As Israel escalates its attacks on Gaza, the State Department is discouraging diplomats working on Middle East issues from making public statements suggesting the U.S. wants to see less violence, according to internal emails viewed by HuffPost.

In messages circulated on Friday, State Department staff wrote that high-level officials do not want press materials to include three specific phrases: “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.”

The revelation provides a stunning signal about the Biden administration’s reluctance to push for Israeli restraint as the close U.S. partner expands the offensive it launched after Hamas ― which rules Gaza ― attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7.

  • dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net
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    1 year ago

    It was never about the “Muslim problem” either. It’s about destabilizing the region to exploit it for oil. If (say) Mosaddegh had not been assassinated to allow British (and American) oil companies to keep drilling for oil, Iran’s successful rejection of the west might have led to other mostly secular and socialist leaders taking power in the Arab world, and generally rejecting western power.