It’s obvious that Jake Tapper doesn’t understand how war works. Nor does he understand the difference between a nation defending itself and a nation committing war crimes. This all became evident Sunday during CNN’s State of the Union when Tapper interviewed Biden national security advisor Jake Sullivan and complained that Israel was forced to shut off the water and power supply in Gaza after being attacked by Hamas over a week ago.
“You say you stand for the rule of law, again, Hamas is vile. What they did eight days ago, they're targeting civilians, it's horrific,” Tapper said to Sullivan.
Tapper then sought to compare Israel to Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine: “But what's going on right now is not just a punishment of Hamas. More than 700 children have been reportedly killed in Gaza and obviously, electricity, food, water, supplies have been cut off by Israel to the totality of Gaza. Obviously, the blockade is not just by Israel, it's by Egypt, too.”
After playing a clip of Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemning Russia, Tapper claimed he wasn’t comparing the two countries but then proceeded to compare the two: “Now look, Israel is not Russia, Gaza is not Ukraine. It's a different situation, but cutting off supplies, cutting off heat, cutting off water to civilians, what's the difference?”
“Well, first, thank you for saying that Israel is not Russia, because Israel is not Russia,” Sullivan responded.
Tapper then proceeded to cry: “But civilians are civilians, Jake. Civilians are civilians.”
“Yes, absolutely, they are. And they deserve, as I said before, access to water and medicine and food. And we are working actively to ensure that that happens,” Sullivan responded.
He then provided good news for Tapper: “And I can tell you this morning, Jake, that I have been in touch with my Israeli counterparts just within the last hour who report to me that they have, in fact, turned the water pipe back on in southern Gaza.”
The transcript is below:
CNN’s State of the Union
10/15/2023
9:12:08 p.m. EasternJAKE TAPPER: Well, I mean, you say you stand for the rule of law, again, Hamas is vile. What they did eight days ago, they're targeting civilians, it's horrific. But what's going on right now is not just a punishment of Hamas. More than 700 children have been reportedly killed in Gaza and obviously, electricity, food, water, supplies have been cut off by Israel to the totality of Gaza. Obviously, the blockade is not just by Israel, it's by Egypt, too. Take a listen to what Secretary Blinken said last year when Putin was targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.
SEC. ANTONY BLINKEN: Heat, water, electricity for children, for the elderly, for the sick. These are President Putin's new targets. He's hitting them hard. This brutalization of Ukraine's people is barbaric.
TAPPER: Now look, Israel is not Russia, Gaza is not Ukraine. It's a different situation, but cutting off supplies, cutting off heat, cutting off water to civilians, what's the difference?
JAKE SULLIVAN: Well, first, thank you for saying that Israel is not Russia, because Israel is not Russia. Second…
[crosstalk]
TAPPER: But civilians are civilians, Jake. Civilians are civilians.
SULLIVAN: Yes, absolutely, they are. And they deserve, as I said before, access to water and medicine and food. And we are working actively to ensure that that happens. And I can tell you this morning, Jake, that I have been in touch with my Israeli counterparts just within the last hour who report to me that they have, in fact, turned the water pipe back on in southern Gaza. That has been the subject of discussion over the course of the past few days. The United States is going to continue working with Israel, with the U.N., with Egypt, with Jordan, and with a lot of the groups on the ground to make sure that innocent Palestinians get access to those basic necessities.
