For Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, the conflict in Gaza has become obvious.
Protesters angry over Israel’s attack on Gaza have become a regular presence outside Blinken’s northern Virginia residence, with some camping in roadside tents for days. Palestinian flags and handmade signs express anger at a diplomat who has become the face of President Biden’s policies toward the conflict.
“This is where the damn Blinken lives,” read one this week. “Caution: Was Criminal Inside,” read another. Cars driving by drove over the words “Secretary of Genocide” scrawled in pastels on the road.
And one day in early January, as Mr. Blinken’s official motorcade pulled out of his driveway, protesters sprayed fake blood on the armored black Suburban in which he was riding.
Protest organizers even named their action “Occupy Blinken,” saying in a statement that more than 100 people were being held in their camp. (Perhaps two dozen were visible Thursday afternoon, along with scores of police and vehicles.) They “braved frigid temperatures, wind and rain 24 hours a day and pleaded with Blinken” to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. the statement said.
According to a report, some neighbors are unhappy with the hustle and bustle on their normally quiet street. A digital traffic sign imported by the police warns drivers to slow down and says that honking should be prohibited. This suggests that expressions of support have created unwanted noise in an area that is also home to at least two ambassadors from Persian Gulf countries.
It is certainly a surprising turn of events for Mr. Blinken. Over the past two years, he has been a hero in many parts of the United States and Europe for advocating for the defense of Ukraine and demanding accountability for Russia’s wartime atrocities. Now he is being condemned by protesters angry that the Biden administration has provided military equipment and political cover for what they say is a morally outrageous and even criminal Israeli response to the October 7 Hamas attacks, in which more than 26,000 Palestinians were killed, Gaza health officials said.
Mr. Blinken is not alone: Protesters have gathered outside the homes of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, including on Christmas morning. They have also watched Mr. Biden’s recent public appearances, with hecklers in some cases interrupting his remarks at events.
But Mr. Blinken appears to be bearing the brunt, perhaps because of his diplomatic role — he was set to leave over the weekend for his fifth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 — and his frequent on-camera appearances.
In front of the Foreign Ministry, several lampposts are covered with posters showing his smiling face above the rubble of Gaza. “We accuse you of genocide for funding and supporting Israel’s genocide of Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza,” it said. (Israel angrily rejects the accusation that its military campaign against Hamas constitutes a genocidal attempt to exterminate Palestinians, and the Biden administration says the genocide charge is baseless, even though the International Court of Justice recently issued a preliminary ruling saying he suggests that the accusation is “plausible.”)
Mr. Blinken often speaks of Israel’s “right to defend itself” and repeatedly emphasizes that Hamas bears responsibility for triggering the catastrophe in Gaza by attacking Israel and killing about 1,200 people. But he also says publicly that the number of civilian casualties in Gaza is “staggering” to him and argues that U.S. diplomacy has gone further than any other country to ensure that the delivery of humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.
In a statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Mr. Blinken was aware of the criticism.
“He understands that people care deeply about this issue — and that goes for him, too,” Mr. Miller said. “That is why he is working so hard to end this conflict as quickly as possible, in a way that ensures that the tragic loss of life among both Israelis and Palestinians since October 7 is not repeated.” The Statement did not object to the presence of protesters within sight of his front door.
On Thursday, Mr. Miller separately told reporters that Mr. Blinken met with members of the Palestinian American community that day. Mr. Miller said it was the latest in a series of meetings Mr. Blinken has had with people inside and outside the government with “a variety of views” on the conflict. (Some invitees said in a statement that they had refused to meet with Mr. Blinken, dismissing the meeting as “performative.”)
“Every interaction we have feeds into the secretary’s mindset,” Mr. Miller said.
Mr. Blinken is hardly the first secretary of state to suffer personal animosity over a foreign conflict, although he may experience it more intensely than any of his predecessors since Condoleezza Rice, who held the post in the second term of the Bush administration. During a House hearing in 2007, a woman opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq approached Ms. Rice, holding hands covered in red paint inches from her face.
During a visit to Britain last year, Ms Rice was confronted by protesters: “Hey, Condi, hey, how many children did you kill today?” some chanted – and had to cancel a planned stop at a mosque. In June 2004, up to 1,300 people marched to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s home in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood.
Benjamin J. Rhodes, a national security adviser in the Obama administration, recalled that protesters angry about U.S. drone strikes against suspected terrorists knocked on the front door of John Brennan, then the White House counterterrorism director.
“Everything in your home makes you feel like you’re never really free from work or controversy,” and exposes family members, Mr. Rhodes said.
Mr. Rhodes said he doubted that individual anti-Gaza protests would influence U.S. policy, but added that the number and variety of ongoing demonstrations could have an impact “because they are a sign of the depth of hostility to politics.” .
For Mr. Blinken, who spent most of his career working behind the scenes before Mr. Biden named him his chief diplomat three years ago, the criticism could be particularly troubling. He has joked in the past about his anonymity, particularly compared to predecessors like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, both of whom became Democratic presidential candidates.
Early in his term as secretary of state, Mr. Blinken might slip into a European cafe with light security during an official trip and not be recognized or at least spoken to. Those times seem to be long gone.
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2024-02-03 12:10:47
www.nytimes.com