Category Archives: President Biden

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Israel’s Choices: Endless Conflict or Real Peace

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On this Yom Kippur, Israel, the United States, Iran and much of the Arab world must repent and change course.

The current war between Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran is just the latest chapter in a conflict that has been going on at least since Israel was established by United Nations Resolution 181 on November 29, 1947. Under that resolution, the British protectorate of Palestine was to be divided into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab. The Arab countries surrounding Israel opposed the resolution and went to war against Israel in 1948.[1]

Israel won that war which resulted in over 700,000 Arabs being forced from their homes in the new Jewish state.[2] It has won several other armed conflicts with their Arab neighbors since then. But the Six-Day War in June 1967 was a turning point. Israel captured the West Bank during that war, and it has been under Israeli military occupation as a national security measure to this day.[3]

While six Arab countries, beginning with Egypt in 1979, have made peace with Israel[4] and normalized relations, hostilities continue with a number of others led by Iran. Backed by a huge amount of U.S. funds and armaments, Israel has been able to deter Arab assaults over the years, with the exception of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Since then, Israel has gone on the offensive. Its goal now appears to be the complete elimination of all terrorists that threaten Israel. As a result, many thousands of innocent Arabs in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, a great many of them women and children, have been killed, plus thousands more maimed or starved to death, in Israel’s widespread attacks to wipe out its enemies.[5]

The only problem is Israel will never be able to do that militarily. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari has even admitted as much when he said that Hamas cannot be made to “disappear.”[6] The bottom line is that as long as the Palestinian people are denied their own state as promised in the 1947 U.N. resolution, the fighting will continue.

Unfortunately, the current Israeli government has no intention of agreeing to a two-state solution. It would rather continue killing thousands of innocent Arabs, leave its hostages in the hands of Hamas, have its own people live in constant fear and danger, and be isolated from the rest of the world except for the U.S. Implausibly, the American government seems helpless to do anything to stop this madness despite the fact that it supplies Israel with the means to keep this cycle of death and destruction going.

Meanwhile, 99 American doctors, nurses and other medical personnel who have volunteered in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are urging President Biden and Vice President Harris to “end this madness now.” Estimating the Gaza death toll at over 118,000, they wrote, “Every day that we continue supplying weapons and munitions to Israel is another day that women are shredded by our bombs and children are murdered by our bullets.”[7]

Consequently, they are demanding of Biden and Harris: “A ceasefire must be imposed on the warring parties by withholding military support for Israel and supporting an international arms embargo on Israel and all Palestinian armed groups. We believe our government is obligated to do this, both under American law and International Humanitarian Law.”[8]

There’s practically no chance that the Biden administration would agree to this demand. It could, however, immediately halt shipments of all offensive weapons to Israel to pressure Jerusalem to agree to a ceasefire and begin negotiations for a real two-state, lasting peace. While that may not convince Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to change course, it may move the Israeli people to demand elections for a new government.

The Arab world recently made a strong offer that’s gotten little attention but could open the door to those negotiations. Two weeks ago, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi responded to Netanyahu’s claim that Israel is surrounded by those who want to destroy it. Safadi announced at the United Nations that 57 Arab and Muslim countries would unequivocally guarantee Israel’s security if Jerusalem ended the occupation and agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state.[9] Of course, the U.S. would as well.

While getting there will be very difficult, Harris should now state that as president, she would strongly support and work to implement the Arab proposal while continuing to protect Israel. On the anniversary of the October 7th massacre, Harris affirmed that “We must work to ensure nothing like the horrors of October 7 can ever happen again.”[10] Ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state is the only way to ensure that critical goal.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is a former U.S. Institute of Peace Fellow and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He is also the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America.  (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.). Contact him at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Israeli-wars

[2] https://mondediplo.com/1997/12/palestine

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_occupation_of_the_West_Bank#:~:text=The%20West%20Bank%2C%20including%20East,during%20the%20Six%2DDay%20War.

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_relations#:~:text=After%20several%20Arab%2DIsraeli%20wars,Morocco%20and%20Sudan)%20normalized%20relations.

[5] https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/more-women-and-children-killed-gaza-israeli-military-any-other-recent-conflict; https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/10/4/live-israeli-bombs-rain-down-on-lebanons-beirut-gaza-occupied-west-bank

[6] https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/20/middleeast/hagari-netanyahu-destroy-hamas-israel-intl/index.html

[7] https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/10/05/gqob-o05.html

[8] Ibid.

