The Daily Psyop

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday held separate meetings with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House as Israel is looking to clinch more US support for its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

While meeting with Biden, Netanyahu praised the president for his strong support since October 7 and for backing Israel throughout his 50-year political career. “From a proud Israeli Zionist to a proud Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for fifty years of public service and fifty years of support for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

After her meeting with Netanyahu, Harris claimed she was concerned with the massive civilian casualties in Gaza but said she would always back Israel.

“I told him that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah,” Harris said. “From when I was a young girl collecting funds to plant trees for Israel to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, I have had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the state of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel.”

Ahead of the meetings, a senior administration official told reporters that there was “no daylight between the president and vice president” on their position on Israel.

Harris also called for a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas, something Netanyahu has been actively sabotaging. US officials said Biden pressed Netanyahu to reach a hostage deal, and the White House claimed that an agreement was closer than ever. However, Reuters reported on Thursday that Israel’s new demands are complicating the talks.

POLITICO reported that while the Israeli delegation is in Washington, Israeli officials are circulating lists among US officials of weapons they want fast-tracked. The report said Israel was “quietly” pushing for faster military aid shipments, but Netanyahu also made the demand during his address to Congress on Wednesday.

“In World War II, as Britain fought on the frontlines of civilization, Winston Churchill appealed to Americans with these famous words: ‘Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.’ Today, as Israel fights on the frontline of civilization, I too appeal to America: “Give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster,” Netanyahu said in his address to a cheering Congress.

WASHINGTON/CAIRO: Israel is seeking changes to a plan for a Gaza truce and the release of hostages by Hamas, complicating a final deal to halt nine months of combat that have devastated the enclave, according to a Western official and a Palestinian and two Egyptian sources.
Israel says that displaced Palestinians should be screened as they return to the enclave’s north when the ceasefire begins, retreating from an agreement to allow civilians who fled south to freely return home, the four sources told Reuters.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown has said he is “fully confident” that the US could beat China in a war that breaks out over Taiwan.

When asked at the Aspen Security Forum last Friday if he thought the US could defeat China, Brown said, “Yes, I’m fully confident in our force. We are the most lethal, most respected combat force in the world.”

He continued, “Now, it’s going to take all the nation if we go to conflict with the with the PRC [People’s Republic of China], and I’m confident, if we’re challenged, we will be there.”

Brown acknowledged the war would be a major conflict and said the US was working to build up military logistics in the Asia Pacific by stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and other types of supplies.

“These will be major conflicts akin to what we saw in WWII, and so we’ve got to come to grips with that,” he said. “Two, the PRC knows where our advantages are and the combat capability we can bring to bear. My sense is they’ll want to go quick so they can do it before we can bring capability there.”

Brown framed the US military buildup in the region as an effort to deter a war. But as the US has been beefing up its presence in the Asia Pacific and increasing support for Taiwan, tensions between Washington and Beijing have risen significantly.

Brown’s comments reflect a growing trend of US military officials openly discussing that they’re preparing for a direct war with China even though Beijing is a nuclear-armed power. The risk of nuclear escalation doesn’t appear to be factored into the plans since it’s rarely mentioned by US officials.

War games have shown that in a conventional battle, thousands of American troops would be killed in just the first few weeks of a war with China over Taiwan.

Eight European Union countries are calling on the 27-nation bloc to reconsider its policy toward Syria and suggested engaging directly with the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.

In a letter to the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, the foreign ministers of Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia said their goal is a “more active, outcome-driven, and operational Syria policy.”

“This would allow us to increase our political leverage [and] the effectiveness of our humanitarian assistance,” the letter reads, according to Euractiv.

One of the suggestions made in the letter was to create an EU-Syrian envoy that would engage directly with the Assad government and other regional actors. The EU cut off relations with Assad back in 2011 and maintains sanctions on Syria, along with the US.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the purpose of the sanctions regime on Syria is to prevent the reconstruction of the country. Naturally, the sanctions have a devastating impact on the civilian population of Syria.

Another suggestion the EU members made was to assess the impact the bloc’s sanctions are having on ordinary Syrians. The economic campaign against Syria has contributed to migrants continuing to seek refuge in Europe, and the eight EU members said the bloc should work to create the conditions for the return of migrants to Syria.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg acknowledged the failure of the regime change effort against Assad, which was strongly supported by EU member France.

“After 13 years of war, we have to admit that our Syria policy has not aged well,” Schallenberg said, according to Euractiv. “Bitter as it is, with the help of Iran and Russia, the Assad regime remains firmly in the saddle, the Syrian opposition is fragmented or in exile altogether – the European Union cannot turn a blind eye to this reality any longer.”

The US has maintained that it’s opposed to any countries normalizing relations with Syria, but it hasn’t been able to stop the trend of regional countries re-establishing ties with the Assad government.

Mohammad Arafat tells Al Jazeera authorities tried to ‘de-escalate’ tensions as UN officials urge probe into crackdown.

US presidential candidates attack each other in first major speeches since Biden dropped out of race.