2/"'Dirty yes' is a common phrase among WCK staff. It means saying yes to something even if there’s little confidence that it can be done safely and responsibly."
— Benjamin Fogel (@BA_Fogel) April 3, 2024
4/"Cihan Çinar, another former WCK contractor in Turkey who previously worked for the UN World Food Programme in similar situations, describes WCK’s smattering of armed personnel and daily updates about safety statistics as 'pseudo-security.'"
— Benjamin Fogel (@BA_Fogel) April 3, 2024
6/ "Three current employees on WCK’s relief team say the status quo hasn’t changed . . . They say they’ve lost trust in WCK’s leadership, including Andrés and Gore to impose real accountability or meet basic disaster relief safety standards."
— Benjamin Fogel (@BA_Fogel) April 3, 2024
No doubt they work in dangerous, high-risk locations. Brave people. Security concerns are certainly legitimate. There is a trade-off between increased security costs and putting more resources into direct aid. Tough call. No reasonable level of security can avoid a deliberate, systematic, targeted drone attack.
WCK took appropriate precautions. The convoy notified the IDF. They were on the designated, prescribed route. Their insignia was on the roof of each vehicle, clearly visible to a drone. The group had IDF approval to operate in the designated area. Israel’s explanation that they mistakenly believed there was 1 (one) armed, Hamas-related person in one of the vehicles is atrocious and pathetic.
There is no excuse for this horrific attack on relief workers. And there is no excuse for Biden’s continuing advocacy for additional weapons and funding for the genocide in Gaza. Not to mention the vetos of UN resolutions calling for a cease-fire and condemning Israel for what they have admitted is an attempt to drive all Palestinians out of Gaza. (Because they want the land and the drilling access.) Righteous blather, ignored by Netanyahu, notwithstanding.
US foreign policy under both parties is delusional and destructive. Biden could stop this atrocity in Gaza by withdrawing lethal support. See, for instance, Atrios today.
I will not vote for any party or candidate that uses my tax dollars to exterminate innocent (brown) people in faraway countries. On foreign and military policy there is no lesser of two evils.