BREAKING: Biden addresses nation, links war in Israel to war in Ukraine, touts ‘arsenal of democracy’

President Joe Biden spoke from the White House on Thursday night upon his return from Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as his cabinet. He also met with Israelis who survived the attack by Hamas on October 7. 

In giving an address about the latest war in Israel, Biden spoke about how Hamas' terror attack does not dimish the rights of Palestinians or their dignity, but he quickly pivoted to a discussion of the war in Ukraine, linking the two. As he did so, protesters stood outside the White House demanding a ceasefire in Israel.

Biden spoke about the "inflection point in history," which he frequently references no matter what the topic, to propose to the American people that the nation is facing "one of those moments where the decisions we make today are going to determine the future for decades to come."

He condemned the attack on Israel, he spoke about the American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and the "pure unadulterated evil" of the attack by Palestinian terror group Hamas on Israel on October 7. But as he spoke, his attention was drawn to the war in Ukraine, which has embattled the nation since February 2022. The US has given some $113 billion to aid Ukraine in their fight against Russia.

"You know," he said, pivoting, "the assault on Israel echoes nearly 20 months of war, tragedy and brutality inflicted upon the people of Ukraine." The US gives less than $4 billion each year, since 2016, to aid Israel in maintaining a defense system.

Biden brought up the brutality of the war in Ukraine, and in his speech, he mentioned Ukraine and Ukrainians 28 times, Putin and Russia 21 times. Israel got 26 mentions overall.

Biden linked Putin and Hamas, saying that "both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy, completely annihilate it." Hamas, he said, doesn't represent Palestinians, though the Palestinians of Gaza elected Hamas to rule the territory in 2006.

Many have questioned the purpose of American aid to Ukraine, and Biden addressed that, linking aid to Ukraine to support for Israel. 

"It's natural ask why does this matter to America? Let me share with you why making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital for America's national security," Biden said.

"History has taught us," he continued, "that when terrorists don't pay a price for their terror, when dictators don't pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going and the cost and the threats to American the world keep rising. So we don't stop whose appetite for power and control in Ukraine."

His take is that if the US doesn't aid Ukraine in repelling the Russians from their borders, Russia will make Europe, and perhaps even the entire world, its next target. This he compared to Hamas, which has stated its goal of eradicating Israel and exterminating the Jewish people.

"American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us America safe. American values are what make us a partner of other nations want to work with," he said.

"We put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel," he said, letting America know that he would ask Congress for more money to fund these wars. In his view, spending on massive war efforts now would be a "smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations."

This, Biden said, would "help us keep American troops out of harm's way." He believes that by spending more on war now, it would "build a world that is safer, more peaceful and more prosperous for our children and grandchildren."

He also will ask for humanitarian aid for those in Gaza, from which the attack on Israel was launched. "The people of Gaza urgently need food, water and medicine," he said.

Biden promised that if Hamas doesn't steal the aid, more aid would be on the way soon.

"Yesterday, in discussions with the leaders of Israel and Egypt, I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance from the United Nations to Palestinian civilians in Gaza. If Hamas does not divert or steal this shipment, these shipments, we're going to provide an opening for sustained delivery of Life Saving humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians."

He equivocated the increase in anti-Semitism now to the rise in Islamophobia after the attacks on America of Sept. 11, 2001, without mentioning that in the case of Sept. 11 it was Islamic extremists who launched the attack, and that in the case of October 7, it was Israel that was attacked by, again, Islamic extremists.

Biden addressed concerns, raised most recently by the Pentagon, that the US is running out of weapons and ammunition for its own defense, nevermind for the defense of other nations. He promised that the US is building more munitions. 

"You know, just as in World War Two today, patriotic American workers are building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom," he said.

To bolster the cause of increased spending, he said "time is of the essence. I know we have our divisions at home we have to get past. We can't let petty partisan angry politics get in the way of our responsibility as a great nation. We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win.

"I refuse to let that happen. It's almost like these we have to remind — we have to remember who we are. We are the United States of America, the United States of America. And there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together."