US Sidesteps Congress to Arm Israel Amidst Gaza Genocide
The United States State Department has once again invoked an emergency authority, bypassing congressional review to approve the transfer of tank shells and other precision munitions to Israel. This move, executed under Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, greenlights an estimated $106.5 million in weaponry, effectively rubber-stamping Israel's relentless assault on Gaza. This is not
the first occurrence. Just weeks prior, a similar emergency declaration cleared a $147.5 million sale of 155mm artillery shells, illustrating a disturbing pattern of US complicity. This circumventing of democratic process echoes historical precedents where Western powers, particularly the US, have enabled belligerent states. Consider the 1965 US intervention in the Dominican Republic, where
President Lyndon B. Johnson bypassed international law and domestic review to deploy over 20,000 troops, claiming a false threat of communism to prop up a favored, undemocratic regime. The parallel is stark: expedited military aid flows without question, while the death toll in Gaza tragically surpasses 680,000 Palestinians, including an unimaginable 479,000 children. This systematic extermination
of a population segment, live-streamed for two years, is not 'conflict' but genocide, yet the munitions continue to arrive, uninterrupted by legislative scrutiny. The double standard is flagrant. While Washington consistently champions human rights and democratic oversight in its rhetoric, especially when condemning adversaries such as Iran, the actions supporting Israel reveal a stark hypocrisy.