Joe Biden has long had a reputation as a warm, empathetic man, and he deserves it. During the Bosnia genocide in the 1990s, he was a passionate voice for doing more to save lives. And during the Darfur genocide and humanitarian crisis of the early 2000s, he pushed me to write tough columns calling on President George W. Bush to ease the suffering there. So I've been wondering: What happened to that Joe Biden I knew? Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel's war in Gaza and has continued to provide a seemingly never-ending flow of 2,000-pound bombs and other weapons even as the civilian death toll soars, even as children starve to death. He is clearly distressed by the way Israel has carried out the war and would clearly like to see more restraint and more aid getting in — but although his rhetoric has become tougher, his policies haven't much changed. The upshot is increasing discontent, especially among young people, with Biden's policies in the Palestinian territories. We're seeing that this week on college campuses around the country, and we may see that at Democratic campaign events this year and at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. As I write in my column and explore today in an audio conversation with Sarah Wildman, Gaza has become the albatross around Biden's neck. It is his war, not just Benjamin Netanyahu's. It will be part of his legacy, an element of his obituary, a blot on his campaign — and it could get worse. Among the things presidents need to deal with, foreign policy presents more problems than solutions, and Biden faced an immensely difficult challenge after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. He was right to support Israel then, and to recognize that Israel had a right — even an obligation — to defend itself and to re-establish deterrence. But Biden was slow to recognize how reckless Israel's bombing campaign would be, leveling entire neighborhoods, and far too slow to push back as Israel throttled aid entering Gaza, leading to starvation. When Israel wouldn't allow more aid in, Biden didn't use his leverage to push harder. Indeed, at the United Nations, he continued to protect Israel diplomatically, using the threat of a veto to block the creation of a U.N. inspection system to circumvent the aid bottleneck. What Biden did do was order airdrops of food, which in some cases landed on starving Palestinians and killed them — a vignette of a bumbling and heartbreakingly ineffective American response to the humanitarian crisis. I think President Biden is a good man. I think he overall has a smart foreign policy, particularly in Asia, and first-rate aides around him. So the column below is one I wished I didn't have to write. But it felt necessary, and I hope you'll read it and listen to the audio conversation. Read the column, and listen to the conversation:
Here's what we're focusing on today:
We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com.
If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.
|
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Opinion Today: Biden’s war
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Page List
Blog Archive
- September 2024 (2665)
- August 2024 (3156)
- July 2024 (3241)
- June 2024 (3107)
- May 2024 (3196)
- April 2024 (3104)
- March 2024 (3192)
- February 2024 (3006)
- January 2024 (3261)
- December 2023 (3176)
- November 2023 (3188)
- October 2023 (3191)
- September 2023 (2961)
- August 2023 (3120)
- July 2023 (3024)
- June 2023 (3042)
- May 2023 (3205)
- April 2023 (3030)
- March 2023 (2986)
- February 2023 (2584)
- January 2023 (2694)
- December 2022 (2745)
- November 2022 (2899)
- October 2022 (2916)
- September 2022 (2970)
- August 2022 (2981)
- July 2022 (2814)
- June 2022 (2759)
- May 2022 (2768)
- April 2022 (2692)
- March 2022 (2851)
- February 2022 (2550)
- January 2022 (2715)
- December 2021 (2641)
- November 2021 (2745)
- October 2021 (2836)
- September 2021 (2847)
- August 2021 (2756)
- July 2021 (2572)
- June 2021 (2738)
- May 2021 (2579)
- April 2021 (2698)
- March 2021 (2789)
- February 2021 (2532)
- January 2021 (2617)
- December 2020 (2664)
- November 2020 (2637)
- October 2020 (2824)
- September 2020 (2745)
- August 2020 (2704)
- July 2020 (2749)
- June 2020 (2669)
- May 2020 (2199)
- April 2020 (4060)
- March 2020 (5898)
- February 2020 (6963)
- January 2020 (7455)
- December 2019 (10)
Search This Blog
Заявление министров иностранных дел G7 по Украине
Перевод предоставлен Государственным департаментом США Заявление министров и...
-
View Images Library Photos and Pictures. Как сделать усилитель сигнала сотовой связи своими руками Усилитель 3G сигнала своими руками Антен...
-
Download Images Library Photos and Pictures. 3 Graduation Invitation Letter Sample Invitation Letter Sample Invitation Letter To Friend For...
No comments:
Post a Comment