Be’eri community near Gaza border “very badly hit,” IDF says
Gaza death toll rises to 436, with more than 2,200 injured
Thailand confirms 12 citizens killed in Israel violence
Analysis: US political turmoil hampers capacity to lead through global crisis.…CONTINUE.FULL.READING>>>...For More CONTINUE THE FULL READING▶▶
The Capitol Building is seen at sunrise on September 30.
The Capitol Building is seen at sunrise on September 30. Nathan Howard/Getty Images
A weekend of terror in Israel has sharpened already grave questions about the capacity of the politically fractured United States to lay out a unified and coherent response to a world spinning out of its control.
When the House of Representatives descended into chaos last week, many Republicans, Democrats and independent experts warned that anarchy raging in US politics sent a dangerous message to the outside world. But no one could foresee just how quickly the paralysis in Washington would test the country’s reaction to a major global crisis.
The horrific Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, which have killed hundreds of people and shattered the country’s sense of security, thrust the Middle East to the precipice of a new era of violence and instability. This followed a period of relative calm and after US presidents spent years trying to extricate American forces from the region.
Israel’s response to the carnage caused by a major Iranian proxy raises the possibility of a wider regional war that would further destabilize the global order already rocked by the war in Ukraine and China’s flagrant challenges to Western power.
A situation this dangerous requires a calm, united and thoughtful US response, supported across the political spectrum. But the turmoil in America’s politics — plagued by internal extremism, threats to democracy and the hyperpoliticization of foreign policy — means it will be an impossible task to bring the country together at a perilous moment.
House Speaker vacancy: Swift efforts by lawmakers to quickly register support for Israel and to rush extra aid to its government could be hampered by the collapse of the Republican Party’s ability to govern in the House after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week by his party’s extreme elements.
Looming presidential election: And the US is also facing an unprecedented election season. A president with low approval ratings confronting questions about his advanced age could go up against a potential Republican nominee who could be an indicted felon by Election Day. This means, at best, the United States will spend the coming months preoccupied by its own political plight. At worst, the world’s superpower guarantor of democracy could actually worsen global disruption and instability...CONTINUE.FULL.READING>>>
