Another Shameful U.S. Veto at the United Nations

Nothing could be more divorced from reality than an administration that is actively stoking the conflict while pretending that a ceasefire is bad for the cause of peace.

Yesterday was another shameful day for the Biden administration and the United States:

The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution Friday backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. Supporters called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the war goes into its third month.

The excuses that Robert Wood, the U.S. deputy ambassador, gave for opposing the resolution added insult to injury. He said that a ceasefire would “only plant the seeds for the next war,” as if the continuation and intensification of the current war weren’t already doing that to a much greater extent. The resolution called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages, but the U.S. representative had the gall to call it “unbalanced.”

The U.S. objected that the process had been “rushed,” but speed is obviously crucial when there is a major humanitarian crisis that requires urgent attention. If the U.S. hadn’t shot down other Security Council resolutions on this conflict over the last two months, the situation would not be quite as far gone as it is. Wood claimed that the resolution was “divorced from reality,” but nothing could be more divorced from reality than an administration that is actively stoking the conflict while pretending that a ceasefire is bad for the cause of peace.

The resolution that the U.S. vetoed had the support of almost 100 other member states, including several major treaty allies. Vetoing this measure doesn’t just leave the U.S. isolated on the world stage, but it also confirms in the eyes of the world that our government is a rogue great power that cannot be trusted. In addition to being profoundly wrong in itself, this veto will do significant damage to our country’s reputation in the eyes of almost all other nations in the world. Agnes Callamard of Amnesty International summed it up well:

US veto of ceasefire resolution displays callous disregard for civilian suffering in face of staggering death toll. It is morally indefensible, a dereliction of the US duty to prevent atrocity crimes and a complete lack of global leadership. Just appalling.

While the U.S. continues to shield Israel from international pressure, it is also rushing more weapons to Israel without Congressional review. This is the first time that an administration has used the emergency provision in the Arms Control Act since the Trump administration did this in 2019 to rush weapons to the Saudi coalition for use in Yemen. The Trump administration’s move was widely criticized as a cynical attempt to escape scrutiny of the U.S. role in fueling that war, and the Biden administration is doing the same thing today. The president has been eager to skirt Congressional oversight in this conflict. Arms transfers to Israel over the last two months have been carried out with virtually no transparency, and Biden has lifted all restrictions on the kinds of weapons that Israel could receive from the U.S.

Humanitarian and human rights organizations are understandably disgusted by what the U.S. did at the UN and what it has been doing in supporting this war. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also condemned the U.S. veto:

Israel has continued to indiscriminately attack civilians and civilian structures, impose a siege that amounts to collective punishment for the entire population of Gaza, force mass displacement, and deny access to vital medical care and humanitarian assistance. The US continues to provide political and financial support to Israel as it prosecutes its military operations regardless of the terrible toll on civilians. For humanitarians to be able to respond to the overwhelming needs, we need a ceasefire now.

The US veto makes it complicit in the carnage in Gaza.

The priority right now has to be halting the war to prevent the catastrophic loss of life that will follow if it is allowed to continue. The Biden administration’s persistent opposition to this is indefensible. The people of Gaza desperately need an end to the war, and many tens and possibly hundreds of thousands more innocent people will die if the war is permitted to go on.