[9] https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-10-02/ty-article-opinion/.premium/jordans-foreign-minister-told-israelis-and-inconvenient-truth/00000192-4dc3-d2cc-a5d7-edff907e0000

[10] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/10/07/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-marking-one-year-since-hamas-october-7th-terrorist-attacks/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can Biden Achieve a Ceasefire Agreement between Israel and Hamas?

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The Israeli people are getting more and more frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s failure to negotiate a ceasefire and bring the hostages home. With the recent deaths of six more hostages, approximately 500,000 Israelis took to the streets on Sunday in protest of Netanyahu’s resistance to a ceasefire that would free the hostages.[1] Hopefully, the Israelis will not let up until Netanyahu reverses course or is thrown out of office.

 As an American Jew, I am ashamed and outraged by what Israel is doing to Gaza and its people with the robust support of American funds and weapons. Tens of thousands of innocent Gazans of all ages are being killed, maimed, or starved to death by Israel’s relentless devastating assault on Gaza.[2] It is a horrendous tragedy that just keeps getting worse.

Appallingly, the Biden administration continues to add fuel to the fire. On March 29, the administration authorized the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel.[3] Then, in April, President Biden signed into law $14.3 billion in emergency security assistance for Israel.[4] And in August, our government authorized another $3.5 billion in military aid to Israel.[5]

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, has a proposal that could go a long way toward ending this war. He is urging the U.S. to cut off military aid to Israel and recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination. Zogby believes this would force an internal debate in Israel and put the region on a more productive path toward peace.[6] It also might force the obstructionist Netanyahu out of office.

While it’s not likely Biden would take such a step, he could move in that direction by significantly reducing U.S. military aid to Israel, starting with cutting off offensive weapons. Such an initiative would include the proviso that further reductions would occur if Israel does not agree to a permanent ceasefire that, at the same time, brings the hostages home.

Of course, if decreased U.S. military support increases Hamas attacks on Israel, then the administration would be free to again beef up aid to its ally. But if Biden’s effort were successful, it would be a major move toward peace in the region as well as guarantee him an elevated place in modern American history as he leaves office. And, assuming Vice President Harris wins the election, she would then have some leverage to negotiate a final Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement. After all these years, what a blessing that would be!

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com. https://protectthevote.net/), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-says-it-has-discovered-unidentified-bodies-gaza-2024-08-31/

[2] https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2024-09-02/war-in-gaza-death-toll-approaches-40800-after-11-months/

[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_for_Israel_in_the_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war#:~:text=On%209%20August%202024%2C%20the,made%20weapons%20and%20military%20equipment.

[4] https://www.ajc.org/news/what-every-american-should-know-about-us-aid-to-israel

[5] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/10/us-to-send-3-5bn-more-in-military-aid-to-israel-amid-war-on-gaza

[6] https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-to-end-the-war-in-gaza

The Struggle for the Soul of America: We are Living in One of the Most Critical Times in the History of Our Country

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The next four months will be the most critical time for our country since at least the Civil War, if not in the entire history of the republic.

What’s at stake is the survival of American democracy. If Donald Trump is elected president in November, he has assured us that the United States will become an authoritarian country under his control.[1] His MAGA base has taken over the Republic Party and he’s gotten most other members of the party from Mitch McConnell on down to fall in line behind him. This after those same leaders had strongly denounced him after the January 6th insurrection.[2]  And now he’s gotten the Supreme Court to back him up as well.

In Trump v. the United States, the Supreme Court sided with Trump over our country, ruling that a former president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within his “conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.” The Court also found that a president is entitled to presumptive immunity for all other official acts.[3] And so, Trump (and all presidents), is above the law. This decision further ensures that Trump would have the green light to become a dictator for all practical purposes if he wins the election. The American people cannot allow that to happen.

