The Wire Special Report - May 9, 2024

//The Wire//1600Z May 9, 2024//
//SPECIAL REPORT//
//BLUF: BIDEN CONFIRMS ILLEGAL USE OF AMERICAN BOMBS IN GAZA. CONGRESS INTRODUCES BILLS TO DEPORT UNIVERSITY PROTEST PARTICIPANTS TO GAZA.//
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-HomeFront-
Washington D.C. – For the first time, in an interview with CNN, President Biden has confirmed that American munitions have been illegally used by Israel in Gaza to kill civilians, including children. AC: Of course, taking the direct words of the POTUS is probably not a direct indication of U.S. policy, and should be weighed as such. However, if true, this is also a de facto admission of everything that has been obvious to anyone who is familiar with U.S. kinetic targeting policy (such as described in JP-360).
In Congress, Reps. Andrew Ogles (R-TN), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) introduced two bills yesterday that are of note for every American. The full text has not been provided for either bill, but the one-sentence summaries have been provided, pending the full text. The titles of the bills are as follows:
H.R.8321 - To require person convicted of unlawful activity on the campus of an institution of higher education beginning on and after October 7, 2023, to provide community service in Gaza.
H.R.8322 - To revoke visas of certain aliens for rioting or unlawful protests, and for other purposes.
AC: This is the entirety of the information present on the Congressional website tracking these bills. All further details surrounding the contents of these bills has originated from direct statements made by the bill’s sponsors themselves.
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Analyst Comments: From time to time, events transpire in the world that are so outside social norms that it is challenging to choose language with which to describe these events that is not considered to be fallible in some way. So be advised that the mere ideas of these bills (8321 in particular) is not something that can be discussed in a rational or neutral manner due to the implications contained within.
Though the full text of H.R. 8321 is not yet available, statements by Reps. Ogles, Duncan, and Weber strongly indicate the intent of the bill. These primary-source statements strongly indicate that if there ever was a bill that goes beyond the pale of social norms and current laws in the United States, it's this one.
As extreme as this language appears, the language and ideas allegedly contained within these bills are even more extreme. One would be hard pressed to find a bill more dystopian, outright illegal, and the antithesis of everything the United States stands for, the mere introduction of which should (per the U.S. Constitution) be considered to be an act of treason.
One of the bill’s sponsors Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), has openly admitted this bill is intended to result in the harm and/or death of American citizens by placing them in a warzone where war crimes are being committed, stating: "I am going to bet that these pro-Hamas supporters wouldn’t last a day, but let’s give them the opportunity". Considering the context of Biden himself verbally stating in a CNN interview on the same exact day that American bombs are being used to target civilians in Gaza in violation of U.S. and international law, this is a very serious implication that could not be a more direct message to the American people.
Even though the text of this bill hasn’t been published, the intent and statements about it indicate this bill is already illegal in at least a dozen different ways. But, as that fact has never stopped any bill from eventually becoming law, even ridiculous proposals such as this one must be taken seriously.
As a reminder, Hamas was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997, and there are already entire sections of US code dedicated to banning American citizens from providing support to such groups. Likewise, “unlawful assembly” is already illegal, along with property damage, disturbing the peace, trespassing, and hundreds of other violations committed by demonstrators/protesters/rioters over the years.
Also, it must be noted that as of now, the sponsors of H.R. 8321 state the penalty of serving "6 months community service" in Gaza shall be administered for ANY conviction of ANY crime on a university campus. Again, without the text of the bill it’s impossible to verify just yet, and this will probably be changed upon publishing, but per the rhetoric issued by Congressmen writing the bill, neither Hamas nor Israel are specifically named...American citizens could be sent to Gaza (with the intent of getting murdered by American bombs) for getting a parking ticket on campus.
Never before have these ideas been so openly unavoidable.
Since October 7th, the events that have unfolded in the Middle East have caused many questions to arise within the American taxpayer. We have seen sitting members of Congress wear the military uniform of a foreign nation inside our Capitol, and the only result has been an effort to make it illegal to notice this fact.
We have seen police agencies snap-to with overwhelming force and impressive military precision in the cracking down of protestors on campuses all around the country...which encourages the taxpayer to wonder why this was NOT done for the past BLM and ANTIFA riots that caused billions of dollars of damage, and left many communities burned to the ground to this day.
Now, the American taxpayer is witnessing their Congressmen openly try to deport dissidents to warzones, with the openly-stated implication that harm shall befall them…all for verbally supporting the wrong group.
Consequently, bills such as these will continue driving the United States over bridge after bridge after bridge too far, and will result in Americans asking unintended and inconvenient questions. Such as: Why is it illegal to voice verbal support for any group, terrorist organization or not? How is speech alone, of any kind and for any cause, a crime? Why is it that the United States refuses to deport illegal immigrants that commit capital crimes, but a pro-Palestinian demonstrator gets a one-way ticket for immediate deportation?
These bills will almost certainly be ignored by most, who will likely say these bills never had a chance at passing, and it's just a political stunt or some grandstanding attempt. Critics will go further, and attempt to shame anyone commenting on these bills as a fear-monger or engage in other gaslighting tactics to downplay the seriousness of these bills, and what their mere introduction means for American society. Most people will adopt one of two stances, one which ignores these bills due to the “it’s not gonna pass so why bother” fallacy, and the other which supports these bills since it would primarily target a demographic which has not done themselves any favors in gaining support with the average American taxpayer.
In both cases, the fact that Congressmen are directly advocating the indirect murder of political dissidents seems to be lost or glossed over. No, this bill probably won’t pass, but the fact that this idea was introduced in the first place, while most people ignore it or downplay it, is deeply concerning.
When political stunts now involve threatening the deportation and murder of ANYONE, let alone taxpaying American citizens, this is worthy of concern as the goalposts have shifted off of the field, and out of the stadium entirely. At this point, quite literally reading text verbatim from American bills in Congress can be seen as being alarmist, which strongly indicates how far the Overton Window has shifted regarding what is happening in Congress and the U.S. government at large.
Regardless, and in the interest of trying to balance the horrendousness that has befallen even the most basic daily news reports, the immediate impact to the American taxpayer is minimal due to the sheer logistics of such complex actions. Considering our recent history, bills have a way of being introduced, voted on, passed, and enacted all within a couple of days, so the potential for this bill to become law (in some form, probably with changes) is a reality. However the logistics of the war in Gaza make enacting this bill (if it were to become law) nearly impossible.
The biggest impact that these bills have on the American people lie with how they are a reflection of how much our country has changed. When a man threatens another, it would do well to take that threat seriously, no matter how remote the possibility of success seems at the time. As such, though Americans at large cannot do anything but take note of the situation, Congressional actions such as these provide excellent motivation for the average American to not sink into anger and despair, but to strive for excellence, adopting a spirit of magnanimity, and understanding that in our time and age we have been given challenges that only we can overcome. We cannot choose the challenges we are given, but we can decide what we do with the time that is granted to us. As time is short throughout our grand human experience, a better use of that time is not to lament, but rather to rejoice that the problems of the world fall upon us to solve.
Analyst: S2A1
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