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Obama Is Losing a Battle He Doesn't Know He's In
Barack Obama's chances of making a fresh start in US relations with the Muslim world, and the Middle East in particular, appear to diminish with each new wave of Israeli attacks on Palestinian targets in Gaza. That seems hardly fair, given the president-elect does not take office until January 20. But foreign wars don't wait for Washington inaugurations.
Obama has remained wholly silent during the Gaza crisis. His aides say he is following established protocol that the US has only one president at a time. Hillary Clinton, his designated secretary of state, and Joe Biden, the vice-president-elect and foreign policy expert, have also been uncharacteristically taciturn on the subject.
But evidence is mounting that Obama is already losing ground among key Arab and Muslim audiences that cannot understand why, given his promise of change, he has not spoken out. Arab commentators and editorialists say there is growing disappointment at Obama's detachment - and that his failure to distance himself from George Bush's strongly pro-Israeli stance is encouraging the belief that he either shares Bush's bias or simply does not care.
The Al-Jazeera satellite television station recently broadcast footage of Obama on holiday in Hawaii, wearing shorts and playing golf, juxtaposed with scenes of bloodshed and mayhem in Gaza. Its report criticizing "the deafening silence from the Obama team" suggested Obama is losing a battle of perceptions among Muslims that he may not realize has even begun.
"People recall his campaign slogan of change and hoped that it would apply to the Palestinian situation," Jordanian analyst Labib Kamhawi told Liz Sly of the Chicago Tribune. "So they look at his silence as a negative sign. They think he is condoning what happened in Gaza because he's not expressing any opinion."
Regional critics claim Obama is happy to break his pre-inauguration "no comment" rule on international issues when it suits him. They note his swift condemnation of November's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Obama has also made frequent policy statements on mitigating the impact of the global credit crunch.
Obama's absence from the fray is also allowing hostile voices to exploit the vacuum. "It would appear that the president-elect has no intention of getting involved in the Gaza crisis," Iran's Resalat newspaper commented sourly. "His stances and viewpoints suggest he will follow the path taken by previous American presidents... Obama, too, will pursue policies that support the Zionist aggressions."
Whether Obama, when he does eventually engage, can successfully elucidate an Israel-Palestine policy that is substantively different from that of Bush-Cheney is wholly uncertain at present.
To maintain the hardline US posture of placing the blame for all current troubles squarely on Hamas, to the extent of repeatedly blocking limited UN security council ceasefire moves, would be to end all realistic hopes of winning back Arab opinion - and could have negative, knock-on consequences for US interests in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf.
Yet if Obama were to take a tougher (some would say more balanced) line with Israel, for example by demanding a permanent end to its blockade of Gaza, or by opening a path to talks with Hamas, he risks provoking a rightwing backlash in Israel, giving encouragement to Israel's enemies, and losing support at home for little political advantage.
A recent Pew Research Center survey, for example, showed how different are US perspectives to those of Europe and the Middle East. Americans placed "finding a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict" at the bottom of a 12-issue list of foreign policy concerns, the poll found. And foreign policy is in any case of scant consequence to a large majority of US voters primarily worried about the economy, jobs and savings.
On the campaign trail, Obama (like Clinton) was broadly supportive of Israel and specifically condemnatory of Hamas. But at the same time, he held out the prospect of radical change in western relations with Muslims everywhere, promising to make a definitive policy speech in a "major Islamic forum" within 100 days of taking office.
"I will make clear that we are not at war with Islam, that we will stand with those who are willing to stand up for their future, and that we need their effort to defeat the prophets of hate and violence," he said.
As the Gaza casualty headcount goes up and Obama keeps his head down, those sentiments are beginning to sound a little hollow. The danger is that when he finally peers over the parapet on January 21, the battle of perceptions may already be half-lost.
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200 Comments so far
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What battle? Obama's position is clear. He groveled to AIPAC, appointed a member of the IDF as chief of staff, Hillary as Sec. of State, Joe the Zionist for VP; Joe Leiberman was his mentor in the Senate. Kissinger, Bzrezenski, Allbright, Holbrooke, Al Haig; they are all on board. You call that silence?
Exactly Bubbasouth. It appears the man knows who butters his bread. His silence is his consent.
Bubbasouth/DCBeltway1
You are both wrong in my opinion, as far as this goes. He should not and must not overeach his position. Our country does only have one President at a time and the President elect is better served to do as he has and sholud.
I also don't buy the premise of this article at all. Obama and his team are losing no credibility at this point.
I don't say he over-reaches his position. His position is clear & firm. People who "hope" for "change" are deluded. As for his team losing credibility, which member of his team has any?
