. Washington, which provides about $3bn in annual military aid to Israel, has ordered the movement of military ships and aircraft closer to Israel as a show of support. Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of United States foreign assistance since World War II.

United States President Joe Biden has pledged unwavering support for Israel as its military pummels Gaza with bombardment. In a White House speech on Tuesday, Biden stated that Washington will provide additional military assistance to Israel, which has since declared war on Hamas.

The Pentagon chief has said Washington would provide munitions to Israel. And, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington will never falter from its support for Israel.

Last Saturday, Hamas initiated a multi-pronged surprise military operation via land, sea and air. The group announced it was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians. The attacks have so far killed more than 1,400 and injured over 3,800, according to Israeli officials.

Following the multi-front attack by Hamas, Israel carried out heavy bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 2,600 Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, and wounding over 9,700 others. Tel Aviv has also ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza, saying he would halt its supply of electricity, food, water and fuel.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has confirmed that nearly 1 million people have been displaced in one week alone.

Israel’s military has also ordered 1.1 million people living in Northern Gaza to evacuate their homes, amid signs it is set to ramp up its offensive. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled south following the order. The UN has warned it is “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences".

Human rights groups have stressed that depriving an occupied population of basic necessities is a war crime. Palestinians health officials have warned Gaza is rapidly running out of water and electricity, and the population faces severe shortages of food and medicine. They say hospitals in the besieged territory are under constant bombardment and facing imminent shutdown due to a lack of fuel.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles. It has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 17 years. More than half of its population lives in poverty and is food insecure, with nearly 80% of its population relying on humanitarian assistance.

Tehran says the history of the apartheid regime is full of assassinations, massacre, torture and killing of Palestinian kids, and described Tel Aviv regime's atrocities and massacre of Palestinian women and children as indicative of the destitute of Zionists. Iranian officials say the Tel Aviv regime has been struggling for more than 70 years to exit its identity crisis which has been mixed with genocide, plunder, forced displacement and scores of other inhumane moves.

Hamas is testing the Republican Party's isolationist shift
by Associated Press for Daily Kos
Monday, October 16, 2023 

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks with reporters, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in Concord, N.H. The Republican Party’s White House hopefuls are offering conflicting messages on the growing foreign policy challenges. A presidential election that has long been centered on domestic kitchen-table issues is suddenly shifting its focus abroad with the Israel-Hamas war


ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Nikki Haley vowed to stand with Israel "every step of the way." She promised to "decimate" the Iranian economy. And she called for continued funding for Ukraine as it fights to repel the Russian invasion.

"It's a dangerous world right now," Haley told Republican primary voters gathered inside New Hampshire's American Legion Post No. 7 as a new war raged in the Middle East. "And this is gonna get messier before it gets better."

Less than 24 hours later, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told New Hampshire business leaders that the United States should stop funding Ukraine until there is a clear strategy. He was more focused on what he saw as a threat posed by foreign nationals at the U.S.-Mexico border. And Israel, he said, has a right to defend itself.

"I don't think there's going to be a lot we even need to do militarily," DeSantis said of the war between Israel with Hamas. "We may have to provide some additional support like we've traditionally done, but I think mostly it's just the moral clarity to say, 'They don't have to live like this.'"

The Republican Party's White House hopefuls are offering conflicting messages on the mounting foreign policy challenges as a presidential election long centered on domestic kitchen-table issues suddenly shifts its focus abroad. The rapidly evolving dynamics are testing the limits of the GOP's drift toward an isolationist foreign policy and threaten to undermine the party's broader argument that Democratic President Joe Biden has mismanaged U.S. relationships with the rest of the world.

Republican primary voters across New Hampshire who pelted Republican presidential candidates with foreign policy questions this past week are hungry for better answers.

"This God-awful international situation is calling for a rational voice. That chair sits empty right now," said Tom Rath, a former New Hampshire attorney general who attended DeSantis' Friday appearance at St. Anselm College, where the first three questions focused on foreign policy.

The war is a stark reminder of how the GOP has shifted away from more traditional Republicans such as Rath over the past two decades. Former President George W. Bush, whose administration was defined in large part by its failures in the Iraq War, recently described himself as "kind of a hard-liner." In video obtained by Axios, he said the Biden administration's response to the Israel-Hamas conflict has "started off on the right foot."

