Charity begins at home: LA wildfires rage as US funds Gaza genocide
TEHRAN- The administration of US President Joe Biden is under fire over its handling of the devastating wildfires which continue to rage across Southern California.
According to CBS News, the Palisades Fire has burned nearly 20,000 acres since it broke out Tuesday morning in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. The wildfire presently ranks as the most extensive in the Los Angeles area. It grew out of a brush fire that exploded as powerful winds ripped through the region .
The US news outlet said on Friday that firefighters were still battling the Eaton Fire, which trails the Palisades Fire in size and has engulfed more than 13,000 acres in northern Los Angeles County.
Thousands of structures have so far been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate.
The deadly infernos are on track to be among the most devastating and the costliest in the US history.
Accuweather, a private forecasting firm, has provided an initial estimate indicating anticipated losses ranging from $135 billion to $150 billion.
The natural disaster has turned the spotlight on Washington’s failure to contain the fires in the face of its role in fanning the flames of conflicts across the world.
Jewish Voice for Peace: “Instead of putting resources toward making our country livable, our government (Biden administration) is putting billions toward Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.”Activists have argued that the devastating blazes in Los Angeles could have been managed more effectively had the US government not allocated taxpayer funds to support the military efforts of its allies.
Critics have primarily concentrated on the United States' role in supplying Israel's military operations in Gaza.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration notified Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel.
The United States has also spent a record of nearly $18 billion on military aid to Israel since the start of its genocidal war on Gaza, on October 7, 2023, according to a report for Brown University’s Costs of War project, released in October last year.
“Instead of putting resources toward making our country livable, our government is putting billions toward Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” the New York branch of the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace said in a post about the fires in Los Angeles.
Code Pink, an activist group, blamed Israel and the US government for the deadly infernos.
“When US taxes go to burning people alive in Gaza, we can’t be surprised when those fires come home,” it said on Instagram.
A leader of New York's anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime also took a sharp jab at the US for feeding Israel’s war machine in Gaza.
“The flames of Gaza will not stop there. Dropping hundreds of thousands of bombs on Gaza, turning it into a blazing inferno, has consequences. There are climate consequences that will find us all,” Fatima Mohammed said.
Meanwhile, the White House has faced increased criticism for its announcement of a new military package for Ukraine, particularly in light of the public's outrage regarding the ongoing wildfires.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday that Washington will provide Ukraine with an additional $500 million in military aid, including air defense missiles, air-to-ground munitions, and support equipment for F-16 fighter jets.
Critics argue that the primary financial backing for the Los Angeles Fire Department comes from the city of Los Angeles, whereas foreign military aid is supplied by the federal government.
American citizens believe that if the Los Angeles Fire Department had sufficient financial resources, it could implement more effective strategies to combat wildfires.
Presently, there are deep concerns among Americans about the use of taxpayer funds to assist Israel and Ukraine, especially as they face the devastating impacts of wildfires on their properties due to insufficient financial resources.
The US government claims that it has a responsibility to support its allies.
There is much to be said for such US claims, but there is a good argument for saying that charity begins at home.
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