The Common Ills: Iraq snapshot

Monday, July 08, 2024

Iraq snapshot

Monday, July 8, 2024. Joe needs to go and proved it Friday, the UK may stop trying to delay the ICC from serving arrest warrants, the Israeli government has spent the last three days (counting this morning) attacking schools, a new estimate finds that close to 200,000 people may have been killed so far in the slaughter on Gaza, and much more.

Yesterday evening, the Biden-Harris Campaign sent out the following;

The American people have seen who Donald Trump really is.

The delusion.
The lying.
The racism.
The xenophobia.
The admiration of dictators.
The utter cruelty.

Instead of properly handling the COVID crisis, Trump played golf and told people to inject bleach. Instead of accepting the 2020 election results, Trump riled up a mob that ransacked our Capitol and violently attacked law enforcement.

Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy. And he is a threat to everything we hold dear.

It's our shared responsibility to defeat Trump once and for all and save our democracy -- but it will be impossible if supporters like you sit on the sidelines.

The MAGA Right has stockpiled millions of dollars to spread absurd falsehoods, and we must respond with strength.

And that goes into why Ava and I wrote "Media: It's Time For Joe To Go."

This is lousy campaigning and we don't have weeks and weeks to fix it.

The Democratic Party needs a better nominee. Competency is not enough.

So on Friday, ABC aired George Stephanopoulos interview with Joe Biden. And it was a huge disappointment. Nearly 30 minutes of conversation and it advanced nothing.

George's role was to ask questions. He is not the campaign. Joe's job was to have been the campaign.

Every question was met by Joe with a defensive answer. He had been tired, he had done this, travel, whatever. It was like he sat the for a half hour while George slugged him repeatedly and, at the end, he expected a judge to rush out and exclaim "It's a draw!" 'Enduring' an interview is not proof that you've got what it takes.

Especially as the same basic question got asked and re-asked, Joe should have taken those questions and shown America a future. Example, "Well, George that was last week and we've discussed that. I think American people are more interested in what we can do the next four years. For instance, our children need . . ."

He didn't do that.

And we're not talking about a newbie. Except for four years, Joe has held public office since 1972. And two of those four years when he didn't hold office, he was campaigning -- first for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, then for the presidency.

He's not up to it and his team is beyond stupid.

The microphone level was one of the problems in the debate. Where was the Biden campaign's communications team to see that he was properly miked?

If this were January, there would be too many problems to fix at this point.

Is it fair that one debate -- which he actually won -- destroyed his re-election bid?

No.

No, it's not fair. Life's not fair.

But the media has had their bone for almost two weeks now and they're not letting it go. If he were a starlet on a bender, he would be told that it would take at least six to eight weeks damage control to rehabilitate his image. We don't have to six to eight weeks to see if he can get back to where he was -- which was still slightly behind Donald in some polls.

And Joe's not trying to sell tickets to a film that if it bombs might be sad but wouldn't be the end of democracy. There's no guarantee that even a heavy spin could bring him back to where he was. And e-mails like the one we quoted at the start? Donald Trump is evil. But that's not enough. When Democrats win, they usually win for inspiring. Bill Clinton was "Hope Not Fear." Barack Obama was "Yes We Can." Joe's already won once on "The Other Guy Is Nuts." Expecting people to go out four years later for the same slogan? People have busy lives. Voting isn't a breeze for most people (especially those who don't live in Oregon).

And four months out from the election isn't when you should have to be going backwards to try to rebuild confidence in the nominee.

This is actually the time when he should have been building support and enthusiasm, not attempting to reassure voters that he can stagger to the finishing line.

And the only thing crazier than his being in the race right now is this notion that it needs to be sugar coated so he'll step down. He got to be president of the United States. There's not a higher political role in the country -- maybe in the world. You got to the top, Joe, step down.

Every day that he doesn't is harming the Democratic Party.

The only thing that's going to end the media focus on the debate is an even bigger gas bag event for them: Who will replace Joe!

It will allow the cheap ass cable 'news' to pretend it's reporting as they speculate and gossip and don't do any real work. It'll make their summer.

Joe can say he wants to spend more time with his family. He can say the truth, "Like the rest of you, I'm concerned about the threat of Donald Trump to this country and I feel it is in the best interest of the country if I step aside."

