In a short but impactful speech, President Biden explained why American support for Israel and Ukraine is vital to national security and global peace. It was a great speech. Not a good speech or an excellent speech. It was a great speech that rose to a fragile and volatile moment in world history. He moved quickly and easily from global security to the importance of NATO unity in Ukraine to the right of Israel and the Palestinian people to self-determination to condemning antisemitism and Islamophobia to mourning the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian boy he called by name, “Wadea.”
The video of President Biden’s speech is here, President Biden's Address to the Nation.
As with his remarks in Israel, Biden did not shrink from difficult subjects. He simultaneously recognized the suffering of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples—as well as the suffering of Americans from Israel and Gaza. He said, “I see you. You belong. And I want to say this to you — you’re all Americans.” In an important acknowledgment, he said,
We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia.
In a significant foreign policy shift, he equated the anti-democratic animus of Hamas and Vladimir Putin, saying that both sought to “annihilate” democracy. He said, “Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they are both threats to democracy.” Biden linked Putin and Hamas—"dictators and terrorists”—in the following passage:
History has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction.
Biden also urged Americans to recall the importance of America to maintaining world peace and stability. In memorable phrases, he said that America “is the indispensable nation” and “a beacon to the world.”
Biden said that he would submit a $100 billion proposal to Congress to support Ukraine and Israel. He said that it represents “a smart investment that will pay dividends to Americans for generations.” There remains serious doubt whether House Republicans can elect a speaker to act on President Biden’s request. See below.
As with his remarks in Israel, Biden urged Israel to consider the downstream consequences of its actions before acting to invade Gaza. Per The Guardian, “He stressed that Israel should not make the same “mistakes” made by the US after 9/11 when, he said, Americans were “blinded by rage.” (On that topic, there is conflicting evidence of Israel’s intentions. See below.)
Shortly before Biden spoke to the American people, a US Navy ship in the northern Red Sea “intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen.” See The Guardian. It is not clear whether the missiles were headed toward Israel or the US ship, but the incident may represent the first involvement by US forces in the Israeli war against Hamas.
Israel is on the verge of invading Gaza—or not.
There has been conflicting reporting over the last forty-eight hours about Israel’s intent to invade Gaza. The Guardian reported on Thursday evening as follows:
Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, visited troops on the Gaza border on Thursday, telling them: “You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come.”
But Israeli troops have lingered on the Gaza border for longer than expected, and some sources in Israel have cautioned against expectations for a full-scale invasion. See Dennis Aftergut and Edward Story, MSNBC, Why canceling its ground invasion could help Israel defeat Hamas. Per Aftergut and Story,
In a faint sign of hope, the Israeli military reportedly said on Tuesday that a Gaza ground offensive is “not a certainty.” That tempering of Israel’s militant tone may reflect private conversations Biden had with Netanyahu urging restraint . . . .
There is no shame in leaving its IDF forces massed around Gaza without escalating further. Doing so could give the army and intelligence forces more time to locate and possibly exchange the hostages without massive IDF or hostage casualties.
Such a pause also gives both Israelis and Palestinians more time to think through how to fill the potential vacuum that will be left if Israel ultimately succeeds in destroying Hamas.
President Biden has urged restraint and caution on three occasions regarding an invasion of Gaza. The US cannot tell Israel what to do, but Biden is highlighting “mistakes” that the US made after 9/11. We will learn in the coming days whether Israel will slow or avoid its invasion of Gaza in light of America’s difficult and costly 9/11 wars.
The craziness in the House gets worse!
House Republicans continue to refuse to surrender to the reality that they do not have a governable majority in the House. Instead, they are engaged in vicious internal fights over which GOP member of the House will be the next nominee to fail in a speakership bid.
The craziness in the House ‘beggared all description.’ In the course of six hours, the following unfolded:
Jim Jordan announced that he was placing his bid for speaker on hold and would support “expanded powers” for Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry through January 2024.
Jordan’s allies publicly rejected the proposal of expanded powers for McHenry, claiming that such an arrangement would “surrender power to Democrats.”
Jordan announced that he would resume his effort to become speaker and dropped McHenry like a hot rock.
Jordan met with a dozen GOP members who voted against Jordan on Tuesday. They told Jordan that they would not vote for him under any circumstances—seemingly dooming any effort by Jordan to be elected speaker.
At Jordan’s request, Speaker Pro Tem McHenry scheduled a third vote for speaker on Friday morning at 10:00 AM Eastern (or after the morning GOP fistfight, whichever is later).
Per Punchbowl News, “Senior Republicans say Jordan could lose 30 or 40 GOP votes if he tries another roll call on the floor, which may permanently end any hope he has of being speaker.”
I have omitted from the above description the screaming and shouting and near fisticuffs in a GOP caucus meeting on Thursday afternoon.