At the same time, President Biden’s re-election is even more in jeopardy now. While his recent debate performance was a disaster, his post-debate efforts to re-ignite his campaign have only raised more questions about his ability to win in November. And millions of voters are doubting his capacity to preside over the government for four more years. A CNN analysis concluded that Biden, the Democrats, and the entire country are in a growing political crisis.[4]

While Biden insists he’s in the race to stay, the pressure for him to withdraw is intensifying.[5] Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris is becoming the top choice to replace Biden in the race for the White House if Biden does drop out. Party insiders believe that she is better positioned to beat Trump than other possible Democratic nominees.[6] Still, others think an open convention is the way to go.[7]

Ironically, the Supreme Court immunity decision should help Biden or whomever the Democrats ultimately put at the top of their ticket. We already know that a second Trump presidency threatens our democracy. With the Court’s permissive ruling, it becomes an even more frightening danger and the most critical issue in this fateful election.

The question is: Which Democrat is the best messenger to effectively deliver that message to the American people and beat Trump in November? I and a great many other Americans who want to save and strengthen our democracy do not believe Biden is that person. We need a strong, clear voice from a new generation of leaders to call on all Americans to save our democracy from Trump’s authoritarian rule.

It may be Kamala Harris or one of several other prominent Americans, in or out of politics. But time is running out. The Democratic Party, including President Biden, has to come together very soon for the good of our nation. It’s the only party that can and wants to save our democracy. And we, the people, can’t just sit back and watch this movie play out. Call your Senators and Congressperson ASAP and tell them how you feel. Tell them it’s time for a new president from the next generation who will inspire the American people. A leader we can vote for with enthusiasm.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/02/26/trumps-authoritarian-playbook-for-2025-and-what-it-means-for-democracy

[2] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/mcconnell-says-jan-6-capitol-attack-was-provoked-by-trump-and-others-in-power#:~:text=6%20Capitol%20attack%20was%20’provoked’%20by%20Trump%20and%20others%20in%20power,-Politics%20Jan%2019&text=Senate%20Majority%20Leader%20Mitch%20McConnell,in%20the%20video%20player%20above.

[3] https://americancornerstone.org/an-overview-of-the-supreme-courts-presidential-immunity-decision/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-ai0BhDPARIsAB6hmP7r1PD-EmcHvvZzmUSGjkZ74AOoocsDLst5QZ-pRbDoR7jy73xbygsaAqENEALw_wcB

[4] https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/06/politics/biden-abc-interview-analysis/index.html

[5] https://www.axios.com/2024/07/03/house-democrats-biden-jeffries-withdraw

[6] https://www.newsweek.com/support-kamala-harris-grows-among-democrats-worried-about-biden-1921704

[7] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/02/james-carville-joe-biden-democrats

The Struggle for the Soul of America: It’s Never Too Late for the Democrats to Do the Right Thing

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On March 31, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not run for re-election that fall. In his short time as president, Johnson achieved great advancements for the American people, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Still, in 1968, the Democratic Party and the country as a whole were very divided by race, class, ideology, and, of course, the Vietnam War.[1]

Despite his noteworthy accomplishments, Johnson’s public approval rating sat at only 36%. He was being challenged by members of his own party as well as a strong Republican candidate, Richard Nixon. Johnson realized the odds of his re-election were poor. As political historian Matthew Dallek explained, “LBJ had become the face of America’s divisions.”[2]

Fifty-six years later, President Biden’s situation is not much different than Johnson’s was. In his one term in the White House, Biden has achieved many good things, including rebuilding our infrastructure, significant gun violence prevention legislation, and combating the climate crisis.[3] Yet, his public approval rating stands at just 37%.[4] Like Johnson, many Democrats don’t want him to run for re-election and he is being challenged by a strong Republican candidate, Donald Trump. Biden has now become the face of America’s divisions as well.

Unlike Johnson, however, President Biden has failed to come to grips with the reality of his situation and the catastrophic consequences facing our country if his Republican opponent wins the presidency. But Thursday evening’s presidential debate was a stark wakeup call for the rest of the Democratic Party. The question is how will the Party respond.

For a hopeful answer, let’s turn to 1974 and the Republican Party’s response to Nixon’s failing presidency. Due to Nixon’s alleged involvement in the Watergate scandal involving a criminal break-in and subsequent cover-up, Nixon lost the support of many in the Republican Party as well as American voters in general. He was about to be impeached by Congress.

On Aug. 7, 1974, the leaders of the Republican Party, U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., U.S. House Minority Leader John Rhodes, R-Ariz., and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott, R-Pa., went to the White House and made it clear to Nixon that his presidency was “doomed.”[5] Two days later, Nixon resigned the presidency.