But under former President Donald Trump's leadership, the GOP has moved sharply away from its long-standing support for a muscular foreign policy. In last fall's midterm elections, for example, 56% of voters for Republican candidates said the U.S. should take a less active role in world affairs, according to AP VoteCast.

Haley, who was Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, has emerged as the representative for the GOP's old guard, calling for the "the end" of Hamas and an aggressive response to Israel's enemies, including Iran. On the other side among her 2024 rivals, DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, backed by conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, favor a more cautious "America First" approach.

Trump, the front-runner in the Republican primary, has confused the issue with an inconsistent message fueled by personal grievance.

In a rambling speech last week, Trump said Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, "let us down" just before the U.S. killed a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020. Trump also said Israeli leaders needed to "step up their game" and he referred to Hezbollah, which Israel fears may launch a large-scale attack from the country's north, as "very smart." In an interview that aired Thursday, Trump said Netanyahu "was not prepared" for the Hamas incursion from Gaza.

On Sunday, Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump should not have criticized the Israeli foreign minister at this moment.

"That was a huge mistake," Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If I were President Trump I'd talk about being the strongest president for Israel in modern times."

Trump's team finished the week in damage control mode, sending out statements that highlighted his past support for Israel. Trump himself joined the effort as he insisted the attack never would have happened had he won the 2020 election and he praised Israeli soldiers.

"I have always been impressed by the skill and determination of the Israeli Defence Forces. As they defend their Nation against ruthless terrorists, I want to wish every soldier the best of luck. May you return home safely to your families, and may God bless you all!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

Meanwhile, some Republican primary voters don't like what they're hearing from their party's presidential hopefuls.

"Now, more than ever, is when I feel like we need a strong leader in the White House. Biden ain't it. Trump ain't it," said Michele Woonton, a 58-year-old retired nurse who attended a DeSantis appearance at the New Hampshire Statehouse this past week.

Woonton, who said she would consider voting for independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. if Trump wins the Republican nomination, was particularly upset about Trump's initial reaction to the attack on Israel.

"We don't need somebody who can't control his emotions," Woonton said. "I'm not saying he wasn't a good president. But he's too immature. ... This is not the kind of kind of leader we need in a time of war."

Bruce Wilson, a 76-year-old Army veteran from Alton, said he wants to see the Republican Party get back to its roots with a stronger approach to foreign affairs. He lamented the influence of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement on multiple issues.

"The party got in bed (with Trump) and now they're living with the consequences," said Wilson, who attended Haley's town hall meeting at the American Legion. "I'd like to see a leader with more conviction."

The next day at St. Anselm College, Dave Lundgren, a Republican state representative who has endorsed DeSantis, said he's also worried about the GOP's drift toward isolationism.

"I think we need to go in and spank somebody," he said of the U.S. response to Hamas' attack on Israel, suggesting that U.S. special forces get involved, at least to help rescue kidnapped Americans. "Republicans are weak right now and we need a strong leader that is going to put us back to No. 1 in the world. We've been there before. We're not there now."

OPINION

Palestinians are winning the online battle for Gaza, while Israel commits genocide

October 16, 2023 at 12:19 pm



Citizens, including children, injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes are taken to Nasser Hospital for treatment as Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip continue on the eighth day in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 14, 2023. [Abed Zagout – Anadolu Agency]

by Yousef Al-Helou


From the moment Israel woke up in shock at the unprecedented Hamas operation on 7 October, its propaganda machine has pushed fake news to justify its all-out war of vengeance against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. From allegations such as Hamas beheaded babies to rape, burning bodies and even killing dogs, the resistance movement was demonised, and thus dehumanised. All of the claims were accompanied by tears and emotional speeches by Israelis and pro-Israel allies and supporters.

Despite the lack of evidence, world leaders including US President Joe Biden repeated them and stressed Israel’s “right” to self-defence. The White House retracted Biden’s statements, but the UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have not apologised for pushing this propaganda.

A few international journalists also circulated the lies, naming an Israeli soldier who spread them in the first place. Their professional ethics require journalists to check the veracity of the “facts” that they use in any suspect story. This has not been done. Moreover, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a photo of what he claimed was the charred body of an Israeli baby killed by Hamas. However, the original image has since been claimed to have been that of a dog which was photoshopped.

