- United States
- Letter
Blinken and the state department should be investigated
To: V.P. Harris
From: A verified voter in Issaquah, WA
September 26
ProPublica reports that Blinken deliberately blocked aid to Gaza despite receiving a 17 page memo from the USAID concluding this spring that Israel had deliberately blocked deliveries of food and medicine into Gaza.
The memo described instances of Israeli interference with aid efforts, including killing aid workers, razing agricultural structures, bombing ambulances and hospitals, sitting on supply depots and routinely turning away trucks full of food and medicine. Including enough flour to feed 1.5 million Palestinians for 5 months.
Separately, the head of the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration had also determined that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid and that the Foreign Assistance Act should be triggered to freeze almost $830 million in taxpayer dollars earmarked for weapons and bombs to Israel, according to emails obtained by ProPublica.
U.S. law requires the government to cut off weapons shipments to countries that prevent the delivery of U.S.-backed humanitarian aid.
This report exposed inconsistencies between both reports and what Blinken stated to our government and to us the voters. This apparent disregard for transparency raised serious ethical concerns about the State Department's handling of the situation.
I'm writing to ask that given the gravity of the situation, appropriate consequences should be taken to uphold accountability and maintain public trust in government institutions. A public and full investigation into Blinken's statements and the State Departments actions is warranted and we should expect the full weight of the law to fall upon them if they're found guilty of lying and mishandling out tax dollars. Taxes that at least 60% of Americans would prefer are spent on our communities.
The US should also immediately take serious action to finally get significant aid into Gaza, no matter what Israel wants. It's a matter of ethics and humanity.
Please let me know what you plan on doing around these important issues.