Granted Biden’s situation is quite different. But what is similar is that Biden has lost the support of a great many members of his party.[6] Biden’s presidency may not be “doomed,” but his chances of re-election could be after his awful performance at Thursday’s debate.[7]

The leaders of the Democratic Party need to do what those Republican leaders did in 1974. Barak Obama, Bill Clinton, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries with the support of First Lady Jill Biden must go to the White House and tell President Biden that his re-election is very much in peril, and he needs to withdraw from the race. Nixon said it best when he resigned, “…as President, I must put the interests of America first.”[8]

Unfortunately, two days after Biden’s terrible debate, none of the above-mentioned Democratic leaders are preparing to deliver that message to Biden. In fact just the opposite, they are all rallying around the president despite the fact that “59 percent of independent voters and 47 percent of Democratic voters said Biden should be replaced as the party’s presidential candidate. “[9]

The Democrats are rolling the dice by sticking with Biden. Though it’s an uphill battle, he may still be able to rejuvenate his campaign and beat Trump. And, honestly, they would also be gambling if they chose another candidate to lead the ticket. But selecting a new standard bearer at their convention would energize Democrats and give them a huge opportunity to win over those undecided voters in the swing states that will decide this election.

Yet, the truth is that it’s all up to Biden. He has enough delegates committed to him to secure the nomination if he wants it. What he decides will undoubtedly impact the election, but ultimately the fate of our democracy is in the hands of the American people.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.history.com/news/lbj-exit-1968-presidential-race

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://www.whitehouse.gov/therecord/

[4] https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-BIDEN/POLL/nmopagnqapa/

[5] https://www.azcentral.com/story/azdc/2014/08/03/goldwater-rhodes-nixon-resignation/13497493/

[6] https://www.npr.org/2024/06/05/nx-s1-4987296/young-voters-biden-gaza-inflation-abortion-trump-genforward-poll

[7] https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/biden-trump-threat-to-democracy

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon%27s_resignation_speech

[9] https://www.newsweek.com/biden-poll-democrats-debate-trump-1919143

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Trump Found Guilty: Now What?

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Donald Trump is finally being held accountable. That is a good thing for democracy and the rule of law. Still, no one knows how Trump’s guilty verdict on all 34 felony counts will affect the November elections. Will it increase his support at the polls this fall? I seriously doubt it. If anything, the guilty finding will likely give a number of undecided voters a reason not to support him. How many go that route could be critical to the final outcome.

That does not mean, however, that those voters will support President Biden. They could stay home or vote for third-party candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. or someone else. Yet, anything that reduces Trump’s vote count should help Biden’s re-election bid.

Here are some other factors arising from the verdict that may significantly affect the election. First up is the sentencing of Trump on July 11. The harsher the sentence the more outraged Trump’s supporters will be. But I still don’t believe it will increase turnout for him in November. Rather, it will likely make the campaign uglier and turn voters off.

As important as Trump’s sentence is, presiding Judge Juan Merchan’s remarks at the sentencing hearing may be just as compelling. While a judge must remain impartial during the trial, he can be very revealing about his reasons for the sentence he is imposing. That is, Merchan can point to Trump’s outrageous behavior, his disrespect for the court and the jury, and his lack of remorse in explaining his decision for Trump’s sentence. The judge’s laying this all out in open court could sway some undecided voters not to support Trump.

Another interesting result of the verdict is how Trump’s team will handle the appeal. Until now, Trump’s strategy has been to delay all court proceedings for as long as possible, hopefully until after November. That would prevent any adverse decision from hurting his election prospects. But now that he has been found guilty, Trump may very well reverse strategies. That is, he might move for a quick appeal on the chance that an appeals court would reverse his guilty verdict before the election. While not likely, a desperate Trump might try to pull that off to improve his chances of being elected.

Then there’s the Republican National Convention beginning four days after Trump is sentenced. Given the strong support for Trump from most Republicans following the jury’s verdict, it appears that Trump will still be the Party’s nominee for president. I can’t believe the convention’s ignoring the verdict and going full tilt for a convicted felon will go over well with swing voters still trying to decide for whom to vote. By the same token, those undecided voters may not be able to stomach voting for other down-ballot Republicans who want a felon to be our next president. It’s hard to imagine how this goes well for Trump and his Republican Party.

