U.S. diplomats slam Israel policy in leaked memo

State Department Memo Blasting U.S. Response to Israel Leaked: Report

AJ McDougall Yahoo Tue, 7 November 2023 

A State Department memo challenging the U.S.’ unflinching support for Israel amid its war with Hamas and bombardment of the Gaza Strip urges the Biden administration to back calls for a ceasefire, according to a copy obtained by Politico. The so-called “dissent memo,” as the outlet characterized it, was marked “sensitive but unclassified.” It was unclear how many staffers had signed it, or whether it had been submitted to an official channel within the department that allows them to voice their opposition to policy. The missive demands that the U.S. be willing to “publicly criticize Israel’s violations of international norms,” adding that relegating any such criticism to private diplomacy “contributes to regional public perceptions that the United States is a biased and dishonest actor, which at best does not advance, and at worst harms, U.S. interests worldwide.” Airing publicly that Israel’s support for tactics like “settler violence” and excessive use of force go “against American values” will also stop Israel from acting with impunity, the memo asserts. In line with procedure, the State Department declined to comment directly on the memo to Politico.

 

இஸ்ரேல் குறித்த அமெரிக்க நிலையைச் சாடும் வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சின் உள்சுற்று அறிக்கை:

AJ McDougall Yahoo News செவ்வாய், 7 நவம்பர் 2023 

Politico ஊடகத்துக்கு கிடைக்கப்பெற்ற  நகல் வெளியுறவுத்துறை (memo- மெமோ) உள் சுற்றறிக்கை, ஹமாஸுடனான அதன் போர் மற்றும் காசா பகுதி மீது குண்டுவீச்சுக்கு மத்தியில் இஸ்ரேலுக்கான அமெரிக்காவின் அசைக்க முடியாத ஆதரவை சவால் செய்து ,போர்நிறுத்தத்திற்கான அழைப்புகளை ஆதரிக்குமாறு பிடென் நிர்வாகத்தை வலியுறுத்துகிறது.

மாற்றுக் கருத்தான இவ் உள் சுற்றறிக்கை தடுக்கப்பட்டது அல்லவென்றாலும் பாதக விளைவுகளை ஏற்படுத்த வல்லது என `வகைப்படுத்தப்பட்டது ஆகும்.

இதில் எத்தனை ஊழியர்கள் கையெழுத்திட்டுள்ளனர் அல்லது, அமைச்சுக்குள் `கொள்கைக்கு எதிராக குரல் கொடுக்க அனுமதிக்கும்` துறையின் அதிகாரபூர்வ சேனலுக்கு சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்டதா என்பது தெளிவாகத் தெரியவில்லை. 

இஸ்ரேலின் "சர்வதேச விதிமுறை மீறல்களை`` பகிரங்கமாக விமர்சிக்க அமெரிக்கா தயாராக இருக்க வேண்டும் என இந் நீண்ட அறிக்கை கோருகிறது. 

மேலும் இதுபோன்ற எல்லா விமர்சனங்களையும் தனியார் - (இராஜதந்திரத்திற்குத் தள்ளுவது)- பொறுப்புக்கு (private diplomacy) ஒதுக்கி விடுவது,  "அமெரிக்கா ஒரு சார்புடைய மற்றும் நேர்மையற்ற பங்காளர் என்ற பிராந்தியத்தின் பொதுக் கருத்துக்கு பங்களிப்பது மட்டுமல்லாமல், உலகளவில் அமெரிக்க நலன்களை  முன் தள்ளுவதாக அல்லாமல் பின் தள்ளி மோசமான தீங்குகளையும் இழைக்கின்றது.

"குடியேறிகளின் வன்முறை", சம நிலையற்ற பலப் பிரயோகம்  போன்ற இஸ்ரேலின் தந்திரோபாயங்களுக்கு பகிரங்கமாக ஆதரவளிப்பது,  அமெரிக்க விழுமியங்களுக்கு எதிராகச் செல்வதோடு, இஸ்ரேலின் செயற்பாடுகளுக்கு தண்டனை விலக்கும் அளிக்கின்றது என அறிக்கை வலியுறுத்துகின்றது.

