As Twitchy reported Wednesday, President Joe Biden went on CNN to confirm what had been leaked all weekend long — that the administration was planning to withhold military aid from Israel if the IDF went ahead with its operation in Rafah. Just as Israel has Hamas backed into a corner, the U.S. has decided not to provide precision bombs. White House NSC spokesman John Kirby was sent out in front of the press again Thursday and explained why the White House has taken this step. Apparently, the Biden administration feels that Hamas as been "significantly depleted." Not defeated, mind you, but significantly depleted. A withdrawal of Israeli troops would give Hamas some breathing room to build its military capacity back up.
The White House indicates that it has taken the far-reaching step of threatening to withhold aid from Israel at this stage in the war because it feels that Hamas has been significantly depleted. (1/5)
— Jacob Magid (@JacobMagid) May 9, 2024
"We believe that [Israel has] put an enormous amount of pressure on Hamas and that there are better ways to go after what is left of Hamas in Rafah than a major ground operation," White House NSC spokesperson John Kirby says in a briefing with reporters. (2/5)
— Jacob Magid (@JacobMagid) May 9, 2024
And what would those better ways be? Like the Afghanistan withdrawal?
"Early on in the conflict, Hamas didn't feel and hadn't suffered, the kinds of pressure and the kinds of casualties that they have suffered now," he says. (3/5)
— Jacob Magid (@JacobMagid) May 9, 2024
"[Israel has] eliminated a lot of the leaders through the fighting that they have conducted over the last several months. They have decimated the ranks of many of their units. The picture of Hamas today is not what it was six months ago," Kirby continues. (4/5)
— Jacob Magid (@JacobMagid) May 9, 2024
The White House spokesperson adds that the decision by US President Joe Biden to issue the threat also had to do with the "preps for a major operation in Rafah and certainly rhetoric around that" coming out of Israel. (5/5)
— Jacob Magid (@JacobMagid) May 9, 2024
Is this like the "proportionate response" that all of the bleeding hearts were crying out for after October 7? "Well, sure, you have to strike back, but just a little bit."
In other words, leave Hamas in place. We didn't notice any mention of the American hostages or even Palestinian civilians — just the "suffering and pressure" Hamas has undergone.
The architects of the withdrawal from Afghanistan want to dictate to Israel how and when to withdraw from Gaza.
— Andy Uzick (@AndyUzick) May 9, 2024
That is a very long-winded way of saying “we are losing in Michigan, so we need Hamas to survive and win, so the pro-Hamas voters in Dearborn will vote for us.”
— CB (@CB10891481) May 9, 2024
It was earlier this week when Kirby told the press that Hamas is "just an idea" like Antifa, and you can't defeat it through military operations.
The Biden administration knows this isn’t true. They just didn’t expect pushback for stopping weapons sales to Israel because most of the people that the White House chooses to speak with are pro-Hamas ideologues.
— RavenNole (@RavenNole) May 9, 2024
Replace the “significantly depleted ” with “utterly depleted” and this justification would make more sense.
— Bill Weinstein ✡️🟦 (@BillWeinsteinOH) May 9, 2024
As long as the leaders of Hamas are at large and the hostages have not been returned, the mission has not been completed.
— CYNN (@CYNN_Official) May 9, 2024
Exactly. They said they'd do October 7 over and over again if given the opportunity.
The objective is annihilation, not depletion. Depletion leads to more October 7’s.
— paul rocchio (@paulrocchio6) May 9, 2024
"President Roosevelt has cancelled the D-Day landings because he feels that Nazi Germany has been significantly depleted."
— Paddy McGoohan's Coat (@notanumber66) May 9, 2024
This adminstration is historically incompetent. Everything it advocates makes things worse and gets more people killed. This is criminally stupid.
— icarus192535 (@icarus192535) May 9, 2024
Have none of these politicians ever been in a fight before? Who backs down at the final moment? Its too stupid to contemplate.
— Deb 🇸🇻 (@debrphillips) May 9, 2024
Biden has no experience in honoring commitments under pressure or when his bread can be buttered by folding.
— Linda Rose (@ratpyan) May 9, 2024
This administration is a shit show. Their lies and incompetence are unrivaled.
— Jacob Shed (@jacobshed24) May 9, 2024
Join the conversation as a VIP Member