
Why Biden is not diving into Middle East peace brokering
CNN
Another tragic Middle East conflict is offering fresh insight into Joe Biden's sometimes ruthless calculations about the purpose of his presidency and his view of America's global role.
The violence between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas is the latest crisis that failed to distract Biden from what he sees as his core task -- ending the pandemic and rescuing the economy. Biden declined Monday to publicly condemn Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Gaza raids in reprisal for Hamas' rocket attacks, a move consistent with a record of strong support for Israel that is longer than that of many previous presidents.
The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east of Venezuela – the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers on Thursday according to two sources with direct knowledge of his remarks.

The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.











