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Boston Globe
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Gaza hunger presents Trump with moral test familiar to past presidents
'I mean, some of those kids are -- that's real starvation stuff,' Trump said in Scotland on Monday. 'I see it, and you can't fake it. So we're going to be even more involved.' It was unclear what Trump meant by getting 'more involved.' Days earlier, he had withdrawn his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, from talks between Israel and Hamas in pursuit of a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza. Advertisement But Witkoff will now travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss Gaza, and Israeli news outlets reported that he might even visit a food distribution center in the territory. Witkoff's change of plans comes as aid groups say hunger in Gaza is reaching crisis levels. One United Nations-affiliated group said in a report this week that a 'worst-case' famine scenario is unfolding, and Gaza health officials say that dozens of Palestinians, including children, have died of starvation in recent weeks. Those grim facts have been driven home by gut-wrenching images of skeletal toddlers and people fighting for food. Advertisement Israeli officials reject responsibility for food shortages in Gaza, which they say are exaggerated and caused by Hamas. 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Hamas 'robs, steals this humanitarian aid and then accuses Israel of not supplying it,' he added. But Hamas denies that, and Israeli military officials privately say they have found no evidence that Hamas systematically steals aid. Such protests have not defused global anger. France announced this week that it would recognize an independent Palestinian state at the United Nations in September, and Britain said it would follow suit if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas. And in Washington this week, one of Trump's fiercest Republican allies in Congress, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, condemned Israel's actions in Gaza as 'genocide.' Trump has few good options. The United States supplies Israel, its close partner, with billions in annual military aid. Even if Hamas is the main obstacle to aid delivery, Trump lacks influence over the militant group. His only real hope is to insist that Israel, which controls Gaza's borders, does more to clear roads and protect aid convoys. And a long-term solution may require leveraging American aid to force Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire on terms short of his longtime demands. Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the quandary is a familiar one for U.S. presidents. 'President Trump's excuse-making over Gaza resonates with a long line of presidents who were pressured to address humanitarian catastrophes,' Wertheim said. Advertisement That pressure comes from a sense of moral duty in the country's DNA, dating as far back as John Winthrop's 1630 'City on a Hill' sermon, in which he told Puritan Massachusetts colonists that 'the eyes of all people are upon us.' As the United States grew in power and wealth, so did its sense of obligation to people in need everywhere. When President Herbert Hoover, a free-market Republican, ordered aid to famine-stricken Soviet Russia in 1921, he declared: 'Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!' Cold War competition for global influence with the Soviet Union reinforced the instinct, on strategic grounds. Many conservatives argue that America is not a charity, and should help people abroad only when it advances the national interest. Trump has made that argument explicit in his 'America first' foreign policy, his deep cuts to foreign aid spending and his dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Stephen Pomper, the chief of policy at the International Crisis Group, noted that a president who preaches an 'America first' foreign policy has undermined an international system built over decades to prevent foreign atrocities. The United States, he said, 'looks increasingly like it rejects or is indifferent to the founding principles of the order that it helped create.' Still, the crisis in Gaza has echoes of past humanitarian crises that left presidents wringing their hands over how to respond. President Bill Clinton took office in 1993 as a champion of human rights and international institutions. But when machete-wielding Hutu militias started to slaughter ethnic Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, he rejected calls for U.S. action. Scarred by the deaths of 18 American soldiers on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia, Clinton feared that even modest steps could escalate dangerously. Unchecked, Hutu killers carried out the genocide of an estimated 800,000 Tutsi. Clinton later said he regretted not doing more to stop it. Advertisement Clinton also hesitated as Serbian forces slaughtered civilians in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the mid-1990s, rebuffing direct pleas from the likes of Elie Wiesel by saying the problem did not warrant risking American lives. The 1995 massacre of 8,000 men and boys at a U.N.-declared 'safe area' in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica finally moved Clinton to act. A U.S.-led bombing campaign against Serbian forces led to a peace deal credited with stabilizing the region. Stopping mass killings in the Darfur region of Sudan in the early 2000s became a campaign for activists and celebrities, including Angelina Jolie and George Clooney. But even after the State Department formally declared the atrocities there a 'genocide' in 2004, President George W. Bush refused calls to deploy U.S. troops to stop it. He cited, among other things, concern about intervening 'in another Muslim country' at the time of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the time Barack Obama became president, activists and scholars -- fueled by the American failure in Rwanda -- had developed new legal theories to support cross-border intervention to protect victims of atrocities. Among them was Samantha Power, an influential national security aide to Obama, who helped engineer a 2011 presidential directive on the subject. 'Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States,' it declared. Obama put that idea into practice in 2011, when he ordered airstrikes in Libya against government forces preparing to crush a rebellion in the city of Benghazi. Obama said he acted to avert 'a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.' Advertisement But that supposedly limited intervention expanded into a monthslong NATO bombing campaign, and Libya collapsed into violent anarchy, leaving Obama regretting the experience. So when he was pressured again to intervene in Syria's civil war against the country's brutal regime, he rejected pleas for airstrikes from top officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry. Obama did, however, order limited airstrikes in Syria in 2014 against Islamic State group fighters, in part to save thousands of Yazidi people trapped on a mountain in Iraq and at risk of genocidal massacre. 'Earlier this week, one Iraqi cried that there is no one coming to help,' Obama said in an address to the nation. 'Well, today America is coming to help.' Gaza presents Trump with an especially difficult case, as it did for President Joe Biden. Biden faced withering questions about his support for Israel's military campaign, and was shouted down at public events by protesters accusing him of complicity in 'genocide.' But while Biden often harangued Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza -- usually with limited and temporary results -- he never risked a full break with the prime minister over the matter. One reason, Biden officials say, was intelligence showing that Hamas responded to signs of a potential split between the United States and Israel by hardening its negotiation position in ceasefire talks. Biden felt enough of a responsibility -- and also perhaps political vulnerability -- that he resorted to dramatic displays of support for hungry Palestinians, sending military planes to airdrop supplies and ordering the construction of a $230 million pier to allow aid delivery by sea. Critics dismissed both measures as made-for-TV substitutes for putting decisive pressure on Netanyahu. Advertisement Ultimately, Wertheim said, America's real problem in Gaza is itself. 'It's not that other parties are engaged in atrocities and the question is whether the United States will use its righteous power to stop,' he said. 'In this case, the issue is that the United States is complicit in Israel's conduct.' This article originally appeared in
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump faces bipartisan warnings over Gaza
In today's issue: ▪ Turning tides on Israel, Gaza ▪ President raises more Epstein questions ▪ Booker says Dems 'complicit' with Trump ▪ The US-China AI race heats up The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza is testing President Trump 's Middle East policy, as the president faces pressure from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and the international community amid reports of famine in the besieged enclave. Trump notably disagreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,acknowledging Monday that 'real starvation' is happening. A United Nations-affiliated organization that tracks food security worldwide this week issued a dire alert confirming a 'worst-case' famine scenario is unfolding across Gaza. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said the crisis in Gaza 'could be' a political problem for Trump, The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports. 'I think that the American people at the end of the day are a kind people. They don't like seeing suffering, nor do I think the president does,' Tillis said. 'If you see starvation, you try to fix it.' Trump told reporters Tuesday while capping his trip to Scotland that he was 'trying to get things straightened out' with Netanyahu and Gaza. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee pushed back on the idea the president's remarks this week represent a break in their relationship. 'Let me assure you that there is no break between the prime minister of Israel and the president,' Huckabee said Tuesday on Fox News. 'Their relationship, I think, [is] stronger than it's ever been, and I think the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is as strong as it's ever been.' Images of starving children — and reports of Israeli attacks on civilians lining up for humanitarian aid — have led some members of Trump's base to speak out about the unfolding crisis in Gaza, adding to pressure on the administration to intervene. Trump has said the U.S. will partner with Israel to run additional food centers. The increasing unease among some of Trump's staunchest supporters puts a spotlight on the administration's close ties with Israel and raises additional questions about what exactly Trump will do to get aid into Gaza. