Biden Shifts the Goalposts: ‘Degrading,’ Not ‘Defeating,’ HamasPosted on March 19, 2024 State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday that the U.S. shares the goal of “degrading” Hamas — avoiding the use of the word “defeating,” in an apparent shift of U.S. policy on the Gaza war. Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP
