Biden’s speech and call with Netanyahu

October 11, 2023

          President Biden and Vice President Harris spoke for an hour with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday, after which Biden delivered an emotional speech describing the atrocities committed by Hamas and pledged US support for Israel. The speech is important; you can (and should) watch the speech in its entirety here (beginning at the 1’ 29” mark).

          President Biden described in detail some of the atrocities. I cannot bring myself to repeat them; they are too painful, too horrible. But Biden was right to describe the atrocities in detail. The full text of President Biden’s speech is here.

          President Biden described the US response to the attack in the following passages:

The brutality of Hamas — this bloodthirstiness — brings to mind the worst rampages of ISIS.

This is terrorism.

But sadly, for the Jewish people, it’s not new.

This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennium of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people.

So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel.  We stand with Israel.  And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.

There is no justification for terrorism.  There is no excuse.

Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.  Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people.

[Hamas] uses Palestinian civilians as human shields.

          As Israeli soldiers reclaim areas temporarily under the control of Hamas after its surprise attack, the full scale of the atrocities committed by Hamas is coming into focus. This article by NYTimes provides a detailed account, but contains explicit photos and descriptions of violence: Village by Village, Scale of Atrocities Becomes Clear. (This article is accessible to all.)

          President Biden stated that fourteen American citizens were killed in the Hamas terrorist attack. Twenty American citizens are missing and may be hostages.

          President Biden went out of his way to distinguish between the terrorist group Hamas and the Palestinian people’s “right to dignity and self-determination.” On the other hand, Donald Trump sought to blame all people in a dozen Muslim countries, pledging “to reimpose the travel ban on terror-afflicted countries.”

          If Trump could reimpose his original travel ban, the list would include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, and Tanzania.

          As the crisis became more urgent by the day, House Republicans could not organize themselves to select a Speaker on Tuesday. The GOP caucus is set to meet again on Wednesday, but there is no indication that Republicans have settled on a candidate. Despite floating his name for nomination on Monday, Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday that he has asked his allies not to nominate him. And one member of the GOP caucus put the chances of electing a Speaker on Wednesday at “two-percent.”

          As Joe Biden leads, Trump sows anti-Muslim hate, and House Republicans can’t get out of their own way.

Reliable sources of information about the war.

          Finding reliable sources of information about the war in Israel is challenging in an environment that is being manipulated by disinformation. Here are a few sources that I consult and a few recommended by Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo.

•           Institute for the Study of War (understandingwar.org) provides detailed descriptions of battlefield movement and military developments. The level of detail may be more than most people need or want, but if you are trying to understand the situation on the ground as it affects family and friends in Israel, ISW is a good source. Detailed battlefield maps are included. Developments in Israel are currently covered under the “Critical Threats / Iran Update” section.

•           The Times of Israel, founded in 2012, by Israeli journalist David Horovitz and American investor Seth Klarman, who supports pro-democracy causes and candidates in the US.

•           Haaretz, the English language version of an Israeli based newspaper (recommended by Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo).

•           And this list of sources of experts and media sources on Twitter, also recommended by Josh Marshall.

•           Josh Marshall’s “Editor’s Blog” in Talking Points Memo is also an excellent source of analysis (behind a paywall).

          I also consult Foreign Policy and The Economist for general analysis, but those sources are behind paywalls.

Trump endorses Kari Lake for US Senator from Arizona.

          Mitch McConnell blames Donald Trump's endorsement of “low quality” candidates for the GOP’s failure to regain control of the Senate in 2022. Trump is at it again. He endorsed sore-loser Kari Lake in the Arizona race for the seat currently occupied by Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Kari Lake currently claims to be the rightful winner of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. See AZ Mirror, Kari Lake, who falsely claims she's the 'lawful governor' of AZ, files to run for U.S. Senate.

          Lake and her lawyers' bad-faith pursuit of election challenges resulted in significant sanctions from state court judges. See The Hill (6/24/2023), Kari Lake’s team ordered to pay more than $122K in sanctions over Maricopa lawsuit.

          Trump's decision to endorse Kari Lake seemingly removes her from Trump's list of vice-presidential candidates in 2024.

Speaking of “low-quality candidates” . . . .

          During the GOP caucus meeting on Tuesday, Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise made presentations in support of their candidacies for Speaker. Rep. Jim Buck asked Jordan and Scalise a simple question: “Did Trump win the 2020 election?” Neither Jordan nor Scalise would provide a direct answer. See Politico, House GOP speaker hopefuls equivocate on Trump's 2020 loss.

          Their equivocation on the issue of the 2020 election may prevent both from winning the votes to be elected as Speaker. Per Politico,

It's a moment that reflects Trump's lingering influence on the GOP, as well as the difficulties that either Scalise or Jordan may have in winning over centrist Republicans such as the 18 who currently hold seats where Biden prevailed in 2020.

