It’s becoming really embarrassing and depressing to see our hopes for a different world under U.S. President Barack Obama continually dashed by status quo policies implemented by the administration. The latest comes in the wake of the massacre of innocent concerned citizens who were trying to do what the United States lacked the courage to do: intervene in the 3-year long suffering inflicted on the people of the Gaza Strip by Israeli blockade.
Acting with impunity once again, Israel attacked a flotilla conveying humanitarian supplies to Gaza and slaughtered nine people. As usual, the U.S. was silent on this issue. Why is this irking? We are threatening North Korea with fire and brimstone over the sinking of a South Korean submarine; the U.S. is threatening “serious consequences” against Iran over a phantom nuclear weapon. Yet when the United Nations took up the matter and wanted to condemn the attack, the U.S. was a stumbling block toward a strong language condemning the murderous attack.
According to the AP, “After an emergency meeting and marathon negotiations that lasted nearly 12 hours, the 15 council members finally agreed on a presidential statement. It was weaker than what was initially demanded by the Palestinians, Arabs and Turkey because of objections by the United States, Israel’s closest ally”. The most embarrassing part of all this is that even after the U.N. delivered its watered down version of a statement and called for an impartial investigation, and the U.N. Secretary-General was asked to organize an investigation, our genius U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff had his own American interpretation of “impartial” by demanding that Israel should conduct the investigation! He is quoted as saying “The secretary-general called for a full investigation, and we believe the Israelis are capable of conducting a full investigation”. What part of impartial does this fool not understand. Robotic out-of-your-ass responses are not what we need you for, Wolff. You are supposed to think and act intelligently. Who is the crux of the investigation again? Why not ask the North Koreans to investigate the submarine incident or Iran to investigate the nuclear weapons situation.
This sad state of affairs is gut-wrenching because Israel has done everything to spite the Obama administration from the day he took office. There has been no movement toward the so-called two-state solution; there has been a dramatic rise in the building of settlements in the West Bank; Israel has continued to brutalize Palestinians without restraint because of the totally inept group of people we have at the helm of affairs in Washington.
On a broader note, it is to the eternal shame of the United States that Non-profit groups and activists are putting their lives on the line to draw attention to the plight of the people in the Gaza strip. Let us not forget that our desire to “spread democracy in the Middle East” led to the Hamas militant group winning elections in Gaza (Hamas won elections in Gaza in 2006 but the US, the EU and Israel refused to recognize the result). It also exposed our dishonesty and hypocrisy when the U.S. refused to honor the outcome of the democratic process and it’ been downhill ever since.
We should also not forget the international nature of the Israeli raid. The flotilla was in international waters when it was attacked. If it was done in Somalia, we would immediately scream piracy. Did Israel engage in piracy by attacking a fleet that was in international waters and 400km from Gaza? Was there excessive use of force involved? By most accounts, the people on these vessels responded with stones and sticks. Not what you would expect from a group that had ill-intentions.
Most likely, this issue will be swept aside in a few days and it will be back to “normal” for the rest of us while the nightmare continues for a group of people that are looking for the freedom we so adamantly preach but are selective in granting.
On a last note, President Obama should stop worrying about his middle name and start acting on what he believes to be right. If he is hesitant to speak out on behalf of the Palestinians because he is worried about inferences, then the world is in trouble. Speeches are nice, but at the end of the day, the big question will be “What did you do?”
So far the U.S. has not done a whole lot in addressing the situation in the Middle East and Israel is taking advantage of the opportunity. And we wonder why so many people in the Middle East are wearing suicide bombs to kill Americans.
[Update]
The autopsies have been carried out and here is the report:
Nine Turkish men on board the Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times and five were killed by gunshot wounds to the head, according to the vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine, which carried out the autopsies for the Turkish ministry of justice today.
The results revealed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back. A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has US citizenship, was shot five times from less that 45cm, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two other men were shot four times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, said Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the council of forensic medicine.
Not your usual scenario of the military opening fire in “self defense”, but rather more in line with a pre-meditated operation by a country that knows it will get protection from a powerful ally when the shit hit the fan because the Israelis believe that “Israel is the front-line of the free world. Its ability to defend itself and deter its foes is the single most important guarantee of international peace” and that “(a) strong Israel is also the most potent and reliable guarantor of the US’s continued ability to project its power in the Middle East.”
The wheels have already started turning with the usual platitudes and useless globe-trotting and empty promises by U.S. government officials. Joe Biden is already in the Middle East urging for fresh ways “to address the humanitarian, economic, security and political aspects of the situation”.