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and MAGA-friendly podcast host Theo Von are among those in Trump's orbit who have expressed alarm at the situation. Greene on Tuesday referred to the Israeli campaign in Gaza as 'genocide.' Similar criticism has so far been confined to the left, where academics and activists in pro-Palestinian spaces have accused the Israeli government of 'ethnic cleansing.' The White House earlier this year cracked down on pro-Palestine protests on university campuses, accusing schools of enabling antisemitism and pledging to screen international students' social media accounts for anti-Israel sentiment in their visa applications. The U.N. estimates nearly 1 in 3 people in Gaza are going without food for days at a time. At least 24 children younger than 5 have died from hunger-related causes in July, according to the World Health Organization. 'Immediate, unimpeded' humanitarian access into Gaza is the only way to stop rapidly rising 'starvation and death,' the leading international authority on food crisis said this week. ▪ The Hill: U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday his country will recognize a Palestinian state in September if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza. ▪ Bloomberg News: Netanyahu and Trump criticized Starmer's pledge to recognize the state of Palestine, saying it would reward Hamas. ▪ NPR: His name is Mohammad Al-Motawaq. He is 18 months old. And he is starving in Gaza. ▪ The Atlantic: The bargain behind Gaza's catastrophe. A new Gallup poll measures Americans' approval of Israel's military action in Gaza at 32 percent, the lowest point recorded since the question was first asked in November 2023. While a majority of surveyed Republicans approve of Israel's military actions in Gaza, the wide divergence among political parties is viewed as threatening the longstanding bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Democrats are stepping up pressure on the administration while criticizing Netanyahu's largely passive stance in response to the unfolding crisis in Gaza. A group of 40 Democrats wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff urging the Trump administration to replace the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American non-profit established to deliver food aid, and work with experienced multilateral groups. Progressives have been the most critical of Israel's conduct in its war against Hamas, which followed the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. Twenty-one months later, Israeli hostages remain in Gaza and the death toll of Palestinians in the enclave has eclipsed 60,000. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) broke with many Democrats on Monday when he announced he would not support any additional aid to Israel until the humanitarian crisis is addressed in a meaningful way. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) is warning that Netanyahu has done 'irreparable damage' to Israel's relationship with Democrats. ▪ The Hill: A group of prominent Jewish Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Sen. Adam Schiff (Calif.), are leading an effort to press the Trump administration to secure a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. King warned that Israel's harsh tactics in Gaza are 'disastrous' for its support among global leaders and its standing among Americans. 'They're losing the support of a whole generation of Americans. These young people who are protesting 10 or 15 years from now are going to be in Congress. It's a self-inflicted wound, it's unnecessary,' King said in a statement, adding he thinks this sentiment is shared by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. 'I think everybody is concerned about this,' he said. 'The president made a pretty straightforward statement.' Smart Take with Blake Burman Texas Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is gaining national attention after appearing on Joe Rogan 's podcast, with Rogan at one point even suggesting a presidential run for the 36-year-old from Austin. However, a run for Senate is what could come next. Talarico told me he will make a decision soon, after Texas's legislative session ends in August. 'I am looking at the U.S. Senate seat, and so I'm hoping to focus on that after I get through my current job,' Talarico said. Turning Texas blue is a dream for Democrats. It sounds like we will know later this summer if former Rep. Colin Allred (D), who lost to Sen. Ted Cruz (R) last cycle and is running again, has a new primary challenger or not. Burman hosts 'The Hill' weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation. 3 Things to Know Today Hawaii came away largely unscathed after an overnight tsunami warning prompted evacuations following a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific. President Trump urged people in the affected areas to 'STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!' More details are emerging about the gunman who killed four people, including a New York City police officer, in a shooting at a Manhattan office building on Monday. The Food and Drug Administration 's top vaccine and gene therapy regulator was ousted Tuesday. Vinay Prasad, who had been in the role since May, was a prominent critic of pandemic-era vaccine policy. Leading the Day TRUMP TALKS EPSTEIN: The president offered new details — and raised more questions — about his history with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that the disgraced financier 'stole' employees from the spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort and that's what led to their falling-out years ago. 