Social media companies have been censoring and removing pro-Palestinian content

With claims and counterclaims filling social media, some apologies have been received from international figures, but not from Israelis. What’s more, the social media companies have been censoring and removing pro-Palestinian content. Many accounts belonging to Palestinians have been restricted, while others have been taken down altogether. No such censorship by the companies has been heard of about Israeli propaganda and hate-filled messages in Hebrew directed at the Palestinians.

READ: 19,000 hate speech and incitement tweets in Hebrew documented on X

Citizen journalists are enthusiastic and plentiful across occupied Palestine, especially in Gaza. The internet has allowed them to raise awareness of their plight around the world in an instant. The Zionist massacres and colonisation didn’t start in 2008 with Operation Cast Lead, or even in 1967 with the Naksa. They began in the 1940s in the run up to the creation of the colonial state of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The Nakba (Catastrophe) is ongoing.




Besieged Gaza is the open-air prison resisting Israel’s colonisation of Palestine – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]While Israeli propaganda seeks to make out that the issue at stake here is the Hamas attack last weekend, Palestinians and their supporters point out that the cause of the issue Israel’s occupation of Palestine. As the Palestinian Permanent Representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said last week, “Regrettably, history for some media and politicians only starts when Israelis are killed. We will never accept a rhetoric that denigrates our humanity and reneges our rights, a rhetoric that ignores the occupation of our land and oppression of our people.”

It seems that many people agree. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in major cities across the world to demonstrate their opposition to Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Their demand is to end Israel’s apartheid and military occupation of Palestine.

London: Hundreds of thousands march in support of Gaza

Israel’s propagandists at home and abroad have been working hard to try to counter this. They are desperate to divert attention away from the occupation state’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. The so-called Israel “Defence” Forces have played their part by bombing the Gaza Strip’s main telecommunications company, leading to the disruption of landlines and internet services. International pressure meant that the collective punishment of cutting internet services to Gaza was not implemented.

READ: Israel bombing of Gaza wipes out entire neighbourhoods

During the devastating Israeli military offensives against Gaza in 2008/9, 2012, 2014, 2021 and 2022, Palestinian journalists and social media activists won the online battle in countering the pro-Israel mainstream media and political narrative. In doing so, they opened up events in Gaza to vast numbers of people around the world. Today they are doing the same again, even as Israel commits genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Egypt tells US: Israel’s reaction in Gaza amounts to collective punishment

October 16, 2023

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Cairo on October 15, 2023.

[JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]


Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi yesterday told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel’s response in Gaza is a form of collective punishment, local media reported according to Anadolu news agency.

According to Egypt’s Cairo News Channel, Blinken was in Egypt to reaffirm Washington’s support for Tel Aviv in its ongoing onslaught on Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip

During the meeting, Al-Sisi said: “The Israeli response has gone beyond the principle of self-defence to collective punishment against Gaza, which is home to over 2.3 million Palestinians.”

He stressed that “the absence of a solution to the Palestinian issue has led to an exacerbation of anger”, adding that “delaying the resolution of the Palestinian issue results in more victims.”

Egypt has been working to contain the situation in Gaza and prevent other parties from entering the conflict, he added.

He pointed out that the last five rounds of fighting between the Gaza Strip and Israel, from 2005 to 2023, resulted in the deaths of 12,500 Palestinians, 2,500 of them children, and 2,700 Israelis, 150 of them were children, in addition to the injury of 100,000 Palestinians and 12,000 Israelis.

The Egyptian president reiterated the need to take action to reduce tension and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip which has no water, electricity, or fuel.

Blinken is currently visiting Egypt as part of a regional tour which began Thursday in Israel before leaving for Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Blinken is due to return to Tel Aviv today.

‘There Is No Humanitarian Crisis’: Israeli Ambassador Gets in Heated Clash Over Gaza Bombing In Sky News Interview

David Gilmour

Oct 16th, 2023

Israeli UK ambassador Tzipi Hotovely denied that there was a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza during a heated interview with Sky News journalist Kay Burley on Monday morning.

Burley initiated the discussion by asking about the situation in Gaza and the mounting “humanitarian crisis” there, where an ongoing Israeli siege has left millions of Palestinians with diminishing supplies of fuel, water and food. United Nations senior official Philippe Lazzarini said on Saturday that since Israel cut off utilities water availability “has become a matter of life and death.”