I dislike the way you have expressed yourself Bubbasouth. Your hatred of Israel is showing. But in a way you are quite correct.
Obama has made it clear in the past that he supports Israel and supports their need for security. He has also made it clear that he views Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Thomas More, your are right that as President-elect it is important that Obama must be prudent with his statements to avoid making it seem like the US has two leaders. It's crucial that the most powerful nation of earth be seen to have a smooth transfer of power.
However, I felt Obama struck the right balance by sending David Axelrod (one of his longest and closest advisers) on Meet the Press to affirm his support for the Israeli actions in Gaza. As he said,
MR. AXELROD: Well, obviously, it's a very serious situation. He spent some time on the phone with Secretary Rice yesterday, and he is monitoring the situation. But we've said repeatedly through this transition period that we--there's only one president at a time, and President Bush speaks for the United States of America until January 20th, and we're going to honor that moving forward.
MR. GREGORY: But in the course of the campaign, the now president-elect visited Sderot...
MR. AXELROD: He did.
MR. GREGORY: ...in fact, in southern Israel, and he said that Israel had a right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas.
MR. AXELROD: Indeed, he did.
MR. GREGORY: Does he believe it's appropriate for Israel, if it takes his decision, to push Hamas from power?
MR. AXELROD: He did, as you said, visit Sderot in July, and he said then that he thought that when bombs are raining, raining down on your citizens, it is--it's obviously unacceptable and there is an urge to act. And so--but again, I don't want to go beyond that because we only have one government and one president at a time.
So if more Jews are against Israel's genocide on Gaza, then you're calling those Jews Israel's haters ? Got it. Besides, BubbaSouth is no more a hater of Israel than you. You'd rather kiss the zionists' asses even if they write you off with a big FUCK YOU, wouldn't you? The neocons in the US and Israel are just as bad if not worse than the German NAZIs of the first half of the 20th century !
Bubbasouth
I would suggest most of his team has credibility, in fact the one that didn't for sure has just dropped out. Richardson is not going to be a cabinet member.
I would also say that unless you have heard something I haven't, the only thing we know is that he supports Israel just as we have always done. Anybody that thought that would change no matter the Presidents name is not paying attention.
Obama and Hillary may very well be able to help in the middle east. Don't you hope they can? I do.
Hillary voted for the Iraq war from the start and while Obama was against it, they both supported funding it with no strings attached. And since when has Hillary bothered meeting up with the Palestinians? She always kisses up to AIPAC but has never given a thought about the innocent Palestinians. And Obama? He'd much rather allow Rick Warren to do the inaugural invocation than the honorable and truthtelling Jeremiah Wright so that makes me mad. Bubbasouth and I see nothing but status quo. Change? Try chump "change".
Obama wasn't involved in the vote for the authorization by Congress to our coward in chief to attack if needed.
Hillary has fairly good credibility in the Arab world.
"than the honorable and truthtelling Jeremiah Wright"
Here you surprised me. I know Wright for the racist bigot he is. If you watch some of the hate sermons he preached as I did, you'd hear enough lies to float our Navy.
We don't need racists at all, but between Warren and Wright...Wright makes Warren look like MLK.
I haven't seen Wright's speeches in full so I'll have to get at that. As for Warren, I guess there are a few bright spots although maybe he's mixed at best, not that I take abortion or same sex seriously. I guess it's too early to prejudge Hillary on her new position since being a senator is completely different from being a SOS I think. Sorry.
Rev. Wright said 2 questionable things support for Farakahn, and spouting off a conspiracy theory about the origin of AIDS, other than that everything I heard that he said was right on. If I was religious I would say godamn America too for the literally millions of people out government has killed and maimed since WWII.
Considering he has surrounded himself with AIPAC approved neo-con war mongers whose views are VERY much at odds with the 71% of Americans who want neutrality in this conflict I am quite certain we don't have to worry about him "overreach(ing)."
Snark... Sigh!
Perhaps you could reserve your judgement till they do something. I believe yiou are wrong about most of them.....I don't know much about the Sec. at the Justice Dept though.
I would also suggest Warmonger is much overused as is Genocide. Not saying you shouldn't use it, just my opinion. It loses its impact I think.
Obama has already spoken out about the atrocity that happened in Mumbai. He strongly condemned the terrorist act there and that was important and a very good thing. He should also be calling for peace in the Middle East now. However, again given his cabinet and his former speeches at AIPAC his current behavior is predictable.
His current behavior is the correct one. No comment. As it should be for any President elect before he takes office.