'People were taken out of the spa hired by him … when I heard about it, I told him, I said, 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa. I don't want you taking people,'' Trump said. 'And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, 'Out of here.'' The administration has faced weeks of mounting pressure to produce more information about the Epstein case, which has long been the subject of conspiracy theories. The DOJ and FBI's insistence earlier this month that Epstein died by suicide and kept no 'client list' has fallen flat among many of Trump's supporters while Democrats also demand more info. Trump's latest revelations come as the Justice Department (DOJ) and members of Congress have sought more information from Epstein's ex-girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years behind bars for her role in the sex trafficking scheme. Maxwell's attorney has said she would only speak with the GOP-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee if granted immunity for her testimony, an idea the panel swiftly rejected Tuesday. ▪ ABC News: Trump says Epstein 'stole' Virginia Giuffre and other young women from Mar-a-Lago spa. ▪ The Hill: Trump says Wall Street Journal wants to settle defamation lawsuit. FED UP: The Federal Reserve will set interest rates Wednesday and is expected to keep rates steady, following an aggressive pressure campaign from Trump to lower rates. Up next: The latest inflation figures come out Thursday, and the July jobs report will come out Friday. HELPING HANDOUT: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wants to give $600 'tariff rebates' to almost all Americans and their dependent children — a proposal that could translate to a $2,400 boost for a family of four. But Hawley insists it's not aimed at relieving Americans from Trump's tariffs — it's about former President Biden. 'Americans deserve a tax rebate after four years of Biden policies that have devastated families' savings and livelihoods,' Hawley said in a statement. 'Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump's tariffs are returning to this country.' The Trump administration's dramatic tariff hikes this year have generated nearly $130 billion in federal revenue, which will grow by the end of the year — depending on where rates stick as the administration tries to hash out deals with additional countries. ON THOSE TRADE DEALS: The clock is ticking on Trump's Friday deadline for countries to reach agreements or face the hefty 'reciprocal tariff' rates the White House rolled out, and then delayed, earlier this year. 'I think the trade deals are working out well,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday during his return from Scotland. 'Hopefully, for everybody, but for the United States, they're very, very good.' CHINA: U.S. and Chinese negotiators left their latest meeting without finalizing an agreement to extend a temporary tariff truce past Aug. 12, but Trump denied reports that he is seeking a one-on-one with Chinese President Xi Jinping to work out a deal with Beijing. 'The Fake News is reporting that I am SEEKING a 'Summit' with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything!' Trump posted to Truth Social. ' I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest! Thank you for your attention to this matter.' INDIA: While speaking to reporters on Air Force One, the president warned that tariffs on India could go as high as 25 percent. 'India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country. You know that, right? Over the years,' Trump said. 'But now I'm in charge, and you just can't do that.' ▪ Axios: The global economy is surviving Trump's trade wars with stronger-than-expected growth, according to the International Monetary Fund. ▪ The Associated Press: Employers posted 7.4 million job vacancies last month, a sign that the American job market continues to cool. ▪ The New York Times: The president's vision for reshaping global trade is falling into place, but he is embarking on an experiment that economists say could still produce damaging results. Where and When The president will participate in a bill signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room at 1:30 p.m. At 4 p.m., he will speak about 'Making Health Technology Great Again' in the East Room. The Senate will convene at 10 a.m. The House is in recess and resumes work in Washington on Sept. 2. Zoom In APPROPRIATIONS RACE: Senate Republicans are moving swiftly to clear key hurdles in order to pass the first tranche of spending bills by the start of the August recess and get the ball moving toward avoiding a government shutdown in two months. The Hill's Al Weaver and Aris Folley write that appropriators are crafting a three-bill package that covers full-year funding for the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Justice, the Food and Drug Administration, rural development, military construction and science agencies — a decision that came after much hemming and hawing across the chamber. Republicans took a major step on Tuesday by clearing two key holds on the package, giving them a clear path on their side as they await word from Democrats in what they hope will keep up a bipartisan effort to get the measure across the finish line in the coming days. '[We] have essentially resolved the holds that have to do with appropriations,' Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters, lauding the 'great progress.' WHISTLEBLOWER: The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Emil Bove to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, launching Trump's former personal lawyer to a lifetime appointment on the bench amid a series of whistleblower complaints about his conduct. His nomination was confirmed with a 50-49 vote, with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Collins crossing the aisle to join all Democrats in opposing his nomination. 