However, Hotovely contested that framing: “There is no humanitarian crisis because there is no Israel in charge of the safety of the Israelis. Hamas is in charge of the safety of the Palestinians.”

Burley, however, almost taken back, persisted with her line of questioning: “We’ve been showing pictures this morning that would illustrate that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

Hotovely redirected the conversation by posing a poignant question to Burley about her own family: “Can I ask you something? Are you a mother.”

Burley confirmed she was.

With that the ambassador continued: “What would you think if your children would have been executed in front of your eyes? Would you expect your government to think about those Nazis committing those crimes and to say…” Burley attempted but failed to interject.

Hotovely emphasised her point, stating, “First of all, we need to protect the enemy and then to protect my children? Your children come as a priority to your Prime Minister.”

Burley repeated that Sky News had “been showing images this morning that illustrate that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

Hotovely immediately responded: “So blame Hamas and ask Hamas why they started those atrocities…”

Burley repeated her question: “So you acknowledge that there is a humanitarian crisis?” Hotovely clarified, “I’m saying there is no, Israel is working…”


Burley inquired further: “So what do you think is happening?”

“What is happening?” the ambassador repeated back. “There is a war in Gaza, a war that Hamas started by committing a horrible massacre on innocent Israelis.”

‘Civilians Are Civilians!’ CNN’s Jake Tapper Decries Children Killed — Water and Electricity Blockade In Gaza

Tommy Christopher

Oct 15th, 2023, 

CNN anchor Jake Tapper decried the suffering in Gaza caused by Israel’s retaliation, asking Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan how that differs from the Russian actions the U.S. condemned in Ukraine.

Sullivan was a guest on Sunday morning’s edition of CNN’s State of the Union to discuss the situation in Israel.

JAKE TAPPER: I mean, you say you stand for the rule of law again. Hamas is vile. What they did eight days ago, they’re targeting civilians. It’s horrific. But what’s going on right now is not just a punishment of Hamas. More than 700 children have been reportedly killed in Gaza. And obviously, electricity, food, water supplies have been cut off by Israel to the totality of Gaza.

Obviously, the blockade is not just by Israel, it’s by Egypt, too. Take a listen to what Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken said last year when Putin was targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.

SEC. ANTONY BLINKEN: Heat. Water. Electricity. For children. For the elderly. For the sick. These are [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin’s new targets. He’s hitting them hard. This brutalization of Ukraine’s people is barbaric.

JAKE TAPPER: Now, look, Israel is not Russia. Gaza is not Ukraine. It’s a different situation. But cutting off supplies, cutting off heat, cutting off water to civilians. What’s the difference?

JAKE SULLIVAN: Well, first, thank you for saying that Israel is not Russia, because Israel is not Russia–

JAKE TAPPER: Civilians are civilians, Jake! Civilians are civilians!

JAKE SULLIVAN: Yes, absolutely they are. And they deserve, as I said before, access to water and medicine and food. And we are working actively to ensure that that happens. And I can tell you this morning, Jake, that I have been in touch with my Israeli counterparts just within the last hour who report to me that they have, in fact, turned the water pipe back on in southern Gaza. That has been the subject of discussion over the course of the past few days.

The United States is going to continue working with Israel, with the U.N., with Egypt, with Jordan, and with a lot of the groups on the ground to make sure that innocent Palestinians get access to those basic necessities and are protected from bombardment because they deserve that right, the right to those necessities and the right to safety and security every bit as much as Ukrainian civilians do or civilians anywhere do. And the United States hasn’t made any bones about that. We’re working hard on that. We’re working to make sure that that is the case as this unfolds. And it’s something that has been a high priority for President Biden, for Secretary Blinken, and for myself.

JAKE TAPPER: But you’re not telling the Israelis to let the Palestinian hospitals have power.

JAKE SULLIVAN: Our position is that hospitals should be able to function. Hospitals should not be targeted. People should be able to get access to lifesaving medical care. We don’t qualify these statements. We don’t say that there is some kind of caveat to them. These are simple, clear, declarative statements. It is our position that’s consistent with the law of armed conflict, the law of war. It’s consistent with our view as we have presented it. And I would just say, Jake, that there’s a lot of reports in the fog of war about things that happen. We’re not going to respond to every one of those because we will seek clarity in the appropriate way. But we will never back off our basic principles and our basic proposition, which we have made both publicly and privately about our view about how civilians have to be protected.

