Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, with Hamas movement's troops infiltrating border areas. On October 8, the Israeli government announced that it had invoked Article 40 of the Basic Law, which means the country was officially in a state of war.

'Manufactured Chaos' in Israel, Ukraine Useful to America's Oligarchy, Experts Say

10:35, 24 October 2023

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Biden administration manufactured crises in Israel and Ukraine helped line the pockets of American defense contractors, however, the world has recognized the destructive power of such policies which is why US global leadership is in decline, experts told Sputnik.

Sputnik

President Joe Biden during a national address last week outlined his rationale for asking Congress for over $100 billion in security aid to support Israel’s operation in Gaza, Ukraine’s military, and Indo-Pacific security. Biden said defending two democracies, Israel and Ukraine, is vital for America’s national security, and likened the struggle to the US role in WWII.

On Friday, the White House unveiled the funding proposal requesting $60 billion for Ukraine, about 75% of which was for military aid, and $14.3 billion for Israel, including $10 billion in security assistance.

"Manufactured chaos is always useful for a morally and financially bankrupt government," former Pentagon analyst and retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Karen Kwiatkowski, told Sputnik. "Biden may indeed be playing a role that he doesn't even understand, but one that is useful to the American oligarchy."

Former Pentagon analyst Chuck Spinney said the massive funding to Israel and Ukraine is yet another illustration as to how the military industrial complex shapes White House strategy.

"We are facing a grand strategic disaster of our own making. And it is being driven by the American Political Economy Eisenhower warned us about," Spinney told Sputnik.

Israel-Palestine Escalation

Russia Says 'Masks Are Off' After US Vetoes UNSC Resolution on Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

18 October 2023, 17:01

CIA Station Chief Phil Giraldi took aim at Biden's argument that American leadership is needed to keep freedom alive in both the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

"Opinion polls suggest that the world overwhelmingly sees the United States as the most disruptive and dangerous nation on the planet," Giraldi said. "So Biden’s inability to recognize that he is, in reality, presiding over the death throes of America’s global leadership is especially striking."

Giraldi said Biden's attempt to justify the spending on Ukraine and Israel was built on false premises - including that the US interests were at risk and America was defending democracy.

"The speech could have been written by any neocon scribbler in its efforts to claim that the United States is actually threatened by developments in those two countries," Giraldi said.

The president cannot even recognize that Russia is more democratic by most measures than Ukraine, Giraldi added.

"And how many Arab inhabitants of Israel would agree it is a democracy? No Palestinians, for sure," Giraldi said.

American University in Moscow President Edward Lozansky found Biden’s claim that the US is building the "arsenal of democracy" laughable, as well as his attempt to compare it to the US role in World War II.

"Comparing today's policy with one in World War II is equivalent to a betrayal of the US war veterans who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the Russians to defeat Nazi Germany," Lozansky said.

Former hedge fund manager and political commentator Charles Ortel argued that Biden's handling of the crises in Israel and Ukraine on top of the botched exit from Afghanistan have delivered a severe blow to America's reputation.

"In less than three years, President Joe Biden has done more to damage America's standing on the world stage than any elected leader since Jimmy Carter," Ortel said.

Israel-Palestine Escalation

South Africa Condemns Israel for Triggering Further Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza

14 October 2023, 15:48