'They reward a man, credibly accused of wanting to lie to judges, with a black robe and gavel of his own,' Schumer said on the floor after the vote. 'And they're confirming him for one reason only: Mr. Bove is loyal to Donald Trump, therefore Donald Trump wants him on the bench. The calculus is as simple as that.' Bove, currently in the No. 3 role at the Justice Department, is the subject of three different complaints in recent weeks, with two alleging he suggested violating court orders and a third saying he reportedly misled Congress on the dropping of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams (D). ▪ The Hill: Democrats on the Senate Health Committee launched an investigation on Tuesday into Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's firing of all members of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory panel. ▪ The Hill: The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist, to lead the CDC. FLOOR FIGHT: Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) blew up at fellow Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) in a heated back-and-forth on the Senate floor Tuesday, accusing members of his party of being 'willing to be complicit' with Trump. Booker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said the Democratic Party needs a 'wake-up call' and that some colleagues who are elected to defend the Constitution are willing to 'look the other way' and let some blue states suffer as long as their states don't get dinged as well. CAMPAIGN: Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) called it a 'five-alarm fire.' As Texas Republicans move forward with a highly unusual plan to redraw congressional lines in the middle of the decade, Lone Star State Democrats see it as an effort to shut them out of federal power. There's clear precedent: A questionably legal campaign of mid-decade redistricting in 2003 is a big part of the reason why Texas's state government is both utterly red and its politics so thoroughly polarized. GOP efforts that year shifted Texas' congressional delegation from a solid Democratic majority to one that has been 2-to-1 Republican ever since. Now as Democrats make gains in formerly Republican suburbs, the state GOP — with a strong push from Trump — is racing to lock in their dominance by destroying at least four or five Democratic districts. ▪ The Hill: Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper 's (D) Senate campaign announced it raised more than $3.4 million in the 24 hours since launching Monday. ▪ CNN: Cooper gave Democrats a top Senate recruit in North Carolina. Now they're trying to find more. ▪ The 19th: Michigan has been a pipeline for women in power. Will that continue in 2026? Elsewhere TECHY SUBJECTS: Artificial intelligence (AI) could become more prevalent in schools, but questions remain about the best ways to encourage students' use of the powerful technology. Trump unveiled multiple AI plans, including for K-12 schools, last week — a move advocates say could either be a turning point or fleeting fascination. The Hill's Lexi Lonas Cochran reports that the next steps will depend on private market buy-in, addressing ethical and data concerns and ensuring educators have the proper training with AI. 'This is really the first time the U.S. government has explicitly positioned AI education as a national security issue, and it's really a long time coming,' said Alex Kotran, co-founder and CEO of the AI Education Project. Kotran noted that China — not the U.S. — has been leading AI in education since 2017. HOW THE WHITE HOUSE SEES IT: The Trump administration's view that the U.S. is locked in a fierce battle with China over AI dominance has permeated the administration's major policies on the powerful technology. 'The United States is in a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence,' an introduction to the plan from several key Trump officials reads. 'Whoever has the largest AI ecosystem will set global AI standards and reap broad economic and military benefits.' ▪ The Wall Street Journal: AI Is wrecking an already fragile job market for college graduates. ▪ TechCrunch: OpenAI launches Study Mode in ChatGPT. ▪ The New York Post: 21 states warn JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, BlackRock's Larry Fink to scrap 'woke' environmental goals. Opinion The Trump presidency takes a better turn, by columnist Bret Stephens, The New York Times. Hamas will never surrender, by columnist William A. Galston, The Wall Street Journal. The Closer And finally … 🌎 It's a bird, it's a plane — it's a new radar satellite, built by NASA and India's space agency! The NASA-ISRO Aperture Radar mission, or NISAR, set to launch this morning, will take flight from Satish Dhawan Space Center on India's southeastern coast. The satellite's mission? To precisely map nearly all of Earth's land and ice regions, down to the inch. Because NISAR uses radar signals, it can sense deformations in Earth's surface and could provide early warning of impending natural disasters — including volcanic eruptions and landslides. The satellite will also track ice sheets and flood zones, helping rescue teams in impacted areas.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Pressure on Trump grows as Greene joins MAGA voices criticizing Israel on Gaza
