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The conflict unfolding thousands of miles away, in Israel and Gaza, has its roots in decades of complex struggle between Jews and Arabs over land. But listening to the way the American conservative media describes it, much of the blame and responsibility falls on one man: President Biden.
The operational failures that allowed Hamas to plan and execute the attack without warning? American intelligence, not just Israeli, dropped the ball, conservative critics said over the past week.
The money Hamas raised to carry out such an organized and multifaceted military operation? The Biden administration’s easing of financial sanctions allowed Iran to funnel money to Hamas, its long-time beneficiary, they insisted.
And in the rare situation where conservative pundits found something to like in Biden’s response (many acknowledged they were pleased to hear him denounce the deadly Hamas incursion as “pure, unadulterated evil”), praise quickly turned to sentence.
“President Joe Biden solemnly declared today that he stands with Israel against terrorists. Great,” conservative economist Stephen Moore wrote in HotAir.com. “But his actions in the White House have facilitated these murderous attacks by funding our enemies.”
On Fox News’ afternoon talk show, “The Five,” the topic quickly turned to what Biden didn’t say.
“Iran was not in Biden’s speech,” said one of the co-hosts, Jeanine Pirro, criticizing the president for not mentioning the role Iran played in last weekend’s attack, even though that role is unclear.
Pirro went on to list other complaints, including that Biden had not demanded the quick return of American hostages held by Hamas nor had he warned, he said, “not to touch a hair on the body of any American in the future.”
The story of the war between Hamas and Israel, as told by conservative media, is one in which a particular policy move by the Biden administration looms large. Much of the right-wing coverage has focused on the decision to transfer $6 billion to Iran as part of a deal that led to the release of five imprisoned Americans of the country last month.
The 6 billion dollars it’s not American taxpayer money, as former President Donald J. Trump and other Republicans have falsely claimed. There is also no evidence that the money, which officials say is subject to Treasury Department Oversight, was used to finance the attacks. In fact, the Biden administration has said that Iran has not had access to those funds, which Iran was only supposed to use for humanitarian purposes.
But conservative critics argued that such restrictions made no sense because money in government accounts moves easily and that Tehran could have freed up money elsewhere to give to Hamas.
“This is what happens when you appease and sell out to the enemy,” radio host Mark Levin said on his show. “Joe Biden rearmed the Nazi terrorist groups of Hamas, Hezbollah. “Joe Biden rearmed the Palestinian terrorists in every way possible.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity said the $6 billion was “money that we know will be used to fuel terrorism.”
Barely mentioned in the conservative media were the widely condemned comments by Trump in which he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and called Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, “very smart.” When Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was asked about the comments on “Fox News Sunday,” he deflected and criticized Mr. Biden. “What concerns me even more is the actions of this administration,” Cotton said.
Republican presidential candidates and elected officials have also attorney about the Hamas attack to blame the president, establishing a connection with the hostage release agreement and the payment of 6 billion dollars, which the United States froze after the attack.
Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Montana Republican who was interior secretary in the Trump administration, gave an interview to Breitbart in which he accused the Biden administration of “denying intelligence” about Iran.
“Look at Iran. “Iran has not changed its behavior,” Zinke told the conservative website. “This administration continues to deny that Iran is the primary driver of terrorism in the region.”
Extensive coverage and airtime on Fox News was devoted last week to pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and elsewhere, where protesters who were interviewed professed not knowing or disbelieving stories about atrocities committed by Hamas militants. from last week.
A man wearing a scarf covering his face to hide his identity told Fox on Friday that reports of slaughtered Israeli babies were “obviously propaganda.” (The New York Times and other media outlets have reported on the murder of children and, in a casevisited a morgue where the bodies of small children and babies were kept in small bags).
Other conservatives have linked the outbreak of violence in Israel and Gaza to a broader criticism of liberal and left-wing policies, often making unfounded claims. As thousands of migrants are detained at the southern border each day, some right-wing media outlets have argued, without offering any evidence, that Hamas operatives are escaping.
Charlie Kirk, the pro-Trump activist who hosts a nationally syndicated radio show, floated the idea on his show. “Hamas may have hundreds or thousands of militants inside the United States ready to bomb hospitals, blow up schools, or simply spread terror.”
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