Finally, there’s the overriding issue of the survival of American democracy. The Republicans are trying to convince the public that this whole affair is just about politics. As Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, put it: “The conviction of former President Trump on politically motivated charges is an outrage and disservice to the nation.”[1] Really?

Isn’t everything Trump does politically motivated to win the presidency, give him authoritarian power, and eliminate any opposition to his authority? Trump’s conspiring with Michael Cohen and others to conceal the fact that he had sex with a porn star while his wife was home caring for their newly born child was motivated by his desire to win the 2016 election. If moderate Republican women and others had known the truth before they voted, Hillary Clinton may very well have been our 45th president. Our world would be a lot different today under those circumstances. But conspiring to conceal facts that could change the outcome of a presidential election is just politics according to most Republicans. Why should the American people care?

Well, the DOJ during Trump’s administration cared enough to prosecute Michael Cohen for the same campaign finance violations. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.[2] Why shouldn’t the leader of the conspiracy be treated the same way? Biden and the Democrats need to make that perfectly clear to every voter before Trump steals another election.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/disservice-nation-former-vp-pence-154731149.html

[2] https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/michael-cohen-sentenced-3-years-prison

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Biden Between a Rock and a Hard Place Over Aid to Israel

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President Biden’s recent withholding of offensive weapons from Israel created a bipartisan backlash. From House Speaker Johnson and Sen. Graham on the right to Sens. Sanders and Welch on the left, a broad spectrum of Congress as well as the American public opposes Biden’s position on Israel’s war against Hamas.

At the same time, it’s not really clear what the president’s position is. While withholding offensive weapons, Biden has just announced the U.S. is supplying Israel with another $1 billion in new arms to further its war in Gaza.[1] It would seem that sending more firepower to Israel would undercut any pressure the president is putting on Israel to agree to a ceasefire.[2]

Those on the political right believe the United States should provide unconditional support to Israel in its Gaza offensive to eliminate the Hamas terrorists. The problem with that position is it will not provide the intended result. According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, an all-out Israeli offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah would provoke “anarchy” without eliminating Hamas.[3]

Blinken noted that while Israel may have some “initial success…at an incredibly high cost to civilians, but…one that is not sustainable.” He maintained that the Israelis “will be left holding the bag…because a lot of armed Hamas will be left, no matter what they do in Rafah.” Alternatively, if Hamas does “get out of Gaza…then you’re going to have a vacuum and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos, by anarchy, and ultimately by Hamas again.”[4]

Thus, it makes no sense for Biden to support unconditional aid to Israel. That would neither solve Israel’s Hamas terrorism problem nor the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On the other hand, those on the left calling for an immediate ceasefire have not offered a practical roadmap for resolving the overriding issues that led to the current war as well as the previous armed clashes over the last 75 years. While a ceasefire would save many lives, mostly Gazans, without meaningful, agreed-upon steps toward a true, lasting peace, it would just give Hamas time to regroup and strike again.

Unfortunately, the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu has no interest in trying to resolve the larger issue of Palestinian self-rule in Gaza or the West Bank.[5] In fact, Netanyahu’s government does not even have a clear strategy for Gaza once the current fighting ends. The hardliners want the Israeli military to control Gaza indefinitely while the centrist faction of the Israeli leadership believes a non-Hamas, civilian government should be installed.[6]

Specifically, centrist Minister Benny Gantz has given Netanyahu an ultimatum. He is demanding that the prime minister develop a post-war strategy that must include forming a U.S.-European-Arab-Palestinian directorate in charge of civilian administration excluding Hamas in Gaza. The strategy must also include accepting the normalization deal with Saudi Arabia that the Biden administration has been working on. If Netanyahu’s cabinet does not approve such a strategy by June 8th, Gantz and his National Unity party will withdraw from the government.[7] That could lead to the fall of Netanyahu’s government and new elections, hopefully breaking the current Israeli impasse over Gaza and the West Bank.