I really don't know what he will say about this or his attitude. But I am sure this will not be the top priority as it shouldn't be for our President at this time.
Obama is most likely simply acquiescing in established American-Israeli boot licking. Or, by saying (virtually) nothing, he is not echoing the flippant and blood tinged vocabulary of George Wanker Bush and might be preparing for a future bout of inch worm diplomacy wherein he slowly and very carefully moves away from the Israelis. There's 16 days to go before he actually has any power at all. The Israelis may be doing what they're doing not only because of their election but because of ours.
Obama's silence speaks volumes. Same old imperialist crap but with room for illusions. That said, it is up to all of us to put the pressure on Obama. We can email him (indirectly) via
http://change.gov/page/content/contact/
I wrote:
I am disappointed at your silence on the issue of Israel's bombing and invasion of Gaza. You know that this did not start with Hamas or it's resistance to the many months of blockade resulting in starvation and deprivation of Gazan Palestinians. One phone call behind the scenes from President-elect Obama could have stopped this needless slaughter. The lack of that action or any stated objection has caused damage to our national standing and security as well as to any prospects of peace in that region. I hope this is the not kind of "change" we can look forward to. I realize that you have a lot on your plates given the wreck the Bush administration has left us but this is a core issue. It is not in our interest to underwrite an unpopular state based on ethnic purity. Peace must come from justice and that means ending the brutal oppression of Palestinians. This issue and our history of perpetuating it is at the heart of animosity toward us and conflict in that region. It is past time to change our unbalanced and unrealistic position and demand a just settlement that meets the needs of both Palestinians and Israelis. Do us all a favor and end this now.
The Jaded Prole
Gosh, I thought that only the Bush administration and the Senate would hang for war crimes and genocide. And now you tell me that the collar is tightening on B.O. too? It's REALLY time to move my 201(k) off shore.
Obama does not deserve our support, only our contempt. Try to pressure him, fine, but know you will fail. He is on the wrong side, as usual. I wrote to him, too, similar to the letter in another post. I know it falls on deaf ears, but what else can we do from here??
That's not true. Obama is one of us. He used to be a community organizer on the South side of Chicago. He knows what it's like on the streets. He's a real person. He will listen.
And please, just because you disagree with him on one issue (Israel) that's no reason to hold him in contempt. Think of what he is doing. He is freeing the prisoners of Guantanamo. He is withdrawing our troops from Iraq. He is renewing efforts to catch Bin Laden. He is ending tax cuts for the super-rich. He is funding green technology and alternative energy. So please, think of all the good he is doing. Even if you have your disagreements with him. He is the best President we have ever elected. In his own words, he has said he plans to "make government cool again". Well, sweet Moses, it's about time!
This is a great time for Progressives. We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us to create change. It won't be easy. But that's why we have to work together. It's important not just to hope - but to organize.
"For the first time in decades I believe the progressive community stands a fighting chance of shaping policies so they reflect our ideals." - Craig Brown (editor of Common Dreams)
This is not just Obama's moment. This is our moment.
Obama has done none of the things you listed. These are things that he promised to do, if elected, but he's already backsliding on some of them.
joehope is nothing but a spokesman for Joe LIEberNAZI. He thinks AIPAC is somehow "good". I'll take J Street over AIPAC any day. joehope is too deluded into thinking that Obama will bring any hope or change. Already, it's apparent that this country will be stuck with false hope and chump change. And if this keeps up, Palin will be winning in 2012 as she rips apart Obama for pandering to the Far Right and the corrupt monied interests. I'm no fan of Palin btw but she'll have fun tickling Obama and the Democrats into concessions at this rate ! Maybe Obama will turn out to be Palin-lite.
Why do people think it's cute to make fun of people's ethnicity? Saying Joe LIEberNAZI is equivilent to saying something like Amos Obama the house slave. It's offensive and racist. Surely you can find a better way to communicate yourself, JWVerez. You remind me of when Nader called Obama "an Uncle Tom". Racism has no place in polite discussion.
Frankly, the only way we'll wind up with Palin 2012 (which is a threat I take seriously) is if people like yourself refuse to help Obama because of your own petty egos. We need to come together. We need to unite. We need to do what is best for our country.
As Craig Brown said, "For the first time in decades I believe the progressive community stands a fighting chance of shaping policies so they reflect our ideals."
It's the truth. Obama will listen to us. He doesn't just want our help, he demands it. It's time to not only "make government cool again", as Obama has said, but to also make organizing and civic service cool again!
Ok joehope. Fair enough but only because Obama's not in yet. We'll see how Obama proves me wrong by 2012 if he can. I'll still keep my fingers crossed.
