NewsNation’s Chief Washington Anchor Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He provides expert analysis and insight into the Israel-Hamas war in the Oct. 25 edition of War Notes.
(NewsNation) — The news in one line: Iran injured U.S. troops. Will we respond? Why did the Pentagon cover it up?
Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria injured 24 U.S. troops with their drone and rocket strikes since Hamas’s attacks on Israel. The Pentagon covered it up for a week, and still there is no military response from the United States. It makes a mockery of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments Tuesday at the UN Security Council, “The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack US personnel anywhere, make no mistake. We will defend our people, we will defend our security — swiftly and decisively.”
Iran is working from experience. This is very similar to former President Barack Obama’s redline regarding Syrian use of chemical weapons; Syria used gas and Obama did nothing.
Iran and its proxies already attacked (and injured) U.S. personnel. Why aren’t we acting swiftly and decisively?
Blinken knew of the injuries to Americans when he said that. Forty years ago this week, Iran-backed Hezbollah killed 241 in the Marine Barracks Bombing, and we never responded. The Ayatollah isn’t scared of America.
My good friend Mike Allen from Axios is out with an excellent column describing Biden’s behind-the-scenes pressure campaign from his administration to slow Israel’s launch of their ground invasion. The sourcing is excellent and shows what has happened behind the scenes.
Biden understands there is a civil war inside the Democratic party over rising antisemitism in America. A new survey from Harris Poll shows Americans 18 to 24 roughly split between support of Hamas and Israel in the current conflict. This is the same age group that votes for Biden by 25 points. He can’t afford to alienate them.
Among this age group are George Washington University students celebrating the Hamas “martyrs.” If students at a college celebrated the mass murder of a group other than Jews, like Black people or trans people, would a college be as accepting?
The reckoning is likely over the calls for a ceasefire that even the White House admits would only help Hamas rearm, and would allow the media focus to shift to a Palestinian “crisis.”
Representative Ilhan Omar’s senior advisor lays out the political lines, saying, “Reminder that 66% of voters and 80% of Democrats support a ceasefire and deescalation.”
The media’s moral equivalence game of holding Israel responsible for Palestinian suffering is a sad excuse for journalism. For example, CNN’s Erin Burnett thinks the hostages are on vacation.
The Associated Press said, “The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees warned that without immediate fuel deliveries it will soon have to sharply cut back relief operations across the Gaza Strip. The warning came as hospitals in Gaza struggled to treat masses with declining supplies.
The IDF posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “These fuel tanks are inside Gaza. They contain more than 500,000 liters of fuel. Ask Hamas if you can have some.”
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