Sen. Sanders recently summarized the futility of the current situation when he observed: “I think at the end of the day, Hamas cannot be continuing to run Gaza and the Netanyahu government cannot continue to run Israel if we’re going to ever bring peace to that region.”[8] While President Biden likely agrees with Sen. Sanders, his actions send mixed messages and don’t appear to be helping to achieve this end.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com. Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-69013279

[2] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-administration-steps-pressure-israel-cease-fire-hostage/story?id=110030018#:~:text=Interest%20Successfully%20Added-,Biden%20administration%20steps%20up%20pressure%20on%20Israel%20over%20cease%2Dfire,could%20derail%20cease%2Dfire%20talks.&text=Emergency%20workers%20said%20at%20least,bomb%20the%20southern%20Gaza%20town.

[3] https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/05/blinken-israel-offensive-rafah-would-not-eliminate-hamas

[4] https://www.yahoo.com/news/blinken-delivers-strongest-public-rebuke-051530150.html

[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-rejects-international-pressure-palestinian-state-2024-02-16/

[6] https://www.yahoo.com/news/hamas-war-splits-israels-cabinet-144841073.html

[7] https://www.axios.com/2024/05/18/benny-gantz-israel-netanyahu-gaza-war

[8] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-benjamin-netanyahu-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza/#:~:text=Sanders%20called%20the%20situation%20in,is%20feeding%20the%20children%2C%20calling

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Trump’s Delaying Strategy May Backfire on Him

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Ever since Donald Trump was charged with multiple crimes in four different jurisdictions his main strategy for beating these charges has been delay. If he could only delay the trials until after the November elections, Trump believes he would be elected president and have the charges dismissed. However, this would not apply to the two cases brought in state courts, namely the trial now proceeding in New York and the Georgia conspiracy case.

            Still, Trump’s strategy does apply to the most important case, the election interference charges in D.C. Since that case involves Trump’s conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, it’s not only the most important but also the one that has gotten the most attention. While it’s clearly the case that voters most want to know the outcome of the trial before the election, it’s the one that Trump most wants to delay.

            But here’s where it gets tricky for Trump. If Trump succeeds in delaying the DC trial until after the election, which now seems likely, and he wins the election, then the American people will never know the truth. So, the only way we will get to the truth about Trump’s involvement in the attempt to overthrow the election is by re-electing President Biden.

            The majority of Americans, including 52% of Independents, want a verdict in the DC case prior to the election.[1] Since that is not likely at this point, Trump’s successful delaying tactic would frustrate those voters and make them more prone to support Biden. In addition, it stands to reason that Trump’s desire to delay the trial indicates he believes he’s guilty. If he thought he was innocent, wouldn’t he want to be vindicated before the election to allay Americans’ doubts about voting for him?

            Thus, Trump’s delaying strategy is handing Biden and the Democrats a huge campaign issue: If you want to know the truth about Trump’s alleged unlawful interference in the 2020 elections, the only way to guarantee that you will learn what really happened is to vote for Biden.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com. Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/

[1] https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/05/politics/cnn-poll-trump-verdict-election-charges/index.html

The Struggle for the Soul of America: The Israeli-Hamas War Is Biden’s Vietnam

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As a college student in the 1960s, I became so appalled at our government’s prosecution of the Vietnam War that I joined the protests against the war. On April 15, 1967, hundreds of thousands of us marched from New York’s Central Park to the United Nations on the East River in the biggest anti-war rally up until then.[1] But as the war grew, so did the protests. On November 15, 1969, the Moratorium to End the War staged an even larger demonstration in Washington.[2] I was among the protesters at the Pentagon that the police teargassed that day.

Today, as then, college students are spearheading the protest movement against America’s involvement in a costly war. And, similar to President Johnson back then, President Biden is now the primary target of the students’ wrath.

True, there are very significant differences between the two conflicts. Most importantly, no Americans are fighting and dying in Gaza today. Over 58,000 American service people lost their lives in Vietnam.[3]

On the other hand, the Administration’s unconditional support for one side is very similar in both wars. Then the United States was all in with the South Vietnamese. Today, our government fully backs Israel. At the same time, a large segment of the American Jewish community as well as Muslim Americans oppose Biden’s position, making his re-election campaign that much more difficult. 

