US Peace Plan: One-Sided, Unserious; Who Knew?
Al Jazeera's 'Bottom Line' segment (featuring political scientist Stephen Walt) asks the critical question: Can a 'one-sided, unserious' US plan deliver peace to Gaza? This trenchant query omits that US 'peace plans' for the region have been demonstrably one-sided since at least 1967. The recent $17 billion aid package to Israel, for example, passed the House before the ink was dry on pleas for
humanitarian aid to Gaza. How many 'peace plans' can be rolled out while approving the very weapons facilitating the conflict? This 'unserious' approach is deeply serious for those who fund it. According to OpenSecrets, AIPAC alone poured $17.6 million into US elections in 2022, cementing a political landscape where questioning Israeli policy is deemed career suicide. When Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)
can receive $3.1 million in career contributions from pro-Israel groups and simultaneously declare that supporting Israel is 'the smartest money we ever spend,' one might wonder if 'peace' is even on the agenda. The US isn't staging a new 'half-hearted intervention'; it's doubling down on a historical commitment coded in campaign contributions and weapons deals.