In terms of a news cycle, the debate was an eternity ago yet it still dominates and that's going to continue unless the media's given a new topic. Joe failed to do so with speeches and he failed to do so with the ABC interview.

Julie Tsirkin, Scott Wong, Rebecca Kaplan, Syedah Asghar and Megan Lebowitz (CNN) note:

Four additional Democrats in Congress told their lawmaker colleagues during a phone call Sunday that they believe President Joe Biden should step aside to allow someone else to be the party’s nominee for president, according to multiple people on the call and familiar with the discussion.

The House Democrats who said Biden should drop out of the race were Adam Smith of Washington, Jerry Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California and Joe Morelle of New York.

All four lawmakers hold top positions on key committees and bring the number of Democrats in Congress who have called for Biden to reconsider his bid for president to nearly a dozen.

Smith is the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. Similar positions are held by Nadler on the Judiciary Committee, Takano on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Morelle on the House Administration Committee.

The four lawmakers and the Biden campaign did not immediately provide comments on the call.

Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei (AXIOS) note:

The big picture: Democratic lawmakers have gone from shock, to sadness, to madness since the debate 10 days ago. These Democrats, further deflated by Biden's high-stakes ABC interview, believe there's nothing he can do to reverse the damage — or his aging.

"The sh*t is going to hit the fan on Monday, when Congress returns," a House Democrat told us. "People are scared about their own races. But they're also worried about the country, and about democracy."
Lawmakers were antsy enough about Biden during their Fourth of July break this past week. There'll be even greater torque when they're venting, raging and plotting in person.

"Every single person not named Biden," or paid by the president, recognizes how deep a hole he's in, said a top Democratic operative who's talking nonstop to elected officials.

David Axelrod, former President Obama's political architect, described Biden's posture in an opinion piece Saturday: "Denial. Delusion. Defiance." Axe said a growing chorus of Democrats is "fearful of an electoral disaster."

A front-page story in Sunday's Washington Post quotes an adviser to major donors as estimating that "for every 10 people who think he should exit, one thinks he should stay." The story says multiple people "publicly vouching for Biden, at the behest of the White House and campaign, privately say there's no path." (Saved ya 2,550 words, 9½ mins.!)

This is a very bad time. And one thing that needs to be noted is that this has nearly destroyed his campaign. We're four months out. He can't hide in a basement like he did during the Democratic Party primaries -- meaning, four more months of him out in public. The press has sharpened their knives and will be waiting to pounce on any stumble. Joe needs to go.

Let's turn to Gaza, here are some numbers via ALJAZEERA:

3,376 massacres committed by the Israeli army
38,153 people killed
10,000 missing (their fate unknown)
15,983 children killed
34 died as a result of malnutrition
10,637 women killed
500 medical personnel killed
75 members of the civil defence killed
158 journalists killed
520 bodies recovered from seven mass graves near Gaza hospitals
157 shelters targeted by Israel
87,828 wounded
70 percent of victims are children and women
17,000 children are now without either or both parents

On the issue of the death toll, THE NATIONAL notes:

Up to 186,000 people may have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, according to a Lancet Journal report. The report said the estimate includes direct deaths from the conflict as well as indirect deaths from causes such as reproductive, communicable and non-communicable diseases.

The Lancet is one of the world's most highly cited medical journals.

In February, John Hopkins University estimated 70,000 'excess deaths' including 10,000 from diseases.

I think that's a solid estimate. The official count is an undercount because so many are missing, all these months later. The official daily count does not include them -- nor does it pretend to. For nine months now, this slaughter has been going on.

This morning, Patrick Wintour (GUARDIAN) reports:

The new Labour government is expected to drop a bid to delay the international criminal court (ICC) reaching a decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The development came as Keir Starmer, the new UK prime minister, told the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, that he believed the Palestinians had an undeniable right to a Palestinian state. Starmer spoke to Abbas on Sunday about the “ongoing suffering and devastating loss of life” in Gaza.

He also spoke to Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, setting out the “clear and urgent” need for a ceasefire in Gaza. “He added that it was also important to ensure the long-term conditions for a two-state solution were in place, including ensuring the Palestinian Authority had the financial means to operate effectively,” a readout of the call said.