In both cases, however, resistance to our government’s handling of the war grew. By March 31, 1968, the opposition was so great that President Johnson announced he would not run for re-election that fall.[4] While President Biden does not appear to be considering withdrawing his candidacy in this year’s election, the protests on college campuses and beyond have increased, though not to the extent of the Vietnam-era demonstrations; at least, not yet.[5]

The Democrats will hold their National Convention in Chicago this coming August. Ironically, that’s the same city where the Democrats gathered in 1968 to nominate their presidential candidate, and it didn’t go well. Anti-war protesters clashed with the police on national television reminding the voters of the Dems’ responsibility for the quagmire in Vietnam.[6] The Democrats ended up losing the election to Richard Nixon. We could very well see a repeat of that tragic scenario later this year if Biden fails to take decisive action soon to stop the slaughter in Gaza.

Despite the growing protests, as well as the increasing death toll in Gaza, Biden just signed a bill providing another $26 billion for Israel’s war effort. Included in that Israeli figure is over $9 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza.[7]

At the same time, 55% of Americans now disapprove of Israel’s military actions and only 27% approve of Biden’s handling of the Middle East conflict, according to a March Gallup poll.[8]

While the war is not one of the top concerns of the electorate, in a close election as this year’s is likely to be, Biden could lose critical swing states due to his continued support for Israel’s military aggression. Given this distinct possibility, it’s puzzling that Biden hasn’t done more to stop the slaughter of thousands of innocent Gazans, mostly women and children, and the destruction of their homeland.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently offered this path forward for Biden: stop sending Israel offensive weapons. Kristof noted, “…that would get the attention of the Israel Defense Forces very quickly.” He argued for suspending “the transfer of offensive arms to Israel, pending food actually being delivered to Gaza to end this starvation, and some indication of dialing back the more reckless side of the bombing in Gaza and then push immediately for some kind of a cease-fire and hostage release and, likewise, then try to use that for some kind of an arrangement for a Palestinian state.”[9]

Kristof explained that Biden was right to call out Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel as “barbaric and intolerable. But if you only care about human rights for one side in a conflict, then you don’t actually care about human rights. And if you regard the deaths of children on one side of a conflict as a tragedy, as unacceptable, but deaths of children on the other side of the conflict as regrettable, then there is something profoundly wrong not just with your geopolitics but with your moral compass.”[10] While it remains to be seen whether Biden actually gets that, we can only hope that he changes course soon before it’s too late.

However, there is something you can do here at home to try to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians. At 11:15 a.m. on May 12, a live-streamed Joint Memorial Ceremony will be viewed at the Jean Cocteau Theater in Santa Fe as part of an international event in support of efforts to end the violence and bring freedom and justice to all in the Middle East. I hope to see you there. For more information about the Memorial, go to https://www.afcf.org/2024-joint-memorial-day-ceremony.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com. Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/

[1] https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/massive-anti-war-demonstrations/

[2] https://archive.nytimes.com/learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/nov-15-1969-anti-vietnam-war-demonstration-held/#:~:text=all%20Historic%20Headlines%20%C2%BB-,On%20Nov.,and%20towns%20across%20the%20country.

[3] https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics#:~:text=April%2029%2C%202008.-,The%20Vietnam%20Conflict%20Extract%20Data%20File%20of%20the%20Defense%20Casualty,casualties%20of%20the%20Vietnam%20War.

[4] https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/lyndon-b-johnsons-decision-not-to-run-in-1968

[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pro-palestinian-seders-planned-new-york-other-cities-college-campuses-simmer-2024-04-23/; https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/the-mounting-antiwar-protests-on-college-campuses/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=wp_post_reports

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protests

[7] https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-israel-pacific-glance-0af96be97c47496f88506a21ebe1ddab#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20About%20%2426%20billion%20for%20supporting,amid%20the%20Israel%2DHamas%20war.

[8] https://news.gallup.com/poll/642695/majority-disapprove-israeli-action-gaza.aspx

[9] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/opinion/biden-morality-gaza-israel.html?action=click&module=audio-series-bar&region=header&pgtype=Article

[10] Ibid.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Biden on the Brink

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I turned on the news Friday morning to learn that Israel had bombed Iran in retaliation for the Islamic State’s missile attack on the Jewish state last weekend. Fortunately, Israel’s counterattack was measured and caused relatively little damage to Iran. Now the world waits to see if the Iranian leaders will retaliate in turn. Or, hopefully, since their losses were minor, the Iranians may be content to leave matters as is, as long as Israel does the same. Still, these two enemies have brought their mutual enmity to the brink of all-out war. No one can be happy about that.

