In the Oval Office, Secretary of State Antony Blinken extends a paper across the desk and says, \u201cMr. President, we have a new report from Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust read it to me, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blinken, sitting opposite Biden, clears his throat and reports, \u201cMore than twenty-three thousand people, including at least ten thousand children, have been killed since October seventh, 2023. Furthermore, at least fifty thousand others have been wounded, many severely. According to our satellite data as well as that of news agencies such as the Associated Press, about half the buildings in Gaza have been demolished or damaged and almost two million people, more than eighty percent of the population, have been internally displaced. Almost all the people in Gaza are suffering from severe shortages of food, clean water, medical care, and other necessities of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exhaling, Biden rubs his eyes with his thumb and two fingers before saying, \u201cThe people of Gaza can\u2019t survive much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir situation is severe, indeed, but Hamas\u2019 brutal leaders brought this suffering on their people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve realized too slowly that Israel\u2019s response has been more than adequate to deter future invasions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe, I lost many relatives in the Holocaust. We must never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d Biden says. \u201cWe must also remember the Native Americans suffered three centuries of genocide. Tell me, why don\u2019t we spell that holocaust with a capital H?\u201d<\/p>\n
Stunned and silent for several seconds, Blinken replies, \u201cBecause that Holocaust was the worst atrocity in human history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden shakes his head and asks, \u201cWorse than the Turks slaughtering a million Armenians? More catastrophic than the Hutus butchering half million Tutsis in Rwanda? What about Stalin and Mao each shooting and starving some thirty million in their countries?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll quite tragic,\u201d says Blinken.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless we do something, Gaza will be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blinken interlaces fingers and places his hands on the presidential desk and says, \u201cWe\u2019re doing everything possible. There\u2019s just no way to stop the onslaught.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTony, time to be honest. We know how to stop this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden picks up the phone on his desk and says, \u201cGet Prime Minister Netanyahu on the line right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
In less than ten minutes Biden hears, \u201cMr. President, I\u2019m delighted you called. And your timing couldn\u2019t be more perfect. I\u2019ve just emerged from a meeting with my top advisors, and we\u2019re unanimous about our need for more bombs, missiles, ammunition, and money. And I speak for all Israelis in thanking you for your incredible generosity and that of the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBibi,\u201d says Biden, \u201cYou have twenty-four hours to cease all military operations in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blinken\u2019s mouth pops open as he watches Biden, receiver pressed to his ear. Netanyahu does not respond right away, then says, \u201cYou\u2019re joking, Mr. President.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t stop defending ourselves against those who seek to annihilate us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, Bibi, there\u2019s already an annihilation underway, but this time the Jews aren\u2019t the victims, the Arabs are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have to talk to my cabinet and see what they say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t give a damn what they say. Either stop the slaughter in Gaza within twenty-four hours or there\u2019ll be no more aid from the United States, not single dollar or bullet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would put us in existential danger,\u201d says Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the contrary, Israel\u2019s current behavior in Gaza, as well as the West Bank, is contrary to Israel\u2019s longtime security interests. I\u2019ll call you tomorrow, Bibi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barely audible, the prime minister utters, \u201cGood day, Mr. President.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blinken stands and says, \u201cThis is outrageous, and if you don\u2019t desist, I\u2019ll tender my regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden picks up a pen from his desk and hands it to Blinken, who pauses, puts the pen down, and says, \u201cOkay, let\u2019s cut off the aid and see what Israel does.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the Oval Office, Secretary of State Antony Blinken extends a paper across the desk and says, \u201cMr. President, we have a new report from Gaza.\u201d \u201cJust read it to me, please.\u201d Blinken, sitting opposite Biden, clears his throat and reports, \u201cMore than twenty-three thousand people, including at least ten thousand children, have been killed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2061,2060,419,421,177,979,176,19,2062,113,235,627,2066,2063,114,183,2064,867,2065],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n