ஊடக நடைமுறைக்கு இணங்க, இவ் அறிக்கை குறித்து நேரடியாக Politico விற்கு கருத்து தெரிவிக்க அமெரிக்க வெளியுறவுத்துறை மறுத்துவிட்டது.

மொழி மாற்றம்-சுபாகிள் (07-11-2023)

EXCLUSIVE

U.S. diplomats slam Israel policy in leaked memo

The document offers a window into internal fury at the State Department over President Joe Biden’s Middle East policies.

POLITICO By NAHAL TOOSI 11/06/2023 

State Department staffers offered a blistering critique of the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in a dissent memo obtained by POLITICO, arguing that, among other things, the U.S. should be willing to publicly criticize the Israelis.

The message suggests a growing loss of confidence among U.S. diplomats in President Joe Biden’s approach to the Middle East crisis. It reflects the sentiments of many U.S. diplomats, especially at mid-level and lower ranks, according to conversations with several department staffers as well as other reports. If such internal disagreements intensify, it could make it harder for the Biden administration to craft policy toward the region.

The memo has two key requests: that the U.S. support a ceasefire, and that it balance its private and public messaging toward Israel, including airing criticisms of Israeli military tactics and treatment of Palestinians that the U.S. generally prefers to keep private.

The gap between America’s private and public messaging “contributes to regional public perceptions that the United States is a biased and dishonest actor, which at best does not advance, and at worst harms, U.S. interests worldwide,” the document states.

“We must publicly criticize Israel’s violations of international norms such as failure to limit offensive operations to legitimate military targets,” the message also states. “When Israel supports settler violence and illegal land seizures or employs excessive use of force against Palestinians, we must communicate publicly that this goes against our American values so that Israel does not act with impunity.”

The memo is marked “sensitive but unclassified.” It’s not clear how many people signed it or if and when it was submitted to the department’s Dissent Channel, where employees can voice policy disagreements. It’s also not clear if the document was revised in any way beyond the version obtained by POLITICO.

Still, the arguments in it offer a window into the thinking of many people at the State Department, which has long been vexed by the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The department declined to comment directly on the memo, as is standard on such communications. It referred POLITICO to past statements by spokesperson Matthew Miller, who has said Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomes such arguments and weighs them carefully.

“One of the strengths of this department is that we do have people with different opinions,” Miller said about such messages during a press briefing last month. “We encourage them to make their opinions known.”

Multiple dissent memos about this war are being circulated in the State Department in efforts to gather signatures. These communications may or may not be classified, but their contents are rarely leaked. The department’s Dissent Channel is a long-established vehicle that allows staffers to freely express their discontent on a policy matter without fear of reprisal.

The memo obtained by POLITICO was authored by two midlevel staffers who have worked in the Middle East, said a department employee who has seen the document and was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.

The memo concedes that Israel has a “legitimate right and obligation” to seek justice against the Palestinian militants of Hamas, who killed some 1,400 Israelis in a shocking Oct. 7 attack. But it argues that “the extent of human lives lost thus far is unacceptable” — referring to the thousands of Palestinians, most of them civilians and many children, killed by Israel in the days since.

The U.S. “tolerance” for such a high civilian death toll “engenders doubt in the rules-based international order that we have long championed,” the document states. It argues that the United States must hold both Israel and Hamas responsible for their actions.

The memo’s demands are unlikely to get far with Biden or his top aides, at least not anytime soon.

The president, Blinken and others have ruled out demanding a ceasefire, backing Israel’s desire to dismantle Hamas, which is based in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas embeds its arsenal and fighters throughout the civilian population, making it hard for Israel to delineate targets. Israeli officials say they try to minimize civilian deaths but that a certain number are inevitable given how Hamas positions its people and assets.

The Biden team has increasingly shifted its public messaging to emphasize the importance of safeguarding civilians and following international law. But it has largely avoided direct public criticism of Israeli actions.

Blinken has been holding listening sessions with groups of staffers unhappy with the trajectory of U.S. policy in the last few weeks.

In a message to staff last month, Blinken stressed the importance of allowing and listening to disagreements within the department.

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