Sir, – Fintan O’Toole has hailed Joe Biden as “a good man, a remarkably effective president” and “a progressive president” (“Biden has given Democrats a chance to save the republic”, Opinion & Analysis, July 23rd).
But what about his uninterrupted supply of munitions and crucial political support for the Israeli war machine? What about the thousands of dead and maimed Palestinian children? Should the rubble of Gaza not also be considered when his legacy is assessed?
Speaking before boarding a flight to the US on Monday, Binyamin Netanyahu declared that he was on his way to thank Mr Biden “for the things he did for Israel in the war” (“Netanyahu visit overshadowed by Biden quitting”, World, July 23rd).
Frankly, it seems wrong to describe Joe Biden as “progressive”, bearing in mind the US role in the Gaza catastrophe. Progressive on some domestic issues, perhaps, but his presidency will be forever stained by his support for Israeli violence and colonial oppression. – Yours, etc,
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FINTAN LANE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Under US president Biden, the ironclad US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its support for Israel’s devastating war on a besieged Gaza has been a moral failure, and a clear violation of international humanitarian law.
The US is the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, providing an estimated 68 per cent of the country’s foreign-sourced weapons. Without these weapons, Israel would not be able to sustain the brutal daily bombardments which have made the lives of over two million people a living hell over the last ten months. Bombardments which have seen almost 40,000 massacred – 72 per cent women and children – through daily indiscriminate attacks on hospitals, schools and areas that are supposed to be safe zones.
The horror is unrelenting. On Monday, 400,000 Palestinians were ordered by Israel to flee Khan Younis. But the bombs rained down before the evacuation orders landed and people had a chance to leave, killing more innocent civilians.
President Biden has desperately failed Palestinians. While the world shared the horror at the horrendous attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7th last, there is absolutely no justification for Israel’s response, aided and abetted by the US, which has seen nearly 10 months of killings, the starvation of an entire people, the destruction of the territory of Gaza, and the violence imposed on Palestinians in the West Bank.
Attention is beginning to focus on whether Kamala Harris will be slightly harder in tone with Israel. The reality is this will not translate into real and meaningful action against Israel. It is almost certain that a second term of Donald Trump would also be terrible for Palestinians.
The people of Palestine have suffered enough. What they need is a US president that will halt arms supply to Israel, push for a permanent ceasefire, and apply increased pressure on Israel regarding illegal settlements and end a violent and illegal occupation that has lasted over 56 years. – Yours, etc,
KAROL BALFE,
CEO,
ActionAid Ireland,
Dublin 1.
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole praises Joe Biden as a good and resilient man who overcame personal adversity and became a successful and progressive president for his one term. And how Mr Biden has tardily decided to leave the stage to allow a more suitable candidate to hopefully beat the massively recalcitrant Donald Trump next November.
For those of us who were emotional when Mr Biden was inaugurated in 2021, not least in the hope of preserving democracy in the most powerful nation in the world against the machinations of Mr Trump, there is little to argue with in what Fintan O’Toole says.
However, in spite of Mr Biden’s strong and appropriate policies regarding Ukraine, his policies in handling the Israel-Palestine war have been catastrophic. US complicity in military and diplomatic support for the regime of Binyamin Netanyahu has morally compromised the Biden administration.
His combination of weakness in not using the powerful leverage at his disposal allied with a stubbornness in not adjusting to changing circumstances that included the increasing death toll of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the decimation of Gaza’s infrastructure is a very large stain on his legacy.
Surely no discussion of Mr Biden’s achievements can omit his glaring failures in fairly balancing his legacy. – Yours, etc,
CYNTHIA CARROLL,
Newport,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – Since January of this year, the Democratic Party has held primary elections in all 50 states, with Joe Biden winning every contest and amassing 14 million votes, 89 per cent of all ballots cast.
The main criticism which Democrats have levelled against Donald Trump is that he refuses to accept the will of voters. How can they possibly maintain this stance after their decision to force Mr Biden out of the race despite his overwhelming mandate from Democrat voters?
A match has now been put to those 14 million ballot papers, and the only views which have been deemed to matter are those of the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, George Clooney, and a handful of billionaire donors. The elites have decided that the voters are wrong, and that they need to impose their will on them.
Is this the protection of democracy the Democrats keep promising?
What is most concerning, however, is that the senior political figures who called on Mr Biden to abandon his campaign only did so when it became clear that he might lose the election. They were perfectly willing to overlook his increasingly obvious physical infirmity for as long as they thought he might win.
What does that say about the Democrats, let alone their cheerleaders here in Ireland? – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – Following Joe Biden’s car-crash debate with Donald Trump, and subsequent calls for him to retire from the race, he said that “If someone tells me I can’t win, I’ll back out”.
The question is, who’s going to break the same news to Kamala Harris? – Yours, etc,
PETER DECLAN O’HALLORAN,
Belturbet,
Co Cavan.