Members of President Trump's MAGA base are speaking out about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, adding to pressure on the administration to intervene and underscoring a looming divide among Trump supporters over how to approach the situation. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and podcast host Theo Von are among those who have expressed alarm in recent days about the situation in Gaza, where Trump acknowledged this week ' real starvation ' was happening on the ground. The increasing unease among some of Trump's staunchest supporters puts a spotlight on the administration's close ties with Israel and raises additional questions about what exactly Trump will do to get aid into Gaza. 'A way has to be found to get aid to Gaza and to discredit efforts by Hamas to blame the humanitarian situation on the U.S. and Israel,' one source close to the White House told The Hill. 'Trump is committed to ending this conflict, but I don't know what his next steps will be.' Trump said Monday he did 'not particularly' agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that there was no starvation happening in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel's war against Hamas. The president also said the U.S. would take a more active role in getting food into the region. 'I think everybody unless they're cold-hearted or worse than that, nuts, there's nothing you can say other than it's terrible,' Trump said Tuesday of the images of children going hungry. But Trump also indicated Tuesday that Israel would take a leading role in helping to get more food into Gaza. Critics have argued Israel, which in March imposed an embargo on aid going into Gaza, is partly responsible for the deteriorating conditions in Gaza. 'They don't want Hamas stealing the money and stealing the food. I think Israel wants to do it. And they'll be good at doing it,' Trump said, adding that he spoke to Netanyahu 'two days ago.' The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a United Nations-affiliated group, said in a report Tuesday that the ' worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.' Trump's own messaging around Gaza — that there is a genuine humanitarian crisis on the ground but that Israel deserves deference to operate — is reflective of the differing views among his own supporters. Podcast host Joe Rogan, who has a massive audience and hosted Trump on his show during the 2024 campaign, has been outspoken about the situation in Gaza. Von, another prominent podcast host who has sat down with Trump and Vice President Vance, urged leaders this week to do more to get aid into Gaza. 'Standing with Israel means eliminating every barbaric Hamas terrorist. It also means rejecting the killing and starvation of children in Gaza,' Gooden, a Trump ally, posted on the social platform X. 'We must allow aid to enter Gaza. Ending this hunger crisis will not only spare the lives of children but will strip Hamas of its ability to use innocent children as pawns in their depraved acts of barbarism.' Greene, one of Trump's most high-profile supporters in the House, took to social media this week to condemn the conditions in Gaza. 'It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,' Greene posted on X, becoming the first GOP lawmaker to publicly refer to the situation in Gaza as a 'genocide.' Greene also tangled online with fellow House Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), who dismissed suggestions that people are starving in Gaza. 'There is no starvation. Everything about the 'Palestinian' cause is a lie,' Fine, one of three Jewish Republicans in the House, wrote in a post Sunday. Last week, Fine posted: 'Release the hostages. Until then, starve away.' Greene in a post criticizing Fine said his 'calling for the continued starvation of innocent people and children is disgraceful. His awful statement will actually cause more antisemitism.' It's still unclear, however, if the growing criticism within MAGA of the hunger crisis in Gaza is a sign of a mounting break among Trump's base when it comes to Israel and the Middle East. A Gallup poll published Tuesday found U.S. support for Israel's military action in Gaza had dropped to 32 percent, down 10 percentage points since September. But Republican support for Israel's actions in Gaza had actually ticked up from 66 percent in September to 71 percent in the latest poll. Support for Israel has long been a cornerstone of Republican foreign policy, and many in the party have argued Israel has a right to destroy Hamas after the terrorist group carried out deadly attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Those attacks killed approximately 1,200 people, while Gazan authorities, which report to Hamas, have estimated casualties in Gaza as amounting to 60,000 people, a figure that includes militants and civilians. Trump has referred to himself as the most pro-Israel president in history, and there are Trump loyalists, such as Fine, who have been adamantly opposed to doing more to address the situation. Then there is Laura Loomer, who has previously described herself as a 'proud Islamophobe' but has had audiences in recent months with both Trump and Vance. Loomer has criticized the mechanism used to send aid to Gaza and dismissed reports of starvation as 'fake.' 'Members of the US Congress should not be pushing Palestinian Propaganda,' Loomer posted on X.
