Joe Biden Is Still Giving Unrestricted Support to Israel’s War on Gaza
US officials suggested that Israel would have to shift to a “lower-intensity” campaign in Gaza from the new year. But Joe Biden is still unwilling to apply any serious pressure, even if his support for Israel’s war threatens to hand victory to Donald Trump.
US president Joe Biden speaks at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on January 5, 2024. (Photo by Mandel Ngan /AFP via Getty Images)
Joe Biden and his team are still giving their firm support to Benjamin Netanyahu as he talks about a war in Gaza lasting for “many months.” With a presidential election pitting Biden against Donald Trump due in the fall, there appear to be strong echoes of Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam in 1968 as a Democratic president alienates his supporters with an unpopular war.
Akbar Shahid Ahmed is the senior diplomatic correspondent for the Huffington Post. He’s been following Joe Biden’s policy since October 7 and the dissent among US government officials.
We spoke on Tuesday, January 2, shortly after an Israeli bomb attack killed a Hamas leader in Beirut, sparking fears of a wider escalation. This is an edited transcript from Jacobin Radio’s Long Reads podcast. You can listen to the interview here.
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