US Hypocrisy: Peace Rhetoric, Bombs in Practice
The United States keeps positioning itself as a champion of peace in the global media, in an amazing display of contradiction, while its actions reveal a quite different picture.
This hypocrisy is most evident nowhere than in the continuous strife between Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. Recent remarks by President Joe Biden, "no administration has helped Israel more than mine," highlight not only U.S. backing of Israel but also the selective morality of the West towards human rights and conflict resolution.
On the one hand, the Biden administration says that peace in West Asia—the Middle East—should be given first priority. The U.S. keeps funding and arming Israel with billions of military aid, therefore enabling an escalation of bloodshed that has devastated Palestinian and Lebanese populations, even as posturing as a mediator for peace. This paradox is typical of a more general Western political posture: preach peace, yet behave in ways that prolongs conflict.
Pulling off the Double Standards
Long rife with inconsistencies, American foreign policy in West Asia has Although America formally supports democracy and human rights, its behaviour sometimes gives geopolitics top priority, even at the sacrifice of civilian life. The United States has given Israel significant military help for decades. Under a 2016 agreement signed under Barack Obama's presidency, the United States promised Israel $3.8 billion yearly in military assistance spanning ten years. Promoted as a show of security collaboration, this package has evolved into a weapon for the Israeli government to expand its aggressive military actions in Gaza and subsequently Lebanon.
Initiated by an attack by Hamas in October 7, 2023, the most recent battle has caused the United States to boost its military assistance to Israel even further. Israel received an extra $8.7 billion from the April 2024 supplemental appropriations bill, therefore bringing the total funding since 1946 to an amazing $230 billion. Although this money were meant to strengthen Israel's defence, they have been utilised for airstrikes and bombardments violating international humanitarian law, therefore causing notable civilian casualties.
The U.S. State Department has meanwhile tried to present its activities in the language of humanitarianism; lately, it has revealed a $157 million aid package for Lebanon and other impacted regions. Still, this is a hollow gesture. Al-Jazeera alleged that although the U.S. provides "humanitarian" money, its military support allows Israeli bombings on Lebanese people, therefore highlighting the underlying conflict in America's dual role as an armaments supplier and a declared peace mediator.
The hold of the War Lobby on American policy
Examining the power relations behind American foreign policy closely indicates that America's posture is much shaped by the influence of the pro-war lobby. Advocates of ongoing military involvement in West Asia, lobbyists and political action committees (PACs) have become firmly ingrained in Washington's hall of power. This political influence accounts for the U.S. government's relentless support of Israel despite growing proof of war crimes.
This was amply demonstrated when senior U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Democratic Senator Mark Kelly acknowledged that Israeli forces had carried explosives manufactured in the United States into action in Lebanon. Following satellite picture analysis, the Washington Post revealed that these included a 2,000-pound guided bomb used in an attack that claimed Hezbollah leader Sayid Hassan Nasrallah dead.
The Fiction of Harmony
Given Washington's behaviour, his words of peace seem especially empty. Although it presents itself as a neutral party trying to stop a full-scale conflict, it keeps approving Israeli military actions aggravating tensions and feeding violent cycles. The world community as well as, more crucially, the people living in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank who suffer most from these policies, find this paradox unacceptable.
The U.S. lets Tel Aviv act with impunity by always helping Israel's military with sophisticated weaponry systems and financing. Though it refuses to hold Israel responsible for violations of human rights, the United States pretends to be concerned in avoiding war. Rather, it provides diplomatic cover, therefore guaranteeing that any attempts at foreign interference are blocked.