Al Etihad
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Etihad
Time for international organisations to adapt and change
29 July 2025 01:16 By: OBAID FAISAL ALKAABIThe international organisations and their role in today's world have become a subject of debate, not only in the Global South but also in the western corridors of power. Over the past decade, some western countries have taken the lead in criticising international organisations and blocs with some even opting to withdraw from them, claiming that these bodies no longer serve their interests or align with their policies, with the United States at the forefront during the first and second administrations of President Donald the most recent US decisions in this regard was its withdrawal from UNESCO; it has already left the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Human Rights Council. Trump's return to the White House has renewed this trend, as his administration once again reviews America's membership in various United Nations-affiliated bodies. Official justifications for these decisions often centre around claims of bias, lack of independence, poor crisis management, and failure to achieve US interests. The United States contributes significantly more funding to these organisations than many other, more populous countries. The change has gone to the point that a Republican senator introduced a bill in the Senate urging the US to quit the United moves significantly weakened the activity of some organisations and perhaps paralysed others, whether due to funding cuts or by banning their operations in certain from official reasons, Trump is not convinced by the post-World War II global order, which was established by the US and led to the creation of international political and economic institutions, chief among them the United Nations and its agencies. While the multiple US withdrawals from international organisations and treaties may diminish its global role to some extent, Washington views this as a principled rejection of multilateral mechanisms, even as international law is largely dependent on such Trump, the United States adopts a transactional attitude towards global engagement. As such, membership in international organisations is evaluated through a cost-benefit lens, especially in terms of economic cutting costs may be one factor, the more decisive motive remains the 'America First' policy. Accordingly, Washington places little value on organisations that do not align with its inward-focused policies and its preference for domestic over international before Trump came to power, there was another example from the western part of the world. In 2016, the United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union for reasons connected to immigration, economics, and sovereignty. This marked a return of protectionist measures to the global economic scene, culminating in today's widespread tariff hikes, although many believed such practices had been dismantled in the post-World War II transformations take time, there seems to be a shift toward alternative mechanisms that may marginalise international organisations, especially if this western vision is not merely a passing phase tied to certain political figures. Yet, we must also acknowledge the shortcomings of international organisations in the face of global conflicts. Some international organisations' handling of wars and crises has often exposed institutional bias, either embedded within their structures or forced upon them by dominant global powers seeking to legitimise their geopolitical end of World War II ushered in a new era of global governance, where sovereign equality among nations would be enshrined through the United Nations. But it seems that the current US administration wants to reshape the world in a way that advances its own interests and reinforces its dominance and values. It seeks to rewrite the rules on global issues like trade, cyberspace, and emerging technologies. Meanwhile, many countries in the Global South remain disillusioned by the current global system that has yet to fulfill their aspirations. They now call for a multi-polar world order that respects sovereignty and ensures economic and social these diverging global visions, international organisations find themselves at a critical juncture: Will they remain entrenched in the current world order, or will they evolve to become foundational institutions in the coming era as well? The columnist is a staffer at the think-tank firm TRENDS Research & Advisory
Straits Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Seabed-mining firm faces legal questions over controversial Trump policy
The Metals Company CEO Gerard Barron speaking at the opening of the company's public trading, at Times Square in Manhattan, in 2021. Two months ago, President Donald Trump took an extraordinary step toward issuing permits to mine vast tracts of the ocean floor in international waters where valuable minerals are abundant. It was a boon to The Metals Company, an ambitious startup that had already spent more than a half-billion dollars preparing to become the world's first commercial seabed miner. Within days of Mr Trump's executive order, the company submitted its application to the federal government. As a result, some of the company's international partners are now questioning their relationships with The Metals Company. Mr Trump's order conflicts with a long-standing treaty known as the Law of the Sea, potentially exposing them to legal risks. The issue with The Metals Company's seabed-mining application is that nearly every country in the world, but not the United States, has signed the Law of the Sea treaty. Its language is clear: Mining in areas outside a