2023-11-14 08:12:00
Blinken Acknowledges Disagreements at State Department Over Israel-Hamas War in Email to Staff
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a press conference on November 9, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea. (Credit: Jung Yeon-Je – Pool/Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged this Monday in an email to staff the disagreements within the State Department over the Biden Administration’s approach to the war between Israel and Hamas.
His message to staff, sent in the wake of his recent travels, comes amid growing anger and disagreement not only among State Department staff, but within the Biden administration as a whole.
CNN reported last week that hundreds of employees of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire, and there were reports of a ” memorandum of disagreement” within the State Department.
Last month, a State Department official publicly resigned in protest of the administration’s policy toward the war between Israel and Hamas.
“I know that for many of you, the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a profound personal toll,” Blinken wrote in his Monday email, which was viewed by CNN.
“The anguish caused by seeing the daily images of babies, children, the elderly, women and other civilians suffering in this crisis is heartbreaking. I feel it myself.”
The top US diplomat noted that “some people in the Department may disagree with the approaches we are taking or have opinions regarding what we can do better.”
The head of the State Department noted that forums have been organized in the city of Washington so that employees can contribute their opinions.
“We are listening: what you share is informing our policy and our messaging,” he said.
In his email, Blinken offered an overview of his trip to the Middle East and Asia last week, stating that the United States’ “overarching goal remains the same: to end this terrible conflict as quickly as possible, while also “Israel’s right and obligation remains, in full compliance with international humanitarian law, to ensure that a terrorist attack such as that of October 7 is never repeated.”
He reiterated that “too many Palestinian civilians have died” and that “much more can and must be done to reduce their suffering.”
“As I have said privately and publicly, we believe that the voices of the Palestinian people must be at the center of post-crisis governance in Gaza,” Blinken wrote. “We believe in Palestinian-led governance of Gaza, with Gaza unified with the West Bank. The reconstruction of Gaza must be supported by a sustained mechanism.”
HuffPost was the first to report on Monday’s email.
At a State Department briefing Monday, spokesman Matt Miller noted that “the State Department, like all organizations, not just in government but around the world, contains people with a diversity of viewpoints.”
“One of our strengths as an organization is the diversity of points of view and that we welcome people to make those points of view known,” Miller said. In addition, he indicated that Blinken has met with several people “from all ranks of the department, from different offices in the department, to hear exactly what they think regarding our policy, both with respect to Israel and its conflict with Hamas, and with respect to other matters, including highly controversial matters.
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