The Ugly Truth
From Rwanda to Israel, US foreign policy has made grave mistakes. In the case of the latter, if the US is truly Israel's ally, it needs to tell the Netanyahu government to stop its brutal bloodshed.
Happy birthday Erica!
And happy solar eclipse day. 😎
Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide. On April 7, 1994, Hutus started slaughtering Tutsi, killing 800,000 within a matter of weeks. To put that in perspective, as Philip Gourevitch noted back in 1996, “the dead of Rwanda accumulated at nearly three times the rate of Jewish dead during the Holocaust.” As this horror took place, the American government stood on the sidelines. Today, it is doing something much worse.
Slightly over two million Palestinians are facing a similar fate to that of the Tutsis, with US complicity. Washington is failing to stop the government in Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, from its assault on Gaza. Instead, it continues to supply weapons and resources enabling Palestinian destruction.
As of this publication, more than 32,000 people have been killed in the territory. Oxfam notes that an average of 250 Palestinians are killed each day, the highest death toll of “any other major conflict in recent history.” The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) note that 1.1 million Gazans are on the brink of famine. Thirty percent of Palestinian children are currently suffering from malnutrition.
This week, Israeli airstrikes killed seven humanitarian aid workers from World Central Kitchen. All were traveling in clearly marked cars that had been “cleared” with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Jeremy Konynydyk, President of Refugees International, noted on X that the strike was “part of a clear pattern of IDF striking humanitarians routinely since early in the war, while refusing repeated calls to set up a functional deconfliction system that would actually protect humanitarians.”
The Biden administration expressed outrage over the incident. In recent weeks it has also said that it is troubled by the Netanyahu government’s refusal to let much needed aid and humanitarian assistance into Gaza. On March 25, the UN Security Council finally passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, after the US did not, as it had three previous times, veto it— much to Netanyahu’s indignation. Still, the Biden administration asked Congress this week to approve the $18 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets to Israel.
Much has been made about the “tensions” between Netanyahu and Biden. The US, it is said, is Israel’s staunchest ally. If it is, it should act like it. Israel needs the ugly truth: Its tactics violate the rules of war and are criminal. The Netanyahu government is weakening Israeli security and standing in the international community. The US must tell him to stop the indiscriminate bloodshed and it must stop sending war machinery and arms.
Israel has a right to exist and defend itself. Especially after the horrific acts Hamas committed on October 7, where 1200 Israelis died, 130 hostages were taken, and multiple women raped, it is understandable that the Netanyahu government needed to respond. Terrorism is unacceptable. Yet, in a feverish attempt to “eliminate'' Hamas, Israel has crossed over from a fight against terrorism into sheer brutality. And it is making it harder for Israelis to live in peace, let alone security.
During the State of the Union, President Biden said that “the only real solution (to the Israel-Palestinian conflict) is a two-state solution.” If that is the case, one does wonder why he ignored the Palestinian issue and invested so much in normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel before October 7. For someone who is supposedly a foreign policy hand, it was, at best, naive to do so. At the same time, it is not surprising. US foreign policy suffers from hubris and, as a result, shortsightedness.
Both were true back in 1994 regarding Rwanda. When the killings began, Washington evacuated 250 Americans. In her book, “A Problem From Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide, Samantha Power writes that then Secretary of State Warren Christopher noted that evacuation was the “prudent thing to do.”
The Republican Senate minority leader, Bob Dole, agreed. “I don’t think we have any national interest there,” Dole said on April 10. “The Americans are out, and as far as I’m concerned, in Rwanda, that ought to be the end of it.”
Except on April 10 the killings had only begun. Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Prudence Bushnell, a career Foreign Service officer, understood the gravity of the situation and proposed ways for the US to respond. One of those ways was to jam Rwanda’s radio waves. Radio, more than television, reached the masses. The Hutu leaders that orchestrated the genocide used it to incite and direct others to seek out Tutsis and murder them.
In a piece for The Nation, Jina Moore writes:
Her colleagues pushed back: The lawyers said interfering with radio signals was illegal; the Pentagon and Rwanda’s hills would weaken the jamming signal, making it an uncertain tool at best, and that the price tag was too high — the only aircraft capable of doing the work cost $8500 an hour…. A senior defense official put it plainly: ‘Radios don’t kill people. People kill people.’”
Right now, an inordinate number of people are being killed in Gaza in ways that are illegal. Yesterday, President Biden warned Netanyahu that he needed to change course and prioritize the protection of civilians and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza — or else risk a change in US policy towards Israel. He didn’t say that the US would stop arms shipments or military aid. He should have — and he should do it. — Elmira
I’m opening up my column to others. Please pitch me your op-ed idea/perspective. Let’s get more female perspectives. Email me on endeavoringe@gmail.com or respond to this post.
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Elsewhere in the World.....
On our radar...