JAKE TAPPER: I haven’t asked you of any of the fog of war stories, I’ve seen stories that blame Israel for things that later on it turns out Hamas did them. I get it. I understand. But we have reports and I’m sure you have them, too, that hundreds of the individuals stuck in Gaza are American citizens. You know that, too. There are also hundreds of thousands of Americans in Israel that are trying to get out also. And the Biden administration is doing a lot to get those individuals out. 29 of the individuals killed by Hamas were American. And there are, I think what is it like something like 40 Americans that are unaccounted for who were maybe taken prisoner by Hamas.

Watch above via CNN’s State of the Union.

Train derailment closes Colorado interstate

A train derailment near Pueblo, Colorado, has shut down both directions of an interstate, leaving behind dozens of mangled train cars.

Mangled train cars scattered on a Colorado interstate.
SMART Local 202

By Scripps News Denver
 Oct 16, 2023

A train derailment near Pueblo, Colorado, shut down both directions of Interstate 25 Sunday.

The derailment occurred near Mile Marker 107 and prompted the closure of the interstate around 4 p.m. As of Monday morning, the interstate remained closed.

Photos of the scene provided by SMART Local 202 transit workers union and the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office show several crushed railroad cars and coal on the roadway.

The railroad bridge over I-25 also appears to have partially collapsed.

The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said multiple law enforcement agencies are responding.

"BNSF can confirm at approximately 4:30 p.m. CST Sunday, Oct. 15, a train carrying coal derailed on a bridge over I-25 just north of Pueblo, Colorado," BNSF Railway said in a statement. "There are no reported injuries to BNSF crew. The cause is under investigation. BNSF personnel are on site working with responding agencies to clear the incident as safely as possible."

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The Colorado State Patrol said motorists should expect an extended closure of the interstate. A detour route has been established.

Motorists going north to Colorado Springs will need to exit at U.S. 50 and go west to Penrose and north Highway 115. Southbound traffic from Colorado Springs to Pueblo will need to take Highway 115 south.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg addressed the incident on social media Sunday evening:

"In touch with Gov. Polis and have been briefed by Federal Railroad & Federal Highway Administrations on a BNSF coal train derailment & bridge collapse affecting I-25 near Pueblo, CO. USDOT staff are en route. Travelers should follow local updates about closures & detours," he wrote.

Robert F Kennedy Jr. has replaced his presidential campaign manager, former Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, with his daughter-in-law, who also happens to be a Central Intelligence Service (CIA) agent.

 

Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, married to RFK‘s son of the same name, was announced as Kucinich’s replacement this weekend, after he suggested the campaign needed a “new direction.” Kucinich, who also ran for president on two occasions, had been RFK’s campaign manager since the latter announced his presidential run earlier this year.

 

“Amaryllis is a woman of extraordinary intelligence and drive who I am confident will take this campaign to the next level,” said RFK in a statement following the announcement.

 

Amaryllis spent a decade at the CIA working in the organization’s most elite and clandestine operations unit. Her memoir suggests she was deployed to 16 different countries as part of her goal of hunting some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists.

 

Her writings, however, have been criticized as “grossly exaggerated” and “BS” by multiple senior CIA colleagues. William Murray, a CIA operations official, said: “You don’t go wandering around Karachi on your own… You’ll wind up in some warlord’s harem, or you’ll wind up dead.”

 

Amaryllis joins the senior campaign staff as RFK is coming under increased scrutiny from both sides following his decision to run as an independent in next year’s presidential election. Last week, RFK was left dumbfounded in an interview with Sean Hannity 

Robert F Kennedy Jr. has replaced his presidential campaign manager, former Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, with his daughter-in-law, who also happens to be a Central Intelligence Service (CIA) agent.

 

Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, married to RFK‘s son of the same name, was announced as Kucinich’s replacement this weekend, after he suggested the campaign needed a “new direction.” Kucinich, who also ran for president on two occasions, had been RFK’s campaign manager since the latter announced his presidential run earlier this year.

