Media Ignores Big News At Last Night's Press Conference

You would never know it from watching that mess of a press conference last night, but Joe Biden yesterday issued an important memorandum that lays out the standards countries that receive U.S. weapons must adhere to and, for the first time, requires the administration to submit an annual report to Congress about whether countries are meeting the requirements. So here it is. Via the Washington Post:

The national security memorandum comes after prominent Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and whether the country, which has received hundreds of millions of dollars worth of U.S. weapons, has adhered to international law. Nearly half of Senate Democrats have supported a measure that would ensure Israel and other countries are held accountable for meeting those standards.

The memorandum does not include new guidelines or conditions but instead calls for the State Department to receive written assurances from countries receiving U.S. weapons that they will abide by existing U.S. standards. Those include abiding by international law and facilitating transport of U.S. humanitarian assistance.

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