Famine in Gaza
Israel attacked aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) on Monday, killing all seven workers. It is the latest in a series of attacks on aid workers which have further allowed for a “man-made” famine to take over Gaza, writes Sondos Shalaby. (Middle East Eye)
Famine feels imminent in Gaza as civilians are desperately looking for food to feed themselves and their families. Alice Markham-Cantor dives deep. (New York Magazine)
Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are at the brink of famine — a human made disaster with roots in Israel’s history of using food as a weapon, write Muna Haddad and Neve Gordon. (NYRB)
US
President Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday morning, Laura Kelly reports. The call was ahead of the trilateral meeting between the US, Japan, and the Philippines scheduled for April 11. The administration says the call is not expected to yield any new initiatives, but rather to manage the relationship between the US and China. (The Hill)
NATO turned 75 yesterday. Washington will host the next NATO summit in early July. While president, Donald Trump questioned the utility of the alliance. Carla Norrlö says that Americans must understand that NATO does not only protect allies but is a vital part of a comprehensive strategy that promotes US interests and sustains its global leadership position. Withdrawing from the transatlantic alliance would reduce US influence without significantly reducing US military spending. (Project Syndicate)
Africa
Senegal has a new president. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, known as Diomaye, “the honorable one,” was elected on March 24, just ten days after being released from prison. He was sworn in this week. At 44, he is the country’s youngest leader. Annika Hammerschlag on the hope he has inspired. (The Guardian)
Watch: Uganda’s constitutional court upheld the draconian anti-LGBTQ law on Wednesday. Maria Burnett, Agather Atuhaire, and Nicholas Opiyo discuss the decision and the state of human rights in Uganda. (CSIS)
Asia
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (a Brooklyn girl!) is in China this week. Her visit comes on the heels of Biden’s call with Chinese leader Xi on Monday and ahead of the trilateral meeting next week. Courtney Brown explains that Yellen’s trip mission is largely to “stabilize” the US economic relationship with China. That might require tough economic measures such as additional tariffs. 👀 (Axios)
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Hualien, the east coast city of Taiwan, on Wednesday morning. The quake, recorded as the largest since 1999, injured thousands and killed nine, so far. Earthquake scientist Dee Ninis helps put the natural disaster in perspective. (The Conversation)
South Korea heads to the polls next Wednesday, April 10 for local elections. If it’s anything like what happened in Turkey, they promise to have significant impact domestically and worldwide. Kayla Orta notes that next week’s election will be a referendum on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s policy agenda and achievements. (The Diplomat)
India will hold general elections from April 19 through June 1. (Hey, it’s a big country). Despite a dozen opposition parties banding together to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi and the BJP is expected to win. Why are India’s opposition parties so weak? Astha Rajvanshi says it’s all in the details. (Time)
Listen: Ruchi Kumar weighs in on the Taliban's latest attack on women’s rights – a recent announcement that it would begin stoning women to death again for committing adultery. (Because women commit adultery, not men). 🙄 Is this move to get back at the West for not recognizing the Taliban as a legitimate government? (NPR)
The Americas
Cleaning house. Argentina’s President Javier Milei has fired over 24,000 government employees since he took office in December 2023. Mar Centenera and Constanza Lambertucci say the president sees the state as the “enemy.” We hope he realizes he is now a part of it. (El Pais)
Watch: Last Sunday, 60 minutes ran a segment about “Havana syndrome,” a mysterious and disputed condition that ranges from headaches to brain injury and its connection to Russian intelligence. Erin Burnett sat down with Christo Grozev about his findings and why the US government won’t back it up. (CNN)
Officials have warned that Mexico City could be out of water by late June. June Garcia-Becerra, Christina Boyes, Itzkuauhtli Zamora Saenz, José Alfredo Ramirez, and Elias Cattan Cherem discuss the warning, its applications to the June 2nd elections, and potential solutions. (The Dialogue)
We don’t hear much about Uruguay, Latin America’s second smallest country after Suriname (look at all the things you learn here). The rise of a far right movement in the country, with links to the 1973-1985 dictatorship has raised eyebrows. Why now? Magdalena Broquetas and Gerardo Caetano discuss. (NACLA)
Europe
Why are farmers throughout Europe, from Spain to Poland, staging protests? Falling margins and high prices for energy, fertilizers, and transport are some reasons. Climate change and bureaucracy are others. Masa Ocvirk and Carine Guerout fill us in on the intersections of these issues, all of which are happening right before the European Parliament elections. (Wilson Center)
March 29 marked one since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been in a Russian prison. April 9 will mark two years for journalist and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza. Both are US citizens and there are others that the Russian government is holding. It’s time that the US takes action to secure their release, write Natalia Arno and Michael Breen. (Just Security)
Scotland enacted a new law on hate speech, making it unlawful to use abusive language based on age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity. Harry Potter author JK Rowling challenged that this week. Gabriella Ferrigine fills us in all of it. (Salon)
Middle East
As Elmira noted this past Monday, Turkey’s local elections last weekend were an upset for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Asli Aydintasbas reflects on the lessons. One: charisma matters. Second: Will Erdogan change? (Washington Post)
Despite the mass protests calling for a hostage deal and new elections, Israelis still support the war on Gaza, writes Amira Hass, even if it means sending their kids to kill or be killed. (Haaretz)
Those demonstrations could get more violent and lead Israel down a “dangerous path,” writes Rina Bassist. (Al-Monitor)
Listen: Plestia Alaqad recently graduated from journalism school. Following October 7, she took on the job of documenting the unfolding war and atrocities. Listen to Mohamed Hassan’s interview with her. (Middle East Eye)
Science & Climate Change
A new type of male contraception will be available for the next generation, writes Katherine Wu. A topical gel, still in trial, shows promising ways to induce temporary infertility. Researchers like Christina Wang aim to develop simple, convenient, and effective ways of contraception. (The Atlantic)
Technology
Is technology advanced enough to effectively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? The short answer: yes, but it remains uncertain if it can be done quickly enough to avert a climate disaster. Alice Hill explains. (CFR)
Under the Radar
Sandra Owusu-Gyamfi is a Ghanaian conservationist and the first female herpetologist in Ghana. In February, she was invited to speak at the European Conference of Tropical Ecology in Lisbon. Her visa was denied. She writes about the challenges people from the Global South face traveling to the West and the damage it causes to research on an international scale. She is much more polite than us, because this is reckless and bullshit. (Nature)
Opportunities
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In many locations, Access Now has an opening for an Executive Director.
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