Blinken addresses dissent by State Department workers over Gaza
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken addressed criticism made by State Department workers on November 13 regarding President Biden’s policy on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, reports Reuters.
Blinken and Biden have been unwavering in their support of Israel since the Palestinian militants’ assault on the country on October 7.
Shortly after the attack, the US Secretary of State went to the Middle Eastern country to meet with far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the meeting Blinken stressed, “The message I bring with me is this: You (Israel) may be strong enough on your own to defend yourselves but as long as America exists you will never have to,” .
The US is Israel’s biggest ally on the globe as Blinken and Biden, unlike most around the world, refuse to back a ceasefire in Gaza.
Recently, hundreds of the US President’s appointees sent him a letter calling on him to support a cessation of hostilities in the region.
Criticism of the administration’s policy have been filed using the State Department’s so called dissent channel, first established during the Vietnam War, a conflict lasting 20 years from 1955 to 1975, where diplomats are able to anonymously raise concerns about policies with the Secretary of State.
READ: Blinken shocked by high death toll in Gaza
In an email to State Department employees he wrote, “I also know that some people in the Department may disagree with approaches we are taking or have views on what we can do better. We’ve organized forums in Washington to hear from you, and urged managers and teams to have candid discussions at posts around the world precisely so we can hear your feedback and ideas. I’ve asked our senior leadership to keep doing that.”, adding, “We’re listening: what you share is informing our policy and our messages.”.
There seems to be little room for dissent with regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict in America’s political landscape as Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was censured by the House.
Tlaib, who represents the left-wing element of the Democrat Party, was silenced for what her detractors claimed to be “promoting false narratives” regarding Hamas’ shock attack on Israel as well as “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”
The leftist remained resilient stressing that she won’t be silenced.
Since October 7, 1,400 Israelis and over 11,000 Gazans have been killed as the situation in the region becomes more troubling.
Reuters