The situation is a mess, to say the least. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo provides a compelling explanation as to how we got here. See Talking Points Memo, The Inside Story of How Jim Jordan Broke the Model, Didn’t Become Speaker and Decided That was Fine
The short answer as to how we got here is that the inmates have been running the GOP asylum from behind the scenes for the last six years and are now applying to become the warden. But filling out the job application has proven to be problematic. Per Josh Marshall:
The [House GOP] is controlled and run by the hard right minority variously called the Tea Party or Freedom Caucus. But they are a bit too hot for national public consumption. They also rely on the idea that their far-right policy agenda has broad public support but is held back by a corrupt/bureaucratic establishment.
For both of these reasons a system was developed in which this far right group runs the caucus, but from the background, while it is nominally run by a mainstreamish Republican leader.
If the Freedom Caucus took over caucus management directly they would quickly come face to face with not being able to pass their favored bills. If they did, they would get shut down in the Senate or by the President. They would face directly that their favored legislation is simply not very popular.
Marshall’s explanation makes perfect sense. When Tom Cole nominated Jim Jordan in the second vote, Cole said the quiet part out loud: That Jordan wanted cut Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. Although the mainstream press has ignored Cole’s comment, The Lincoln Project made this ad: Jim Jordan on Social Security - YouTube.
Here’s the point: Jim Jordan (and his ilk) are too extreme for the American public to have any hope of governing. They have been using “mainstream” faces—like Boehner, Ryan, and McCarthy—to hide their true intentions from the public. Jim Jordan revealed the “man behind the curtain” and—Surprise!—there was a reason that the Tea Party extremists were hiding behind the curtain: They are too extreme even for the GOP party in which they skulk.
The gig is up. The only question is how long before the extremists in the House understand—and surrender to—that reality.
Sidney Powell pleads guilty.
Trump coup lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty in Georgia to “six misdemeanor counts of interfering in officials’ performance of their election duties and will serve six years of probation.” As explained by the Washington Post, the significance of the plea deal is that Powell has agreed to testify truthfully in future proceedings. See WaPo, What could Sidney Powell testify to now that she’s pleaded guilty?
Per the Post, Powell could testify about one of the most unhinged and consequential coup meetings in the White House:
To the extent there was a serious effort afoot to install Powell as a special counsel, it would seem there were likely discussions about what she might do in that role that would be of interest in the broader alleged conspiracy.
Powell could also potentially speak to aspects of the meeting that aren’t well known, including what happened before White House lawyers who testified openly about the meeting showed up. That could include whether “fake electors” or something like the Coffee County effort were broached, for instance.
Powell was in direct communication with Trump about plans to overturn the 2020 election results. If she testifies against him, his legal jeopardy will increase significantly.
Concluding Thoughts.
We are living through a difficult moment in our nation’s history. American democracy is threatened as never before while Israel’s war on a terrorist group hiding among civilians has divided friends and allies in the fight to preserve democracy in this country. There are no “easy” or “right” answers that will avoid all harm, protect all legitimate interests, and vindicate all wrongs in the Middle East. We must not pretend otherwise.
Recognizing that there is no single answer that will fix everything, we must not make enemies of fellow citizens with whom we disagree about the Middle East—but with whom we agree about the vital task of defending American democracy. If we treat allies as enemies because we disagree over problems for which there are painful solutions only, we will weaken our efforts to preserve democracy in America. If we lose that battle, nothing else matters.
A strong, stable democracy in America will advance the cause of global peace. To achieve that goal, we must work together despite our disagreements about the path forward in the Middle East. We share a common purpose and need one another to succeed. The Founders showed us the way when they forged our nation from thirteen quarrelsome, fractious colonies. The process wasn’t easy, pretty, or perfect. But in rising above their differences to promote the common good, they achieved mighty things. Let’s do the same!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Regarding the Houti missiles, don't forget that President Biden didn't take the bait for a Gulf of Tonkin resolution from Congress, another lesson he is applying in real time. His speech was truly a magnificent lesson for all Americans. Amazingly efficient with his use of words. He seized a very difficult teachable moment for all of the world to learn from. What he says and his delvery is that of a learned wise man. Would he only have Obama's cadence and ability to project. He deserves so much more credit than the polls indicate he is receiving. Agree: we need to overcome the polls, get out the vote, and get him re-elected. We can do this. We have a great candidate for this moment in time. It's true. It may be the most important election of our lives.
For anyone finding themselves in a disagreement with someone else, these 4 steps for non-violent communication might be helpful. (Successfully tried them myself!)
1. Observe and recap. The process begins with neutral observation.
2. Describe emotions, not positions.
3. Identify needs.
4. Make a request.
For example: "When you said ____, I felt ____. I need ____. Could you please ____?"
https://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/learn-nonviolent-communication/4-part-nvc/?doing_wp_cron=1697788924.0269689559936523437500
(Hat tip to fellow reader Cathy L.!)