Josh Paul - Quitting the State Department over Israeli Arms Transfers and War Crimes

Josh Paul created history when he resigned from the US State Department in protest of the sale of weapons to Israel. In a highly publicised letter, he said the rush to arm Israel’s war in Gaza was “short-sighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory” The former arms trade expert, who helped the US train the Iraqi police and the Palestinian Authority, and oversaw weapons deals to a number of controversial regimes, says he’s now speaking out in the hopes he can pressure the US into changing its foreign policy.

Josh Paul - Former Director of Congressional & Public Affairs, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, with responsibility for shaping and implementing a holistic communications strategy in support of U.S. security assistance, arms transfers, and global defence partnerships and previously - consultant for the US & UK governments in Iraq & Palestine on institutional development and security sector governance.

Sections:
1 Josh Pauls background on who he is and the situation that’s just happened.
2 Josh Paul discussing how he came to be a US citizen and how he got interested in National Security
3 Josh Paul discussing whether he feels his resignation over mass arms transfers to Israel has made a difference to the situation.
4 Josh Paul discussing whether arms export regulations in the US have worked and how he feels those arms export regulations can be reformed.
5 Josh Paul discussing whether any new reforms to US arms export regulations would be adhered to. And who wouldn’t want to adhere to them, and why.
6 Josh Paul discussing why it is so hard for the public to gain information an arms sales and transfers, who is making it hard and how it can be changed.
7 Josh Paul discussing the long term concerns of arms sales and transfers to allied parties who could change their allegiance in the future.
8 Josh Paul discussing the situation that led up to him resigning from the State Department.
9 Josh Paul discussing the events that happened on October the 6th, that led to the events of October 7th.
10 Josh Paul talks on the dangers of signing off on the transfers of arms being made to Israel without proper debate being had or due diligence being made and the speed those requests are coming in.
11 Josh Paul talks on whether the US has got it right on its position regarding Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
12 Josh Paul discussing if there is a Larry Lewis role for peace.
13 Josh Paul discussing the impact of the mass arms transfers to Israel and the consequences for Gaza in doing so.
14 Josh Paul discussing the possible future consequences of current agendas.
15 Josh Paul talks about what his next steps are and his belief on where the US is heading if it keeps with its current agendas.
16 Josh Paul talks about the lessons to be learned from the Iraq and Afghan wars.
17 Josh Paul on the realities of the agenda to train Palestinian security forces for the Palestinian Authority.
18 Josh Paul talks about his experience, and the agenda of, training foreign security forces and if he has regrets about those decisions.
19 Josh Paul talks about Iron Beam the developmental Laser Air Defence weaponry.
20 Josh Paul talks on the concerns of the possibility of there being even less transparency regarding arms transfers to Israel.
21 Josh Paul discusses whether he feel the war in Gaza is being used as a tool for justifying even less transparency and justification in arms transfers to Israel.
22 Josh Paul discusses who are pushing the agenda for less transparency into arms transfers to Israel and why they are doing so.
23 Josh Paul on why he thinks the UK failed to pause its arms sales to Saudi Arabia when the US did.
24 Josh Paul discusses the concerns and dangers of gun transfers to Israel. His concerns regard the type, how many, who receives the guns and what they will be used for.