And this morning, Nada Maucourant Atallah (THE NATIONAL) reports:

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the army will not stop fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon if a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip with Hamas, and that a separate deal with the Lebanese militant group is needed.

His threat came after Hezbollah on Sunday said it had launched its largest aerial operation yet, attacking an Israeli surveillance centre on Mount Hermon in the annexed Golan Heights.

“My instructions to the forces in the north and the south are clear: even if we reach a settlement in the south, we will continue to fight in the north until we bring Hezbollah to a settlement and restore the residents with security,” Mr Gallant said in a video on Sunday during a visit to the Mount Hermon area.

“Things can happen. We do not aspire to it. We are ready for anything, but we are prepared for the fact that if they come to attack us, or if they try to harm us, or if they do not allow us to return our citizens safely to their homes – we will act.”

ALJAZEERA, meanwhile, notes, "We are receiving reports that Israeli forces are demolishing Amira School in in the Masafer Yatta region, south of occupied West Bank. The school serves 70 students from first to fifth grade. The demolition of schools by the Israeli army is not new. According to the UN, there have been 36 demolitions of 20 schools in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank since 2010." The Israeli government has been attacking schools and universities throughout the slaughter but has been on a bigger kick in the last three days.

On Saturday, the big attack today was on Al-Jaouni School. Australia's ABC explains, "Al-Nuseirat, one of Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, was the site of stepped-up Israeli bombardment on Saturday." Rushdi Aboualouf and Tom McArthur (BBC NEWS) reported, "Video from the scene of the Nuseirat school strike shows adults and children screaming in a smoke-filled street covered in dust and rubble, as they run to help the wounded. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that the attack targeted the upper floors of the school, which is located near a busy market." CNN quoted an unnamed "displaced man" stating, "There was a swing here, swings were here, (children) were playing. What was their fault? We barely found this place in the school, but even the school is not safe." The attack left at least 16 dead. ALJAZEERA quotes Al-Aqsa Hospital's Dr Mohmmed Tahir:

I entered the ER, and there was absolute chaos. The first thing I saw was the three or four children on the floor, one of whom had horrific injuries to the lower back, a flesh wound that went all the way down to the spine. He had trouble moving his legs. So, I can only imagine that he had a severe spinal cord injury. Bear in mind, we don’t have a CT scanner at Al-Aqsa Hospital. It’s not set up as a trauma centre, so this hospital, which should normally run with a capacity of 200, has 600 patients. You have children lying on the floors, men lying on a floor, injured people everywhere. It’s chaos, and you’re dealing with an already broken system.

THE IRISH TIMES quotes Mahmoud Basal (Gaza Civil Emergency Service) stating, "The attack on the school meant no place in the enclave was safe for families who leave their houses to seek shelter," And that was Saturday. Sunday? The Israeli government bombed another school. Soraya Ebrahimi (THE NATIONAL) reports:

The civil defence agency in Hamas-run Gaza said a strike Sunday on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least four people, the second such Israeli attack in two days.

The Israeli military, which has long accused Palestinian militants of using schools and other civilian infrastructure, confirmed the strike "in the area of the school" in Gaza City.

It said the school complex was used as a militant hideout and housed "a Hamas weapons manufacturing facility".

The civil defence agency said Ihab Al Ghusain, the Hamas government's deputy labour minister, was among those killed in the strike on the Holy Family school.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said it is monitoring, with grave concern, the news of the raids at its school.

It condemned “in the strongest terms the targeting of civilians or any belligerent actions that fall short of ensuring that civilians remain outside the combat scene".

"We continue to pray for the Lord’s mercy and hope that the parties will reach an agreement that would put an immediate end to the horrifying bloodbath and humanitarian catastrophe in the region,” the organisation said.

Mina Aldroubi (THE NATIONAL) notes this morning other attacks, "One witness said quadcopter drones were shooting intensively around the universities and industrial area in Tel Al Hawa neighbourhood, south-west of the city."

Gaza remains under assault. Day 276 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." ALJAZEERA notes, "At least 75 people have also been injured in Israel’s attacks across Gaza, raising the total number of injuries since October 7 to 87,903, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The new figures raised the overall death toll to 38,193, including more than 15,983 children and 10,637 women, the ministry said." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:

April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."

As for the area itself? Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War."

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