Inside the 'herd impunity' behind Biden's Gaza policy

Journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed has published "Crossing the Red Line," arguing that President Biden's small circle of advisers enabled Israel's escalating war in Gaza through delayed decisions, an ignored Rafah "red line," and a culture he calls "herd impunity," in which officials avoided war crimes findings, then cited their absence as reason not to act. Drawing on interviews with more than 150 officials, it reports that after the 2024 election, Biden and senior aides including Brett McGurk and Ambassador Jack Lew privately discussed possible U.S. complicity in war crimes, even as the administration publicly suggested Israel's campaign would become more restrained. Ahmed blames Washington careerism and says the policy "created a more dangerous world," for which former officials should still be held accountable. Biden, Lew, and McGurk declined to comment or did not respond, and the book arrives as U.S. military support for Israel continues under Trump while Biden-era officials write their own accounts.