 

“Amaryllis is a woman of extraordinary intelligence and drive who I am confident will take this campaign to the next level,” said RFK in a statement following the announcement.

 

Amaryllis spent a decade at the CIA working in the organization’s most elite and clandestine operations unit. Her memoir suggests she was deployed to 16 different countries as part of her goal of hunting some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists.

 

Her writings, however, have been criticized as “grossly exaggerated” and “BS” by multiple senior CIA colleagues. William Murray, a CIA operations official, said: “You don’t go wandering around Karachi on your own… You’ll wind up in some warlord’s harem, or you’ll wind up dead.”

 

Amaryllis joins the senior campaign staff as RFK is coming under increased scrutiny from both sides following his decision to run as an independent in next year’s presidential election. Last week, RFK was left dumbfounded in an interview with Sean Hannity 

US Navy Breaks Ground on Submarine Workforce Training Center

The Virginia workforce training center will provide a dedicated training and reach full capacity of 800-1,000 workers trained per year by FY 2025. Photo: Chief Petty Officer Shannon Renfroe/US Navy

JOEF MANUEL

OCTOBER 16, 2023

The US Navy has held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new workforce training center to support submarine fleet development in Danville, Virginia.

Once completed, the training center will produce experts for the maturation of new nuclear-powered vessels, including one Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine and two Virginia-class cruise missile submarines.

The facility’s construction was announced at a summit during National Manufacturing Month, in which the US government, partner companies, and the International Trade Administration celebrated the importance of local manufacturing innovations.

Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. Photo: US Navy

The hub and associated equipment and infrastructure will be established as part of the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) and Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) programs.

ATDM and AM CoE leverage partnerships with the domestic shipbuilding industrial base to produce a fleet that fulfills the navy’s requirements.
Sustaining Deterrence

ATDM is a rapid learning initiative offering training and qualifications in advanced manufacturing applications critical to the submarine industrial base.


To date, the four-month program has prepared over 280 skilled tradespeople. With the new facility, ATDM can produce 800 to 1,000 graduates per year.

“The net result of the amount of shipbuilding we’re introducing here is about a fivefold increase from where we were in the 2000s,” US Navy Strategic Submarines Executive Officer Rear Adm. Scott Pappano explained.

“When you look at the size, displacement, and complexity of these next-generation submarines, that’s a really steep increase.”

“ATDM is a confluence of workforce development and technology, and we’ve got to keep getting the word out because the only way we’re going to deliver submarines is with workforce and technology.”

“We have to bring manufacturing back to ramp up the industrial base. That is how we maintain deterrence.”

Providing a ‘Technological Edge’

Meanwhile, AM CoE directly supports the expansion of the submarine industrial base by employing 3D-printing technologies for components needed in shipbuilding and supply chains.


3D printing is considered a “force multiplier” that boosts manufacturing capability by “reducing reliance on sole-source supply points and addressing obsolescence challenges.”

USS Virginia (SSN 774). Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class William Pittman/US Navy

“As we observe National Manufacturing Month in October, I cannot think of a better event for our Navy and our industry partners to showcase how we are working together to advance and improve our nation’s manufacturing workforce,” US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro stated.

“By bringing together partners to work collaboratively on a critical mission, the COE serves as an example of the teamwork that we need to maintain our technological edge by innovating, and is already supporting the growth of the additive manufacturing industry in this region.”

U$A

Gun deaths among children and teens have soared – but there are ways to reverse the trend



Cable locks can help prevent against accidental shootings. 

Rookman / Getty Images

THE CONVERSATION

Published: October 16, 2023 

Firearm injuries are now the leading cause of death among U.S. children and teens following a huge decadelong rise.

Analyses published on Oct. 5, 2023, by a research team in Boston found an 87% increase in firearm-involved fatalities among Americans under the age of 18 from 2011 to 2021.

Such an increase is obviously very concerning. But as scholars of adolescent health and firearm violence, we know there are many evidence-based steps that elected officials, health care professionals, community leaders, school administrators and parents can implement to help reverse this trend.

Trends in firearm deaths

The latest study is based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This data also provides information on whether firearm deaths were the result of homicide, suicide or unintentional shootings.

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We have seen increases over time in all three areas. The steepest increase has been in the rate of firearm homicides, which doubled over the decade to 2021, reaching 2.1 deaths per 100,000 children and teens, or about 1,500 fatalities annually. Firearm-involved suicides have also increased steadily to 1.1 deaths per 100,000 children and teens in 2021.

