Twelve former US officials have denounced President Joe Biden’s policies on Gaza as “a failure and a threat” to the country’s national security, calling on the government to overhaul them and use all "available leverage” to bring the ongoing war to an immediate end.
The 12 signatories who quit their posts over Biden’s controversial approach made the remarks in a joint public statement titled "Service in Dissent" which was released on Tuesday in conjunction with Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July.
“Each of us has sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and as our nation celebrates its Independence Day, each of us are reminded that we resigned from government not to terminate that oath but to continue to abide by it; not to end our commitment to service, but to extend it,” the former officials said.
“This failed policy has not achieved its stated objectives,” they said, noting that it has not brought safety to the Israeli regime and has rather been “devastating for the Palestinian people, ensuring a vicious cycle of poverty and hopelessness, with all the implications of that cycle, for generations to come.”
The signatories went on to say, “As a group of dedicated Americans in service of our country, we insist that there is another way,” outlining steps to ensure that a "catastrophic policy failure like this can never happen again."
The ex-officials also argued that the US policy toward Gaza has “been deeply damaging” not only for US relations in the region, but also for the country’s global credibility.
The former officials further noted that US’ continuous flow of arms to Israel has ensured the country’s “undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza.”
"This is not only morally reprehensible and in clear violation of international humanitarian law and US laws, but it has also put a target on America’s back," they added, arguing that it has put the lives of service members and diplomats at risk.
The signatories also called on Washington to use “all necessary and available leverage to bring the conflict to an immediate close”, ensure expansion of humanitarian aid to Gazans and support the self-determination of the Palestinian people.
“There is an urgent need for change in the organizational cultures and structures that have enabled the current US approach,” they stressed, calling on Washington to have transparency regarding arms transfers.
The signatories further stated they “stand united in a shared belief that it is our collective responsibility to speak up,” urging their colleagues to use their voice and not to be complicit.
Among the signatories are Josh Paul, who oversaw Congressional relations on weapons transfers, a former White House official, two former air force department personnel and a former army officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Israel launched the devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
Since then, the United States has supplied the Tel Aviv regime with more than 10,000 tons of military equipment, and used its veto power against all United Nations Security Council resolutions that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has so far killed nearly 38,000 people, most of them women and children.
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