THE HAMAS-ISRAEL WAR: A STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL RESIGNS
Dr. Common Good
CNN reported today (October 19) that a State Department official has resigned over the Biden Administration’s handling of the Hamas-Israel conflict, and more broadly, because of its whole approach to the resolution of the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian issue. I am going to repeat here what CNN has reported (CNN 10/19/23, article by S. Paget) about his statement because what he has done is admirable and necessary, and because his statement is a succinct summary of what is wrong.
According to the CNN report, Josh Paul, who worked in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs for more than 11 years, said in a LinkedIn post that he resigned “due to a policy disagreement concerning our continued lethal assistance to Israel.”
“Let me be clear,” Paul wrote. “Hamas’ attack on Israel was not just a monstrosity; it was a monstrosity of monstrosities. I also believe that potential escalations by Iran-linked groups such as Hezbollah, or by Iran itself, would be a further cynical exploitation of the existing tragedy. But I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people – and is not in the long term American interest.”
“This Administration’s response – and much of Congress’ as well – is an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia,” Paul adds. “That is to say, it is immensely disappointing, and entirely unsurprising. Decades of the same approach have shown that security for peace leads to neither security, nor to peace. The fact is, blind support for one side is destructive in the long term to the interests of the people on both sides.”
Paul said that he cannot work to support a set of policy decisions that include sending over arms, which he believes to be “shortsighted, destructive, unjust, and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse.”
Reached for comment, a State Department spokesperson told CNN the agency declines to comment on personnel matters.
In an interview with The New York Times, Paul said legal guardrails that are intended to keep American weapons out of the hands of human rights violators are failing, as the US backs Israel while the nation has cut off water, food, medical care and electricity in Gaza.
“There’s a moment where you can say, OK, well, you know, it’s out of my hands, but I know Congress is going to push back,” he told the Times. “But in this instance, there isn’t any significant pushback likely from Congress, there isn’t any other oversight mechanism, there isn’t any other forum for debate, and that’s part of what got into my decision making.”
Well said, Mr. Paul. You have summed up the situation exactly.