Whereas the proportion of youth firearm-involved deaths due to unintentional shootings is typically highest during childhood, the share of gun deaths due to suicide peaks in adolescence.

In 2021, homicide was the most common form of firearm-involved deaths in almost every age group under the age of 18, with an exception of 12- and 13-year-olds, in which suicide was the leading cause of firearm fatalities.

Racial disparities in firearm deaths, which have been present for multiple generations, are also expanding, research shows.

Black children and teens are now dying from firearms at around 4.5 times the rate of their white peers.

This disparity is the consequence of structural factors, including the effects of systemic racism and economic disinvestment within many communities. Addressing racial disparities in firearm-involved deaths will require supporting communities and disrupting inequity by addressing long-term underfunding in Black communities and punitive policymaking.

More research is needed to fully understand why firearm-involved deaths are universally increasing across homicide, suicide and unintentional deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic and its exacerbation of social inequities and vulnerabilities likely explain some of these increases.

How to reduce gun fatalities

Reducing young people’s access to unsecured and loaded firearms can prevent firearm-involved deaths across all intents — including suicide, homicide and unintentional shootings.

Gun-owning parents can help by storing all firearms in a secure manner – such as in a locked gun safe or with a trigger or cable lock – and unloaded so they are not accessible to children or teens within the household.

Data shows that only one-third of firearm-owning households with teens in the U.S. currently store all their firearms unloaded and locked.

In addition to locking household firearms, parents should consider storing a firearm away from the home, such as in a gun shop or shooting range, or temporarily transferring ownership to a family member if they have a teen experiencing a mental health crisis.

Families, including those that don’t own firearms, should also consider how firearms are stored in homes where their children or teens may spend time, such as a grandparent’s or neighbor’s house.

Community-based and clinical programs that provide counseling on the importance of locked storage and provide free devices are effective in improving the ways people store their firearms. In addition, researchers have found that states with child access prevention laws, which impose criminal liability on adults for negligently stored firearms, are associated with lower rates of child and teen firearm deaths.

Reducing the number of young people who carry and use firearms in risky ways is another key step to prevent firearm deaths among children and teens. Existing hospital- and community-based prevention services support this work by identifying and enrolling youth at risk in programs that reduce violence involvement, the carrying of firearms and risky firearm behaviors.

While researchers are currently testing such programs to understand how well they work, early findings suggest that the most promising programs include a combination of reducing risky behaviors – through, for example, nonviolent conflict resolution; enhancing youth engagement in pro-social activities and with positive mentors; and supporting youth mental health.

Support structures

In addition to ongoing focused prevention efforts, hospital-, school- and community-based interventions that support youth in advancing social, emotional, mental, physical and financial health can reduce the risk of firearm deaths. Such measures include both creating opportunities for children and teens – building playgrounds, establishing youth programs and providing access to the arts and green spaces – and community-level improvements, such as improved public transportation, economic opportunities, environmental safety conditions and affordable and quality housing. Allocating resources toward these initiatives is an investment in every community member’s safety.

Over the past decade, we have seen an 87% increase in firearm-involved fatalities among children and teens in the United States. But we also have the strategies and tools to stop and reverse this troubling trend.

Authors

Rebeccah Sokol
Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Michigan

Marc A. Zimmerman
Professor of Public Health, University of Michigan

Patrick Carter
Co-Director, Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention; Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan
Disclosure statement

Rebeccah Sokol receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct research to prevent violence.

Marc A. Zimmerman receives funding from NIH, CDC, BJA, & foundations.

Patrick Carter receives funding from NIH and CDC for conducting firearm-related prevention research.

A reflexive act of military revenge burdened the US − and may do the same for Israel

Israeli tanks gather near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 13, 2023. 

Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images

THE CONVERSATION

Published: October 16, 2023

In the wake of the shocking invasion of southern Israel by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas.

“We are fighting a cruel enemy, worse than ISIS,” Netanyahu proclaimed four days after the invasion, comparing Hamas with the Islamic State group, which was largely defeated by U.S., Iraqi and Kurdish forces in 2017.

