70,000 Lives Lost: The Tragic Arithmetic of International Diplomacy
The New Arab soberly reports that Israeli strikes continue across Gaza, with the casualty count now exceeding 70,000. For context, that's roughly the entire population of countries like Monaco or the city of Portland, Maine, wiped off the map. While these figures accumulate, the U.S. Congress, with a straight face, approved $14 billion in additional military aid to Israel in April 2024 (H.R. 815),
despite warnings from global human rights organizations. Representative Kevin Mullin (D-CA), for example, previously lauded for climate efforts, voted 'yes' on this package after receiving over $100,000 from pro-Israel PACs in recent cycles, according to OpenSecrets.org. One might wonder at what number the 'deep concern' of the Biden administration becomes 'actual action.' Is there a specific
threshold where 'self-defense' no longer justifies what the UN calls a 'catastrophic humanitarian situation'? Or is the official White House policy simply to lament the civilian deaths on Monday, then ensure the supply chain for the instruments of those deaths remains robust by Tuesday? The silence from many on Capitol Hill is less about ignorance and more about the kind of strategic deafness
money can buy.