Biden wants congress to promote Gaza-Israel war as 'economic boom' for weapon makers: Report

News Desk - The Cradle 

Although two-thirds of US voters say they want Washington to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the White House is pushing lawmakers to approve billions in military aid for the Israeli army

The government of US President Joe Biden is urging lawmakers from the country's two ruling political parties to promote financial support for Israel's campaign of genocide in the Gaza Strip “as a potential economic boom at home,” according to several White House aids and lawmakers who spoke with Politico.

The political push, in particular, seeks to secure congressional approval for a $106 billion emergency package mainly consisting of military aid and arms transfers to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

“This supplemental request invests over $50 billion in the American defense industrial base — ensuring our military continues to be the most ready, capable, and best equipped fighting force the world has ever seen — and expanding production lines, strengthening the American economy and creating new American jobs,” the internal document reads, according to the DC-based outlet.

The White House talking points echo a speech made by Biden last week, in which he called the US military-industrial complex the “arsenal of democracy” and asserted that fueling multiple wars worldwide helps create thousands of jobs.

“You know, just as in World War II, today patriotic American workers are building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom,” the US president stressed. However, on Thursday, newly-elected US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson signaled that the aid package would only get congressional approval if officials “bifurcate” the proposals for Israel and Ukraine.

Biden's intentions fly in the face of US public opinion, as two-thirds of US voters say they support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to prevent more civilian deaths.

The poll, conducted by polling firm Data for Progress, shows that discontent over Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza is growing across the US despite attempts by western media and the White House to whitewash the slew of war crimes committed by Tel Aviv since 7 October.

Nonetheless, Washington has continued to flood the Eastern Mediterranean with warships, jets, bombers, and troops in anticipation of a broader conflict with the Resistance Axis. The massive arms buildup comes as the Pentagon's yearly budget gets ever closer to surpassing $1 trillion.