{"id":2622,"date":"2010-06-07T11:27:27","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T03:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/index.php\/2010\/06\/obama-bush-alike-when-it-comes-to-israel\/"},"modified":"2010-06-07T11:27:27","modified_gmt":"2010-06-07T03:27:27","slug":"obama-bush-alike-when-it-comes-to-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/obama-bush-alike-when-it-comes-to-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama, Bush alike when it comes to Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gulfnews.com\/polopoly_fs\/illustration-1.637673%21image\/2270056436.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/box_475\/2270056436.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Illustration\" style=\"float: left;\" \/><em><br \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"synopsis\"><em>Tel Aviv knows it can always count on unwavering US  support despite its flagrant disregard for human rights<br \/>By Abdullah Al Shayji, Special to Gulf News<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"imageTitle\">The global outrage has forced the US to talk about Gaza. It seems that the Obama administration finally accepts that the situation is &#8220;unsustainable&#8221; and there is a need to break the <br \/>impasse. <\/li>\n<li class=\"credit\">Image Credit: Illustration: Danesh  Mohiuddin\/\u00a9Gulf News<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- image --><\/p>\n<div class=\"article\">\n<p>On the eve of the first anniversary of  US President Barack Obama&#8217;s Cairo speech to the 1.5 billion Muslims  across the globe, the US proved that it does not miss an opportunity to  miss an opportunity to hold Israel accountable for its mischievous  behaviour and intransigence. To many disillusioned Muslims there is  little difference, if any, between George W. Bush and Obama.<\/p>\n<p>While Israel continues to behave like a rogue or even a pariah state,  it can always fall back on America&#8217;s unwavering support. Regardless of  Tel Aviv&#8217;s intransigence, the US does no more than request it to  exercise caution. Such actions only reaffirm Washington&#8217;s commitment to  safeguarding Israel&#8217;s security.<\/p>\n<p>Israel&#8217;s latest transgression of attacking the unarmed Freedom  Flotilla has been internationally condemned, but the US is muted in its  response. The fact that the aid convoy sought to break the inhumane,  three-year-old blockade of Gaza made no difference. The killing of nine  activists in cold blood and the seizing of ships carrying medical and  food cargo along with over 500 activists, parliamentarians, and  journalists did not perturb the Obama administration.<\/p>\n<p>The US could not do anything more than say it needs more information  to determine what had happened. Nevertheless, in the UN Security  Council, Washington pushed member states to endorse a watered-down  presidential statement about the &#8220;acts&#8221; i.e. equating Israeli commandos  who attacked the ships and the activists, who were trying to protect  themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Although Israel has embarrassed its staunch ally by repeatedly  derailing US efforts to jumpstart the Middle East peace process,  Washington never tires of providing Tel Aviv its support on numerous  occasions. It uses its veto power to shelter Israel from global  condemnation.<\/p>\n<p>The US expressing dismay over the mention of Israel in last week&#8217;s UN  nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review is another example of  this politics. All the summiteers did was call on Israel to join the 189  signatories to the NPT and to participate in a conference in 2012 to  make the Middle East a nuclear free zone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In a bind<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The US has shot itself in the foot with its reaction to the flotilla  attack. Coming as it does in the wake of Israel&#8217;s forgery of western  passports, which were used in Dubai by the assassins of Hamas official  Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, Washington&#8217;s stand validates the Arab and Muslim  view that it backs Israel&#8217;s actions.<\/p>\n<p>But US military concerns were made obvious by US Centcom commander  General David Petraeus&#8217;s briefing to the influential Armed Services  Committee in the US Senate in mid-March. General Petraeus argued on  record that &#8220;the enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its  neighbours present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our  interest in the AOR [area of operational responsibilities].  Israeli-Palestinian tensions often flare into violence and large-scale  armed confrontations. The conflict foments anti-American sentiments, due  to the perception of US favouritism for Israel.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and  depth of US partnerships with governments and peoples in the AOR and  weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world. Al Qaida  and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilise support. The  conflict also gives Iran influence in the Arab world through its  clients, Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Further, Mossad chief Meir Dagan&#8217;s blunt assessment of the security  situation is of interest. He declared that &#8220;Israel is gradually turning  from an asset to a burden&#8221;. It seems that Israel&#8217;s assault on the  Freedom Flotilla in violation of international laws \u2014 an act of piracy \u2014  will have severe consequences for the Jewish state. Israel has already  been described by one of its leading newspapers as being \u2018Lost at sea&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The prime minister of its former strategic ally, Turkey, has accused  Tel Aviv of &#8220;state terrorism&#8221;. Israel&#8217;s allies the European Union,  Russia, China along with the UN Secretary-General are calling for the  lifting of the blockade on Gaza. The assault has drawn the world&#8217;s  attention to the suffering of the people of Gaza. An outraged world is  refusing to be pushed around by a pariah state and its backers any more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Policy change<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The global outrage has forced the US to talk about Gaza. It seems  that the Obama administration finally accepts that the situation is  &#8220;unsustainable&#8221; and there is a need to break the impasse.<\/p>\n<p>There is even talk about the need to change US policy on Gaza. That  policy should focus on lifting the blockade, opening all the crossing  points and ending the suffering of more than 1.5 million Gazans.<\/p>\n<p>When an American columnist such as Nicholas D. Kristof writes in the  New York Times about &#8220;saving Israel from itself&#8221; then there is something  glaringly wrong with Israel&#8217;s behaviour and how far it has gone.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has become a clear liability. Someone has to put some sense  into Tel Aviv&#8217;s far-right leadership before the world grows more  impatient. Otherwise, Israelis should stop asking the rhetorical  question, &#8220;Why do they hate us&#8221;?<\/p>\n<p><em>Professor Abdullah Al Shayji is the Chairman of the Political  Science Department, Kuwait University.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tel Aviv knows it can always count on unwavering US support despite its flagrant disregard for human rightsBy Abdullah Al Shayji, Special to Gulf News The global outrage has forced the US to talk about Gaza. It seems that the Obama administration finally accepts that the situation is &#8220;unsustainable&#8221; and there is a need to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"better_featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}