At the same time, the Israeli-Hamas War drags on in Gaza. While President Biden urges Prime Minister Netanyahu to halt the Israeli offensive and agree to a ceasefire, again the world waits, this time, to see what Israel will do next.

Meanwhile, Congress is preparing to send more unconditional military assistance to our Middle East ally in its battle against Hamas.[1] Biden’s support for the $26 billion aid for Israel just approved by Congress this weekend is further alienating the Muslin American community from the president:

Many Muslim Americans were already furious with the Biden administration over its handling of the Israel-Hamas war, with activists organizing Democrats to vote “uncommitted” rather than support the president in some state primaries this year.[2]

Such aid only undercuts any efforts by the Biden administration to stop the fighting. What incentive does Netanyahu have to cease his offensive in Gaza if the U.S. continues supplying him with the means to keep it going? It makes no sense. Moreover, the administration’s unwillingness to get tough with Israel as more and more innocent Gazans become collateral damage or starve to death hurts Biden’s re-election campaign.

The longer this war continues, the greater the possibility of Iran and its surrogates coming to the aid of Hamas and creating a much larger regional war. As noted in Foreign Affairs:

Biden urgently needs to articulate and then implement a clear strategy to protect Palestinian civilians from bearing the brunt of Israel’s military operations, counter Iran’s corrosive war-by-proxy strategy, and blunt the capabilities of Tehran’s accomplices.[3]

The war is taking a toll on Biden’s support.[4] Less than 40% of Americans now support Israel’s actions in Gaza.[5] And only 33% now support Biden’s handling of the conflict.[6] If the war is not concluded in the next few months, the president may very well be on the brink of defeat in November. Biden could lose swing states like Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin that he won by small margins in 2020.[7] He needs to use the full force of his office to quickly step up his efforts to end the war or risk losing the presidency this fall.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com. Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/

[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/muslim-americans-soured-biden-see-024447720.html

[3] https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/irans-order-chaos-suzanne-maloney?check_logged_in=1&utm_medium=promo_email&utm_source=lo_flows&utm_campaign=registered_user_welcome&utm_term=email_1&utm_content=20240419

[4] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/israels-war-gaza-political-flashpoint-risk-bidens-coalition/story?id=108962662

[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/americans-israel-gaza-polling/

[6] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-israel-gaza-poll-cbs-news/

[7] https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/wisconsin/; https://www.yahoo.com/news/muslim-americans-soured-biden-see-024447720.html; https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/michigan

The Struggle for the Soul of America: A Time for Reflection and Renewal

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The simple life soothes my soul. And there’s plenty of that here at Lago Bay in Panama. It’s a pretty exceptional place. Beautiful, remote, and quiet except for all the sweet, chattering parrots and their feathered friends. This delightful paradise makes it easy to leave all the world’s troubles and chaos behind, at least for a little while.

            My partner Margaret and I have taken a respite here and fortuitously discovered a whole other world. With nowhere to go. Nothing to do but walk on the beach or lounge around our private pool. And plenty of time to reflect on life while the living is easy.

            I feel like we’ve stepped out of time into a different dimension. Away from our normal lives, even from our ‘normal vacations.’  What a gift to be able to see everything from such a unique vantage point.

            This remote, tropical haven has given me the time and space to re-examine my life and evaluate what is most important to me now. What’s come into sharp focus is my desire to slow down, to live life at a more simple, quieter pace.

I will turn 79 next month. As I head toward my eighth decade on the planet, I can feel myself changing on a cellular level. My mind is not thinking of what I need to do next. My body is content to stay still. My spirit is filled with gratitude and love. I am here now. Where I want to be. And that is so good.

That’s not to say my concern for the future of our country has diminished in any way. I just know that I no longer have the energy to take on the big challenges of our time the way I used to. So, I won’t be leading the charge to make the world a better place. But I will lend a hand when I can; it just will be on a much smaller scale than what I’ve done previously.

With one critical exception.

  I intend to do whatever I can to make sure Donald Trump is soundly defeated at the polls next November. Our democratic republic will fail if Trump is elected. Though I may have serious disagreements with President Biden on his Israeli-Hamas war position, as well as a few other policies, I believe he is our best hope for saving our country from Trump’s authoritarian rule.

            At the same time, I’ll continue writing my blog and memoir, work on house projects, and support my community. I’ll also be rooting for the next generation to have more success improving our world than mine did.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.