Biden Speech Links Hamas and Putin; Asks Congress for Israel and Ukraine Aid

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Facts

  • Addressing the United States from the Oval Office for only the second time of his presidency after returning from Israel on Thursday, US Pres. Joe Biden drew a direct — and what is being characterized as a provocative — link between Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.1
  • 'You know, the assault on Israel echoes nearly 20 months of war, tragedy, and brutality inflicted on the people of Ukraine — people that were very badly hurt since Putin launched his all-out invasion,' Biden said. 'We've have not forgotten the mass graves, the bodies found bearing signs of torture, rape used as a weapon by the Russians, and thousands and thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken into Russia, stolen from their parents. It’s sick.' [These allegations are disputed by Russia.]2
  • 'Hamas and Putin represent different threats,' Biden added, 'but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy — completely annihilate it.' While Biden did not use the legally loaded framework of 'genocide' as he had done previously, there is scant evidence to suggest Russia is deliberately seeking out the extermination of Ukrainians, which has been acknowledged at the high levels of his administration.2
  • In the remarks, Biden also declared that US leadership 'holds the world together.' And though 'these conflicts can seem far away,' Biden insisted they remain 'vital for America’s national security.' He added: 'History has taught us when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction.'3
  • The comments came as Biden is on Friday set to ask Congress for billions of dollars in military assistance for both Ukraine and Israel. In a package worth $105B, Ukraine would receive $60B and Israel would receive $14B, while $14B was also allocated for managing the US-Mexico border and fighting fentanyl trafficking; $7B was allocated to the Indo-Pacific region that includes Taiwan and $10B was set aside for unspecified humanitarian aid.3
  • Meanwhile, in Israel, its military leadership continued to signal its intention of launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. On Thursday, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops who'd been amassing at the Gaza border, telling them: 'You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come.'4

Sources: 1The Guardian (a), 2The White House, 3Associated Press and 4The Guardian (b).

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Associated Press. As Biden said, the world depends on US democracy, and it's vital to support both Ukraine and Israel at the present time. Both Putin and Hamas share a trait of wanting to annihilate their neighbors. If the US lets them win, it will embolden more tyrants and terrorists. It's vital to push aid packages for Israel and Ukraine alike to uphold the rules-based international order and be a champion of democracy worldwide.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Politico. While Russia can rightly be accused of many things in Ukraine, including starting the war and committing war crimes, there's no evidence to support the statement that it's deliberately trying to exterminate the people of Ukraine. The crime of genocide is the most serious violation of international law and we risk watering it down if we start playing fast and loose with the definition. Additionally, linking these two conflicts is a slippery slope as both wars face unique contexts and tensions between authoritarianism and democracy that should not be conflated.

Predictions