Join on WhatsApp 
Join on Telegram Rabat — In an interesting pivot, former US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has publicly acknowledged that Israel has “without a doubt” committed war crimes in Gaza.
The admission, made in a recent Sky News podcast, marks a dramatic departure from his official posture during his time at the Biden administration — a period defined by unyielding US support for Israel amid its ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Miller, who served as the mouthpiece of US foreign policy from 2023 until the end of Biden’s presidency, was one of the administration’s most visible defenders of Israel’s campaign of aggression.
While Palestinians were being massacred by US-funded bombs, Miller was at the podium, literally, smirking through press briefings, downplaying atrocities, and shielding Israel from growing international condemnation. Now out of office, Miller offers a controlled and partial admission — one that critics argue is far too little, far too late.
“It is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,” Miller said in the interview, finally articulating what human rights groups, legal experts, and millions of people around the world have been documenting for months.
Yet even in his newfound candor, Miller remains unwilling to name the atrocities in Gaza as a genocide. Instead, he clings to the narrative that Israel’s crimes are the result of “individual incidents” of misconduct rather than deliberate state policy — thus continuing to run cover for Israel and the US by extension, from full accountability for its systematic destruction of life in Gaza.
This framing is not just evasive. It’s a continuation of the same diplomatic gaslighting he engaged in while in office. The United Nations, numerous legal scholars, and international watchdogs have repeatedly affirmed that Israel’s actions — mass killings of civilians, targeted starvation, deliberate destruction of homes, hospitals, and infrastructure — meet the legal definition of genocide.
Within the same warped logic, Miller expresses doubt that Israel will ever hold its soldiers accountable, referring to the lack of military prosecutions; yet he avoids drawing the rational conclusion that if there is no accountability, no punishment and no justice, then the issue at hand is not that of rogue actors but rather a systematic state policy.
Miller also spoke of internal division within the Biden administration over the handling of Israel’s genocidal campaign. He described policy disagreements and debates over suspending arms shipments to Israel.
“There were disagreements all along the way about how to handle policy,” Miller admitted, yet, conveniently enough, these debates never translated into decisive action that could have saved thousands of Palestinian lives.
Just following orders
Much like the current administration, the Biden White House insisted it was working tirelessly behind the scenes to pressure Israel into agreeing to a ceasefire. Yet, a recent investigative report tells a different story.
The exposé revealed that the administration deliberately avoided applying meaningful pressure — even as the death toll in Gaza climbed past 30,000. Israeli Channel 13 showed Michael Herzog, former Israeli ambassador to Washington, openly praising former President Biden’s inaction, describing it as a divine gift to Israel.
“We fought for over a year and the administration never came to us and said, ‘ceasefire now.’ It never did. And that’s not to be taken for granted,” shamelessly declared Herzog.
During that same period, Matthew Miller, serving as the State Department spokesperson, routinely defended Israeli Occupation Forces’ actions with unwavering loyalty. In one briefing, when asked about the bombing of a shelter where 6,000 displaced Palestinians had sought refuge, Miller chillingly asserted that “Israel has a right to try and target those civilians.”
Now out of office, he insists he could not have spoken otherwise, claiming he was simply fulfilling his role. “When you’re at the podium, you’re not expressing your personal opinion. You are a spokesperson for the president, the administration, and you espouse the positions of the administration,” he said in an attempted excuse.
This rationale has drawn comparisons to the infamous “just following orders” defense — a moral escape hatch historically employed by individuals who abet state violence under the pretext of duty.
Most notoriously, this defense was invoked during the Nuremberg Trials, where Nazi officials, confronted with their roles in the Holocaust, claimed they had no responsibility because they were merely executing directives from higher authorities. The court rejected that defense unequivocally, establishing that personal responsibility does not dissolve in the machinery of state power.
History may not repeat itself identically, but it rhymes — and Miller, too, will be judged for what he defended, what he denied, and what he smirked away at the podium.
