The vast majority of Republicans and most Democrats support Israel in their plight against Hamas. The images and videos that emerged on and after October 7 sparked massive outrage in the western world. And despite the loud minority that continues to hold protests across the nation, most Americans would like to see Hamas stifled one way or another.
Some of us just don’t want to get involved.
Apparently, Congress feels differently. In a massively one-sided vote, the House passed a resolution backing Israel and condemning Hamas. Only the antisemitic “Squad” and Massie voted against it. But before anyone starts throwing Massie in with the likes of Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, it’s important to understand why Massie was opposed to this resolution.
It’s not that he doesn’t support Israel. He does. It’s not that he’s trying to justify what Hamas did and continues to do. His concerns rest solely in the language of the resolution which paves the way for direct U.S. military involvement and ongoing “aid” to Israel.
As he posted on Twitter:
I condemn the barbaric attack on Israel and I affirm Israel’s right to defend itself.
However, I will not be voting for House Resolution 771 today because:
1) It calls for sanctions on a sovereign country. Sanctions are a prelude to war and hurt the citizens of the country more than the government of the country that’s being sanctioned. And ultimately, sanctions create laws that will be used to prosecute American citizens (who engage in trade), not citizens of the sanctioned country. In short, sanctions do not achieve their stated purposes but do breed resentment of our country abroad.
2) It asserts the necessity of foreign aid commitments which I have voted against. Our country is going bankrupt and we can’t afford to borrow money to send overseas, yet this resolution states that we should.
3) It contains an open-ended promise of military support that is so broad that it could be interpreted to commit US soldiers to the conflict. US troops should not be engaged in this conflict.
4) It tends to broaden the conflict to other countries when it would be better to keep the war contained geographically.
Here’s a link to the text of the resolution, which contains some statements I do support and some statements I cannot support.
We can debate the efficacy of sanctions, though I would point to how much harm the sanctions against Russia have done to western economies, including ours. One can argue that if full-blown de-dollarization occurs and the U.S. Dollar is usurped as the world reserve currency, we can point to Russian sanctions as the catalyst.
As for foreign aid commitments, it’s very hard to argue Massie’s point. Israel does not need aid. They could use intelligence and a blanket of protection against the antisemitic United Nations, but otherwise Israel is best left to do what they need to do. Should we sell them weapons? Sure. But we don’t need to get into another Ukraine weapons-laundering scheme which may have contributed to the initial attacks against Israel.
Like Massie, I fully support Israel’s right to defend itself. But we have our own invasion to deal with at the southern border that requires our full attention. The language of the resolution includes our willingness to provide “other security” measures, which is an ambiguous way of saying we are open to sending U.S. troops to assist. That’s a non-starter for me.
Join the conversation about this on my Substack.
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More blah, blah, blah pearl-clutching from Curly Massie! “Sanctions don’t work?” Really, tell that to the former Soviet Union. Oh, you can’t because sanctions killed it. Tell it to Communist China, which thanks to decades of sanctions was a podunk backwater, but–once sanctions were removed (primarily accomplished by scumbag traitors, Henry Kissinger, Dick Nixon, and Bill Clinton)–has since become the most powerful enemy the US has ever faced. And while we’re on that one, please also tell it to the US Worker who has suffered a loss of real income growth over the last 30 years, relative to the massive growth in corporate profits made by all those “Americans who engaged in trade” with g_dd_mned Asian Slavers! The only thing missing from Massie’s devil-may-care Libertardian blathering…is a blunt between his lips while he’s saying it.
Amazing.
You got every single thing exactly historically wrong in that post.
And Massie is SO right about this. We defend everybody’s border but ours.
I care about the welfare of AMERICA alone. Not one other country.
George Washington had it right. Not you, neocon.
MAGA!
Explain how I’m wrong, Trumpleton.
Read the article…it just did.
Um, no, all the article did was document Massie’s tired smug platitudes. Neither he, nor the above namesake for a Christian-mass-murdering Roman Emperor, nor, now, you have provided any substantive argument on how “sanctions don’t work.” Still waiting… Hey, maybe call up Massie’s office and ask him for a white paper on the topic.
both of the first two comments make good points. the idea that ‘the world needs a strong america’ (massie) is pushing against history. the money and the blood poured into the nam came to zip. kuwait (bush, sr.) now is a big-time, ungrateful america-hater. do i need to bother about iraq/afghanistan. american money and blood should be the first consideration when we consider either of those american assets shipped off knee-jerk style to a foreign ‘friend in need.’ for example zelensky, a transparent grifter, whose got the goods on biden, inc.; we don’t even know the truth of the tally there! one certainty is that america desperately needed (needs) that financial backing for its OWN military. as for the necessity of aid to israel, that’s a given. but boots on the ground, no. and if you are one who believes the truth is in the Bible, then, in all likelihood, we will soon know our future role in that end-days bermud triangle. of course, there is the wildcard of iran… so for now, wait and see. massie appears a little gung ho about the ‘world needing america.’ we’re bleeding out culturally, economically, militarily and spiritually. go slow massie. go slow.
this is for tom. sir, in war, strategy and tactics, one MUST adapt very quickly; THEN out-think the enemy’s next ambush. it’s the same with sanctions. you’re right, sir, it was a great tactic — for a while. now virtually all the international players have found adaptations to vastly minimize its potential damage. very much like the cops straining to keep up with the bad guys.