2023-10-20 02:43:00
US President Joe Biden, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
President Joe Biden gave a rare speech in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday night in which he began by noting that recent events in the world mark a turning point in history. Additionally, he reiterated his support for Israel and Ukraine.
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“We are facing a turning point in history,” said the US president.
Biden noted that “Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but both want to annihilate a neighboring democracy.”
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Regarding the recent attack by the Hamas terrorist group that left more than 1,300 dead in Israel, the US president assured that all avenues are being sought to bring the hostages back home. And he said there is no higher priority than that.
Biden also warned that Hamas wants to annihilate Israel. And he claimed that the terrorist group uses civilians as human shields.
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“Ensuring that Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital to America’s national security,” the Democrat said. And he added that moving away from that two countries increases the risk of global chaos.
Biden wants the Middle East to be more stable, connected to its neighbors, with more stable markets, with more jobs and less war.
Regarding the funding request that he will send to Congress tomorrow, he said that he must ensure that Israel has what they need to protect their people today and always.
While visiting Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Biden told Israel, “we will never let you be alone.” (EFE)
“That’s why tomorrow I will send Congress an urgent budget request to fund America’s national security needs and support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine. “It is a smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for generations,” he said.
The funds raised will be used to “sharpen Israel’s qualitative military advantage,” he explained. And it will ensure that the Iron Dome defense system remains functional, which will “send a message to other hostile actors in the region.”
Regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, he pointed out that a two-state solution cannot be renounced.
“As difficult as it may be, we cannot give up on peace, we cannot give up on a two-state solution,” Biden reiterated.
The American president assured that the United States was “blinded by anger” after September 11 and “made mistakes.” And he urged Israel not to do the same.
A speech from the Oval Office is one of the most prestigious platforms a president can have, an opportunity to try to capture the country’s attention at a time of crisis. (REUTERS)
Finally, he told the story of his secret visit to Ukraine earlier this year, on a train from Poland with “blacked out windows.”
“As I walked through kyiv with President Zelensky, as air raid sirens sounded in the distance, I felt something: America remains a beacon to the world,” he said.
The funding request, which is expected to be formally unveiled on Friday, is likely to total about $100 billion over the next year, according to people directly familiar with the proposal who insisted on anonymity. The total figure includes some money for the defense of Taiwan and to manage the flow of migrants on the southern border with Mexico.
Biden hopes that combining all of these issues into a single law will create the political coalition necessary for congressional approval. His speech came a day after his trip to Israel, where he showed solidarity with the country in its war against Hamas and pushed for more humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Biden faces a number of difficult challenges as he tries to get the money. The House remains in chaos because the Republican majority has failed to select a speaker to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted more than two weeks ago.
Additionally, conservative Republicans oppose sending more weapons to Ukraine as its battle against the Russian invasion approaches two years. Biden’s previous funding request, which included $24 billion to help in the coming months of fighting, was removed from budget legislation last month despite a personal request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Israeli soldiers listen to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as he meets with them in a field near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. October 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
The White House has warned that time is running out to prevent Ukraine, which recently struggled to make headway in a grueling counteroffensive, from losing ground to Russia due to dwindling weapons supplies.
There will be resistance on the other side of the political spectrum when it comes to military assistance to Israel, which has been bombing the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack on October 7.
Bipartisan support for Israel has already eroded in recent years as progressive Democrats have become more outspoken in their opposition to the occupation of Palestinian territory, which the international community considers illegal.
There are also rumors of disagreement within the Biden administration. Josh Paul, a State Department official who oversaw the congressional liaison office dealing with foreign arms sales, resigned over US policy on arms transfers to Israel.
“I cannot work in support of a set of important political decisions, including sending more weapons to one side of the conflict, which I believe are shortsighted, destructive, unfair and contradictory to the very values we publicly defend,” he said in a statement published on your LinkedIn account.
Paul is believed to be the first official to resign in opposition to the administration’s decision to step up military assistance to Israel after the Oct. 7 attack.
While visiting Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Biden told Israel, “we will never let you be alone.”
Decision-making in wartime, Biden said, “requires asking very difficult questions” and “clarity about objectives and an honest assessment of whether the path you are on will achieve those objectives.”
A speech from the Oval Office is one of the most prestigious platforms a president can have, an opportunity to try to capture the country’s attention at a time of crisis. ABC, NBC and CBS entered regular programming to broadcast the speech live.
Conservative Republicans oppose sending more weapons to Ukraine as its battle against the Russian invasion approaches two years. (Europa Press/ARCHIVE)
Biden has given only one other such speech during his presidency, after Congress passed bipartisan budget legislation to prevent a default on the country’s debt.
The White House and other senior administration officials, including Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, have quietly briefed key lawmakers in recent days on the details of the planned supplemental funding request.
The White House plans to formally present Biden’s supplemental request on Friday, according to two officials familiar with the plans, although the timing could change.
The Senate plans to act quickly on Biden’s request, hoping it will build pressure on the Republican-controlled House to resolve its leadership drama and return to legislation.
Border security will likely be a contentious issue in spending talks.
Republican Jim Jordan, in a file photograph. EFE/EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
Although there was a lull in migrant arrivals to the United States after the start of new asylum restrictions in May, illegal crossings surpassed a daily average of more than 8,000 last month.
“There is a huge need to reimburse processing costs,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who heads a Senate panel that oversees funding for the Department of Homeland Security. “So it’s personnel costs, weak facilities and transportation costs.”
Biden’s decision to include funding for Taiwan in his proposal is a nod to the possibility of another international conflict. China wants to reunify the autonomous island with the mainland, a goal that could be achieved by force.
Although the wars in Europe and the Middle East have been the most immediate concerns of American foreign policy, Biden sees Asia as the key theater in the fight for global influence.
The administration’s national security strategy, released last year, describes China as “America’s most important geopolitical challenge.”
(With information from AP)
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