And speaking of lower quality candidates . . . .

          GOP Rep. George Santos was slapped with a superseding indictment that increases the number of counts and crimes alleged against the compulsive liar congressman. See CNN Politics, Rep. George Santos faces 10 new federal charges, including allegations of stealing donors' identities, running up fraudulent credit card charges. Santos says he is running for reelection in 2024.

Meanwhile, in Trump's criminal trials.

          Special counsel Jack Smith is litigating hammer-and-tongs against Trump. Smith filed a motion asking Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue an order stating that the parties

be precluded, during jury selection and trial, from asking to “follow” or “friend” anyone, or make any analogous affirmative request, to gain access to posts or profiles that are not otherwise publicly available.

          Smith also filed a motion asking Judge Chutkan to order Trump to declare whether he will assert “reliance on advice of counsel defense.” As Smith notes, twenty-five of Trump's lawyers have invoked the attorney-client privilege to avoid answering questions about conversations with Trump. If Trump claims that he relied on the advice of counsel, the prosecution can pierce the privilege to learn what advice Trump's counsel provided to him. Per Smith’s motion,

The defendant has provided public notice that he intends to rely on an advice-of-counsel defense at trial. When a defendant invokes such a defense in court, he waives attorney-client privilege for all communications concerning that defense, and the Government is entitled to additional discovery and may conduct further investigation, both of which may require further litigation and briefing.

          Whatever the outcome of the motion, Smith wins. If Trump seeks to keep his attorney-client communications private, he can’t rely on them. If he seeks to rely on them, Jack Smith is entitled to know what Trump's attorneys said. Either way, it is not good for Trump.

Podiumgate.

          Something very bad happened with the purchase of $20,000 podium by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Thanks to the tireless pursuit of the truth by reporter Matt Campbell, it now seems that someone on Governor Sanders’ staff ordered the alteration of documents to cover up the circumstances surrounding the purchase of a (probably non-existent) podium for $20,000. See Talking Points Memo, More from PodiumGate.

          The details are incredibly complex—as is often the case when someone is trying to cover up a crime. But the extraordinary lengths that the Arkansas Governor’s office has gone to conceal the truth suggests that something really bad is lurking beneath the surface. To get the full scoop, you need to read the Twitter feed that is linked in the TPM article. Someone is going to get charged with a crime over this incident. The only questions are “Who?” and “Will they point the finger at their boss?”

Update on The Democracy Labs.

          As an update to my note yesterday, the services provided to grassroots groups by Democracy Labs is “pro bono”—i.e., free. For an example of Democracy Labs work product, see Deepak’s Substack, Playing Politics With Security: MAGA Republicans Block Military Nominees.

Opportunity for Reader Engagement

          Focus for Democracy is hosting an event, “The Road to 2024 and Our Recommendations,” on Thursday, October 26 at 5:00 PM Pacific / 8:00 PM Eastern.

          Focus for Democracy describes its mission as follows:

We apply rigorous, metrics-based research to recommend programs that will have the highest impact for each dollar spent. Our strategic analysis and evaluation allow you to feel confident about where your contributions will be most effective.

          Register here: HERE

Concluding Thoughts.

          The unfolding events in Israel threaten regional destabilization. President Biden has moved decisively to signal to other countries to stand down by deploying one (and possibly two) carrier strike groups to the Eastern Mediterranean.

          Biden’s speech regarding the war in Israel was as strong a statement as any president has ever made in support of Israel. But mid-speech, Biden said the following:

I just got off the phone with — the third call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And I told him if the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive, and overwhelming.

We also discussed how democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law.

Terrorists purposefully target civilians, kill them.  We uphold the laws of war. It matters.  There’s a difference.

          Biden went out of his way to mention that he and Netanyahu discussed “the laws of war,” which require “protection of civilian populations and civilian objects” and impose the limitations of “proportionality” and “military necessity” in responding to aggression. See Department of Defense Law of War Manual (Updated July 2023).

          Reading between the lines, it is reasonable to assume that it was Biden who broached the subject of “the law of war” and the obligation to avoid “targeting civilians.”

          Biden’s statement is significant because Hamas has violated the most fundamental precepts of the law of war (i.e., targeting and killing civilians). Moreover, Hamas is not a party to any treaty imposing the law of war. In the absence of “reciprocity,” the law of war might not be binding against only one party. And yet, Biden clearly discussed his expectation that Israel would abide by the law of war notwithstanding the absence of reciprocity.

          In other words, the hour-long conversation between Biden and Netanyahu was supportive but nuanced and (probably) tense at times. Given the circumstances, the US and the world are fortunate that Biden was representing the interests of the US and NATO in that complicated conversation.

          Talk to you tomorrow.