Politico: “Last week’s halt on 3,500 bombs that were to be sent to Israel ahead of an invasion of Rafah was a singular decision, not reflective of some larger strategic shift toward the Middle Eastern ally, administration officials said. But the quiet congressional notification Tuesday night of a potential $1 billion arms sale to Israel that’s years from delivery confused lawmakers, including Democrats, who say the administration has a significant messaging problem.”
“At the same time, while the White House says the bomb pause is a specific move for a narrow purpose, the Biden administration’s increasing criticism of Israel could create the impression that more arms restrictions are yet to come.”
However: “Even White House officials privately acknowledge there have been gaps in communication. ‘There was a little bit of confusion last week about what exactly was paused,’ said one of them, who like two others was granted anonymity to detail sensitive internal dynamics.”
