Rencontre Obama-Netanyahu (caricature by Steve Bell for The Guardian)
How effective has Obama been in bringing peace to the Middle East? For all his friendly rhetoric, mostly ineffective so far. He has not ended the Iraq war, though “combat” soldiers are on track to come home. That could still leave tens of thousands of soldiers and contractors there indefinitely. The Afghanistan war continues with no purpose or reason and no end in sight. We have no business being there killing Afghans and calling them “insurgents” or Taliban. (Naming people the enemy after we have killed them is what dictators do.) Right now the U.S. military is accusing the Taliban of numerous crimes en masse, acting as judge and jury and simply executing them as they see them. Lately I have heard generals say they are acting as a “real army” which gives our military forces more legal license to kill even more.
This is an enormous ethical problem, and most Americans no longer even support the Afghanistan war. The rest of the world does not support this war either. (The Russians especially think we are crazy). Obviously, most of the men who attacked us on 9/11 are dead except for bin Laden and a few others. Unfortunately, Obama is carrying out key parts of George Bush’s Middle East policy all over again.
The anti-war supporters of Obama would be a lot more patient with all of this if Obama were seriously facilitating peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine (and Gaza), but Obama hasn’t learned yet how to effectively stand up to Netanyahu or make a dent in his philosophy. The current right-wing government of Israel seems impervious to reason. Obama hasn’t done what is necessary: Cut off the money supply. A flow of money and weapons from the U.S. and the threat of that ending is the only language the leaders of Israel will understand. Obama needs to tell Netanyahu that we will end all aid to Israel and all weapons shipments unless he stops settlements and all other racist anti-Palestinian activity. Many American taxpayers don’t even realize the billions of dollars in war machinery and weapons and money we send Israel every year. George Bush sent weapons for whatever military operation Israel wanted to do and even supported the slaughter last December in Gaza.
Recent stories show how the U.S. has pressured Palestine to not accept the Goldstone report of war crimes, most but not all committed by Israel, during the “war” in December. Palestine leader Abbas at first deferred action on the report. Not they are admitting that was a mistake.
The Palestinian leadership made a mistake by suspending action on a U.N. report on Gaza war crimes, a member of President Mahmoud Abbas’ inner circle said Wednesday – the first such acknowledgment after days of protests in the West Bank and Gaza.
At issue is a 575-page United Nations report that alleged both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during Israel’s three-week offensive against the Islamic militants in Gaza last winter.
UN General Assembly for possible action. Such a vote would have been a first of many steps toward possible war crimes tribunals.. . . .
Abbas made the decision under heavy U.S. pressure, Palestinian and Israeli officials have said. U.S. officials told Palestinian leaders that a war crimes debate would complicate efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, according to participants in such meetings.
Click here for more on the Goldstone commission report on the Gaza conflict
The Obama administration asked Abbas to let it go and not pursue these war crimes. What does that say about what the U.S. stands for? Now the leader of the UN is encouraging Palestinians to pursue debate on the report. Of course, the far-right leader of Israel is none too happy.
“Netanyahu opened his fiery speech at the inauguration of the Knesset’s winter session by blasting the Goldstone Commission’s report sponsored by the United Nations, that accused Israel of committing war crimes during its war against militants in the Gaza Strip last year.“
Instead of carrying out the previous administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East, including rendition and not closing GITMO as promised, Obama should do what he said he would do and stand for some real “change.” Whatever happened to a new way of approaching the Middle East?
I think we are still living in Bizarro World despite the fact that Bush is finally gone.
Where Israel is concerned, Obama seems to be nearly as biased towards them as past recent U.S. presidents. Israel should get no aid whatsoever from the United States taxpayers for waging slaughter on their neighbors (Lebanon and Gaza, repeatedly). If Obama, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, doesn’t know this, then he should return his award.
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