A Pentagon intelligence officer has resigned in protest of the Biden administration's ongoing support for Israel in its war in Gaza.
Maj. Harrison Mann resigned in November but released his resignation letter publicly on Monday.
In the letter, Mann explained that he was leaving the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) over its unqualified support for Israel, which he said has “enabled and empowered” the killing of Palestinian civilians.
“The policy that has never been far from my mind for the past six months is the nearly unqualified support for the government of Israel, which has enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians,” Mann wrote. “This unconditional support also encourages reckless escalation that risks wider war.”
“Each of us signed up to serve, knowing we might have to support policies we weren’t fully convinced of,” Mann continued. “At some point — whatever the justification — you’re either advancing a system that enables the mass starvation of children, or you’re not.”
Mann is one of several officials to resign in protest of support for Israel.
In October, a State Department official resigned over President Joe Biden's announcement of material support for Israel.
Josh Paul worked for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. He posted his resignation letter on LinkedIn on Thursday, and it was posted to X by a former colleague. A must read.
My former colleague Josh Paul resigned today from the @StateDept office that approves arms transfers because of the Biden admin's decision to rush arms to Israel.
I have deep respect for Josh and I know he did not take this decision lightly.
Read his letter. pic.twitter.com/6hkoU2AsN4
— Brian Finucane (@BCFinucane) October 18, 2023
"Today I informed my colleagues that I have resigned from the State Department, due to a policy disagreement concerning our continued lethal assistance to Israel," Paul wrote.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Paul worked at the State Department since 2012.
Paul condemned the attack by Hamas, calling it "a monstrosity of monstrosities," and added, "I also believe that potential escalations by Iran-linked groups such as Hezbollah, or by Iran itself, would be a further cynical exploitation of the existing tragedy."
"But I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for the response, and for the status quo occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and Palestinian people — and it is not in the long-term American interest," Paul continued. "This Administration's response — and much of Congress as well — is an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia. That is to say, it is immediately disappointing, and entirely unsurprising. Decades of the same approach have shown that security for peace leads to neither security, nor to peace. The fact is, blind support for one side is destructive in the long term to the interests of the people on both sides. I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be part of it for longer."We cannot be both against occupation and for it. We cannot be both for freedom and against it. And we cannot be for a better world while contributing to one that is materially worse.
Paul explained that he does not believe that the US should take a side in the conflict, especially given that Israel has committed "gross violations of human rights."