On that same day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant went further, stating, “We will wipe this thing called Hamas, ISIS-Gaza, off the face of the earth. It will cease to exist.” They were strong words, issued in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack that killed more than 1,300 Israelis and culminated in the kidnapping of more than 150 people, including several Americans.

And in a telling comparison, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan compared the attack with the toppling of the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon in 2001, declaring, “This is Israel’s 9/11.”

As a scholar of military history, I believe the comparison is interesting and revealing. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by al-Qaida on the United States, President George W. Bush made a similar expansive pledge, declaring, “Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

The U.S. response to 9/11 included the American invasion of Afghanistan in league with the Afghan United Front, the so-called Northern Alliance. The immediate goals were to force the Taliban from power and destroy al-Qaida. Very little thought or resources were put into what happened after those goals were attained. In his 2010 memoir, “Decision Points,” former President Bush recalled a meeting of the war cabinet in late September 2001, when he asked the assemblage, “‘So who’s going to run the country (Afghanistan)?’ There was silence.”

Wars that are based on revenge can be effective in punishing an enemy, but they can also create a power vacuum that sparks a long, deadly conflict that fails to deliver sustainable stability. That’s what happened in Afghanistan, and that is what could happen in Gaza.

A war of weak results

The U.S. invasion toppled the Taliban from power by the end of 2001, but the war did not end. An interim administration headed by Hamid Karzai took power as an Afghan council of leaders, called a loya jirga, fashioned a new constitution for the country.

Nongovernmental and international relief organizations began to deliver humanitarian aid and reconstruction support, but their efforts were uncoordinated. U.S. trainers began creating a new Afghan National Army, but lack of funding, insufficient volunteers and inadequate facilities hampered the effort.

The period between 2002 and 2006 was the best opportunity to create a resilient Afghan state with enough security forces to hold its own against a resurgent Taliban. Because of a lack of focus, inadequate resources and poor strategy, however, the United States and its allies squandered that opportunity.

As a result, the Taliban was able to reconstitute its forces and return to the fight. As the insurgency gained momentum, the United States and its NATO allies increased their troop levels, but they could not overcome the weakness of the Kabul government and the lack of adequate numbers of trained Afghan security forces.

Despite a surge of forces to Afghanistan during the first two years of the Obama administration and the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden, the Taliban remained undefeated. As Western forces largely departed the country by the end of 2014, Afghan forces took the lead in security operations, but their numbers and competence proved insufficient to stem the Taliban tide.

Negotiations between the United States and the Taliban went nowhere, as Taliban leaders realized they could seize by force what they could not gain at the bargaining table. The Taliban entry into Kabul in August 2021 merely put an exclamation point on a campaign the United States had lost many years before.
The U.S. exit from Afghanistan in July and August 2021 was chaotic and dangerous, and it left the Afghan state at the mercy of the Taliban.

A goal that’s hard to achieve

As Israel pursues its response to the Hamas attack, the Israeli government would be well advised to remember the past two decades of often indecisive warfare conducted by both the United States and Israel against insurgent and terrorist groups.

The invasion of Afghanistan ultimately failed because U.S. policymakers did not think through the end state of the campaign as they exacted revenge for the 9/11 attacks. An Israeli invasion of Gaza could well lead to an indecisive quagmire if the political goal is not considered ahead of time.

Israel has invaded Gaza twice, in 2009 and 2014, but quickly withdrew its ground forces once Israeli leaders calculated they had reestablished deterrence. This strategy – called by Israeli leaders “mowing the grass,” with periodic punitive strikes against Hamas – has proven to be a failure. The newly declared goal of destroying Hamas as a military force is far more difficult than that.

As four U.S. presidential administrations discovered in Afghanistan, creating stability in the aftermath of conflict is far more difficult than toppling a weak regime in the first place.

The only successful conflict against a terrorist group in the past two decades, against the Islamic State group between 2014 and 2017, ended with both Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq reduced to rubble and thousands of men, women and children consigned to detention camps.

Israel has the capacity to level Gaza and round up segments of the population, but that may not be wise. Doing so might serve the immediate impulse of exacting revenge on its enemies, but Israel would likely receive massive international condemnation from creating a desert in Gaza and calling it peace, and thus forgo the moral high ground it claims in the wake of the Hamas attacks.

Author

Peter Mansoor
Professor of History, General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History, The Ohio State University