country's territorial waters before nations agree on how to handle the practice is not just a breach of international law, but an affront to 'the common heritage of mankind'. In May, a Japanese firm that The Metals Company has partnered with in the past to process minerals from seabed-mining test runs, said it was 'carefully discussing the matter with TMC,' citing the importance of doing business with companies 'via a route that has earned international credibility'. In June, the Dutch parliament, noting that The Metals Company would be using a ship belonging to Allseas, a half-Dutch company, voted to request that the Dutch government 'take and support any possible (legal) action against the US and The Metals Company' if they mine in international waters. At this month's meetings of the International Seabed Authority, or ISA, which is a United Nations-affiliated body that administers the Law of the Sea, delegates hotly debated whether to strip The Metals Company and its partners of exploration permits it had obtained through the ISA in recent years and would soon need to extend. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Mr Barron said that because the United States was the world's most powerful economy, his company's international partners would simply have to deal with the impending reality of commercial seabed mining and adapt their stances on international law. He also said that his company's US permit to start mining in international waters would be issued 'sooner than people expect'. The Metals Company could process its minerals in Indonesia rather than Japan, Mr Barron said, noting that Indonesia and the United States signed a hard-fought trade agreement last week. And that Allseas could relocate out of the Netherlands, a move the company's CEO, Pieter Heerema, alluded to in recent comments to the Dutch press. 'We don't have to, but must be able to consider it,' Mr Heerema said. 'The Netherlands was attractive – now it isn't.' At a recent UN conference in France, Nathan Nagy, a legal adviser to the US State Department made a forceful speech defending his country's stance on seabed mining in international waters, reiterating that the United States has 'never considered' the Law of the Sea to 'reflect customary international law'. Mr Barron said his company opted to apply for a US permit because the ISA had failed for many years to issue the regulations necessary to begin issuing its own extraction permits in international waters. The ISA had pledged to settle those regulations by this year, but is widely expected to miss that deadline. Delegates at the ongoing ISA's talks in Kingston, Jamaica, described feverish, closed-door sessions filled with debate over how to address the Trump administration's decision to start allowing seabed mining in international waters. On July 21, the organisation's council, made up of 36 elected member states, stopped short of punitive action but passed a resolution urging the body's legal and technical committee to investigate 'noncompliance' by its signatories. ISA member states are bound by the Law of the Sea to prevent public and private entities in their countries from doing business with anyone mining without an ISA permit, which is precisely what The Metals Company is aiming to do. 'TMC has been testing the limits of what it can get away with, a bit like a child seeing how far it can go with bad behavior,' said Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, who was present at the talks in Kingston. 'The member countries of the ISA have basically sent a shot across the bow, a warning to TMC that going rogue may well result in the loss of its ISA exploration claims,' he said. 'It also sends a signal to other companies that if they go the same route as TMC has, they may also face the same consequences.' The ISA's draft regulations, which already stretch to nearly 200 pages, remained largely unsettled. The process has been stymied by disagreements over environmental regulations, including how much sediment seabed miners would be allowed to put back in the water, as well as how much in royalties miners would owe to countries sponsoring their permits. The ISA's Brazilian secretary-general, Leticia Carvalho, told delegates in a speech that completing the regulations as soon as possible was 'the best tool we have to prevent the chaos that unilateral action could bring.' 'What will prevent the Wild West are the rules,' she said. The Metals Company's ISA-issued exploration permits were obtained through intermediaries in the small South Pacific island nations of Nauru and Tonga. They pertain to areas within a vast stretch of ocean floor about halfway between Mexico and Hawaii, called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. The seabed there is blanketed with potato-size nodules containing large proportions of manganese and smaller amounts of nickel, cobalt and copper, all of which have growing uses in military equipment, electronics and large-scale industries such as steelmaking. The United States considers those metals critical to national security and has sought new sources of them because China dominates current supply chains. No commercial-scale seabed mining has ever taken place. The technological hurdles are high, and there have been serious concerns about the environmental consequences in the deep sea, a region of the planet that is little understood to science. Anticipating that mining would eventually be allowed, companies like Barron's have invested heavily in developing technologies to mine the ocean floors. This includes ships with huge claws that would extend down to the seabed, as well as autonomous vehicles attached to gargantuan vacuums that would scour the ocean floor. NYTIMES
