Rescue is ‘available’ if you can pay for it…
Remember when George W. Bush talked about the “soft bigotry of low expectations”? We have reached a stage in American history in which the words “low expectations” have become synonymous with the federal government. I suspect at some point, the Biden administration will form the Department of Low Expectations. Karin Jean-Pierre will likely head it up after she leaves her current post.
In keeping with the theme of the new department, the government has announced that it will evacuate U.S. citizens stranded in Israel. For a price. The State Department announced on Thursday that it will arrange for charter flights for “U.S. citizens and their immediate family members who have been unable to book commercial transit and seek a safe means of departing Israel.” But in order for the government to get them out of the country, those citizens will have to pay. No word if this includes seats in first or business class, or if everyone will have to fly coach. It’s probably best not to try for an upgrade. And believe it or not, it is legal. In fact, you can find it in 22 U.S. Code § 2671.
Full article, HERE.
This…is just unbelievable! And backchannel is saying that there ‘might’ be an attempt to ‘deal’ with the US citizens who were ‘taken’ by Hamas. The word kidnapping is apparently not being used!!!
26th MEU is ‘somewhere’ in route from 5th Fleet, and they would be the primary to go get our folks being held hostage, but the administration is categorically saying “NO boots on the ground”.
This tells me that the administration is NOT going to go get our folks, and will probably try ‘negotiating’ for their release. I wonder how many billions they are going to offer Iran this time? This is even stupider than the Afghan withdrawal and tells the terrorists that the US will not rescue its people when they are in trouble…
I’m going to go take my BP meds and do my deep breathing before I blow my top.
Base on China Joe’s track record in Afghanistan, if I were in Israel, or anywhere else in the mideast, I’d figure I was on my own and act accordingly.
The gross incompetence of this administration is staggering. It is only exceeded by it’s obvious corruption and malfeasance. The constant lying, misleading about virtually everything is far worse than it was during the Vietnam conflict.
We have a press secretary that stands up in front of the press and advocates obvious falsehoods, a “justice dept.” that would make a banana republic’s shudder in shame. Not to mention the “Covid / vaccine” debacle.
I’m almost glad that I’m old and (probably) won’t be around to watch this once great republic crumble into a socialist hellhole.
X2 Squared
why should we foot the bill/risk lives for them choosing to live in a dangerous place? be dif if they were there serving the country.
Truly. As in ‘there is truth in what you say.’
Back in the day, sending a Marine unit to forcibly extract US citizens was a known thing. Which, come to think of it, is how they got the whole “Shores of Tripoli” line in their anthem.
But, yeah, any US citizen who moved his/her family into the Gaza? WTF?
Then again, same same for citizens who moved their families into Afghanistan before the Biden Retreat.
And the State Department was charging those people, too.
Kind of torn on this. Yes, US Citizen should mark you as being safe from harm, the other terrorists should slab any idiot dumb enough to touch, look at, harm, or make a citizen uncomfortable.
But then there’s the Rule of Stupid, as in if you do something stupid, you pay the price, little stupid = little price, big stupid approaches terminal stupid real quick
Seriously, how stupid can you be to think that Gaza under Hamas leadership is a safe place to work, live, raise a family?
Stupider? I respectfully disagree. All part of Fearless Reader’s third term plan. Offer up Americans for Iran to hold for ransom.
So the State Department is just doing what it is well renowned for: Abandoning Americans in foreign countries in need.
Well, it is the same State Department that was a bought and paid for entity controlled by the USSR by the 1930’s, as the SD’s own internal investigations in the early 1940’s showed.
You know, the same investigations that Senator McCarthy used to persue commies in the US government and then got lambasted for by the intelligentsia and the media, both whom were… bought and paid for by the USSR by the early 1940’s…
So, well, it’s the State Department. Full of feckless bureaucrats and corrupt workers and whom you can’t trust as far as you can spit, shoot, set on fire, drop bombs on…. Seriously, it needs to be nuked from orbit (or have the X37B drop some tungsten penetrators from orbit) as it’s the only way to be sure to get most of the bastids.
Not to mention the Homosexual Mafia there.
Oh. I did.
SloJoe’s approval numbers had a slight uptick because of his support of Israel.
Let’s see what happens to those numbers when the reports of dead Americans start rolling in.
The reports of kidnapped and dead US citizens are already coming in. Sadly.
Reminder-
NOT ALL the Americans were in Gaza.
Several were attending a music festival.
Time to kick ass.
And those are the people who should get a free ticket home, whether alive or dead.
I see both sides of the argument.
One side, the US Citizen should be protected by the might of the US anywhere the Citizen goes.
The other side? Stupid takes care of itself. Like that idiot that went to Red China so he could go into North Korea and then tried to steal a poster (which I am sure they would have given him a copy if he’d asked) and then got beat so bad he suffered brain damage. Oh, NK is on a no-go list by every federal agency, known bad actor and the stupid just went there and did stupid? Screw him, his leftist family who raised him poorly and everyone who didn’t beyotch-slap him into next week for thinking he was invincible because US citizen.
Seriously. US Citizenship isn’t a pass for being stupid worldwide. You are supposed to be semi-educated enough in world affairs that you can make simple decisions like, “Move me and my fam to Gaza, North Korea, Venezuela or (insert other poophole location)? Um… NO!”
yes, that hit my train of thought precisely. if we make you go there, nobody better disturb a hair on your head. if they do then the full might of usa should fall on their heads. if you go there to act stupid, sad on you.
All- Thanks for the comments. And yes, times have changed, no question… sigh
Hey Old NFO;
My Employer wants to fly to TLV to get the Americans out, but they can’t get approval from the State Dept and being an American flagged carrier, they are restricted. I heard that they are trying to set up a charter with another company to fly into TLV and my employer, Air France and a couple of others will fly into Greece to bring them home. Also there is talk about chartering a ship for 2000 people and getting them to Cyprus. All that to say is that with this feckless administration “Running” this debacle, they place flash over competence, it is their M.O. As long as they check out the required boxes for the rabid base, it is all it matters.
I know the world is, perhaps, different than it once was. Still, I think there is a way to negotiate for the release of American hostages. To wit, “We would like for you to release the Americans you are holding. In exchange, we promise to not wipe you and your descendants from the face of the earth.”
RM
that too. along with any record of their prior existence.
+1
Oh, I know.
Do you think the Press/Agitprop will be able to memory hole a Ukraine proxy war loss when/if that happens?
All those billions, to what end.
All- No disagreement here.
I think I’d rather have The Mafia running the country these days. At least they take care of their own…..
Par for the course for the current crop of criminals running the show. As for ‘going to get’ the Americans being held hostage…Sounds good in theory. But the reality is that nobody has any idea where they are exactly, there is no safe, quick or quiet way in and out of Gaza and any attempt to rescue them ala “raid on entebbe” style would almost certainly get the hostages killed along with who knows how many of the rescue team. I’m all for rescuing them. But only if it’s feasible. Sadly I don’t see that happening. Civilized society and people need to come to terms with an ugly reality that now exists. If fanatics take you hostage you are probably as good as dead. A society that uses it’s own women and children as human shields will have no qualms about killing hostages.
The US state dept. charters the plane and will loan US citizens money for the ticket if they can’t afford it. Often the plane will also take other countries citizens to the US where they can get a connecting flight home.