[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
International News Title: Israel’s ‘Audience of One’ is Much Less of a Captive Israel may accept its isolation from the world community but the US has found its ally’s position in maintaining a blockade of Gaza “untenable” and has agreed that an “impartial inquiry” into the deadly raid is needed, says James Zogby. As expected, Israel matched its use of overwhelming force against the passengers on the Mavi Marmara with an equally vigorous attempt to shape both how the story played out in the US media and the official response from the US government. To that end, the Israeli government prepared talking points, enlisted the efforts of their lobby, and mobilised a virtual army of activists to monitor, respond to and pressure the press as well as politicians. Israel’s talking points suggested an alternate reality. It was one in which the ships posed a mortal danger to Israel as they were populated by “dangerous extremists” (which, if true, raises the question: why did Israel free them, sending them on their way?); that the Israeli military was ambushed and, therefore, acted in self-defence (as if hooded, heavily armed paratroopers who landed in the dead of night were but innocent bystanders); that the cargo could have been delivered peacefully to Gaza if only the ships had off-loaded in Israel (ignoring the fact that the materials being delivered included items like pre-fabricated housing, which Israel has banned from reaching Gaza); and that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza (clearly refuted by respected independent NGO statistics on poverty and malnutrition rates in the Strip). Worldwide reaction to the violent assault and the resulting deaths was swift in condemning the Israeli military’s behaviour. But none of this mattered since Israel, in crises of this sort, plays to an audience of one. It is acceptable for Israel to endure international outrage and votes of 14 to one in the United Nation’s Security Council, as long as that “one”, the United States, stands at its side. Seen in this context, initial reaction in America may have given Israel some comfort, although to quote the jumbled words of the legendary baseball great Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” Television networks in the US for the most part gave scant coverage of the unfolding tragedy, leaving viewers interested in the story no recourse but to hunt down Al Jazeera English or the BBC to follow the tragic events at sea. Print media was a bit better, but as Fair (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), a media watchdog group noted, too often the major dailies reported the story “through Israel’s eyes”, giving the benefit of the doubt to Israeli claims and focusing on the impact the event would have on US –Israeli relationship rather than on the plight of Palestinians or the legality of Israel’s attack in international waters. On June 1, for example, The Washington Post wrote an editorial calling on Israel to “ease restrictions on both Gaza and the West Bank” and make a credible move toward peace with the Palestinians, but not before they asserted that the passengers of the Mavi Marmara were “militants who swarmed [the Israeli military] with knives and iron bars”, accusing them of having ties to al Qa’eda and “deliberately provoking a confrontation”. A predictable collection of members of Congress were fast out of the gate with statements of support, most of which echoed Israeli-supplied talking points. Some went overboard, making bizarre observations, like Senator John McCain, who claimed that this incident was but “another step in a chain of unfortunate events beginning with President Obama’s insistence that there be a freeze as a precondition for peace talks on settlements in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, not a settlement”. In this, Mr McCain demonstrated that he had not only read the recent talking points, but recalled an earlier set supplied by the Israeli Prime Minister after the last crisis. But before one concludes that the story is over, more thoughtful voices have joined the fray, and these are worthy of note. The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, called for a “credible and transparent investigation”, as did the chair of the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry. Members of the US Congress also expressed strong concern. William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, focused on the importance of US-Turkish relations, demanding a “thorough, independent and impartial investigation” while praising “Turkey’s responsible leadership in the region”. For its part, the Obama administration’s response, though muted at first, has developed clarity. Pushed by world reaction, concern with outraged Arab opinion, and pressure from its Nato ally, Turkey, Washington finally staked out a more nuanced and balanced position by the week’s end. Israel may accept its isolation from the world community but the US has found its ally’s position in maintaining a blockade of Gaza “untenable” and has agreed that an “impartial inquiry” into the deadly raid is needed. Speaking on Larry King Live last week, the US president Barack Obama condemned “all the acts that led up to this violence”. He went on to describe the loss of life as “unnecessary”, noting that his administration was calling for “an effective investigation of everything that happened”. He concluded by noting that it was now important that “we break out of the current impasse, use this tragedy as an opportunity so that we can figure out how we can meet Israel’s security concerns but at the same time start opening up opportunity for Palestinians”. What is clear is that the “audience of one” has not fully bought into the alternate reality of supplied talking points. This story is not over.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Says the fake president usurper fake christian that is really a muslim. What do you expect from a muslim pres. Fuck that asshole.
|
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|