Fair answer. I admire your honesty, consideration of other opinions and your civility.
Thanks Thomas. I don't want to show my anger and lose control of myself and cuss but I just wish joehope would just try and think instead of irritating us all like crazy. Maybe it's just these complex issues that are driving me nuts. I don't know. :(
Anyone who thinks Obama is "progressive" after caving on FISA, taking millions from Wall St., and appointing a very hawkish cabinet is a damn fool, and yes that includes me who voted for him because I was scared of the Nazi like rallies Palin was whipping up. A quiet demeanor and support for spilling Muslim blood impresses me not one bit more than the rapid Palin, something I alas figured out too late.
ANY GREEN 2012
blessthebeasts,
How is he backsliding on those issues? Or any others?
It seems to me that he is remaining true to all of his promises, including supporting Israel.
He is not one of mine speak for yourself ONLY. He might withdraw troops SLOWLY from Iraq on roughly the same schedule the monster Bush proposed, he is going to put more troops into the unwinable war in Afghanistan causing more pointless blood to flow, he supports the bankster bailout that is more about paying corporate CEO salaries and funding offshore investments than helping Americans in trouble and was the biggest recipient of Wall St. funding during the campaign, he has surrounded himself with neo-con hawks in his cabinet. Yes I was suckered into voting for him on the chance we'd get even a little "change" and it looks like even that small hope is going to be dashed.
Does it occur to you Joe that the CD readership is far more radical than it's publishers as is often the case when looking at grass roots v.s. leadership that has to worry about fundraising and other concerns that cause people to pull punches?
ANY GREEN 2012!
Woooooweee. Joe, you need to put down the crack pipe.
" He is freeing the prisoners of Guantanamo. He is withdrawing our troops from Iraq. He is renewing efforts to catch Bin Laden. He is ending tax cuts for the super-rich. He is funding green technology and alternative energy."
I think you left out that he will make the trains run on time, the sun come up tomorrow, and put a chicken in every pot (along with his intentions to escalate the war in Afghanistan). But hey - he actually hasn't done squat, Joe (other than appoint a bunch of non-liberal Clintonites to his cabinet), because as you pointed out in a previous post he isn't president yet.
"So please, think of all the good he is doing."
Yeah, try telling the parents of those Palestinian children that were killed in the Mosque bombing a couple of days ago that they should think of "all the good he is doing" by supporting Israel.
"Change" my ass. ":Make government cool again"....ha! what a laugh! All marketing, no substance.
OK Obama hasn't done anything yet... Good, He is better than Bush already!
Obama is "one of us"?
He sure wasn't one of me when he voted for telecom immunity while campaigning after promising he'd even fillibuster to keep the proposal from becoming law. He sure wasn't one of me when he chose so many right of center old Washington politicians to be in his administration. He sure wasn't one of me when he decided to have a homophobic preacher give the invocation at his inauguration and didn't say a word against Proposition 8 in California. And his latest crowning of his good friend, Tim Kaine, for DNC chair certainly isn't something he's done for me -- Kaine opposes stem cell research, is anti-choice and anti-gay.
Sorry, but I've shifted from being strongly pro-Obama to at the edge of contempt for him. I'll wait until after his inauguration to finally decide, but I'm not hopeful any more.
"I'll wait until after his inauguration to finally decide, but I'm not hopeful any more."
Talk about a good idea. None of the statements I've read so far from you guys about Obama holds water. Not Joe on one side or the Obama Nots on the other.
The guiy isn't in office yet. He hasn't done...or not done anything yet. Let us see which way the cat jumops before putting it out of the house.
LOL. They way these Middle Eastern journalists talk its as though they voted for him and not Americans.
Is anyone surprised at this? Go google Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden and Rahm Emmanuel and AIPAC, and get back to me.
It is interesting that he hasnt said anything.
Why not come out and say i support Israel 100 percent?
In that silence, maybe there is a bit of hope(not much however).
His first 100 days will be interesting.
It's a massacre - that's why Obama says nothing, which implies support for Israel's actions. He's pretty much already voiced 100 percent support for Israel in past comments. Actually, Obama voiced more like 110 percent support with his comment that Bethlehem should become the capital.
-TIA
Obama sent David Axelrod on Meet the Press, and though tight-lipped, he reaffirmed Obama's support for Israel's actions.
Obama has not made any further statements because he wants to avoid the appearance of the US having two leaders - which could pose a national security risk.
AIPAC tool David Axlerod shilled for Israel on meet the press, you don't say? Any other shocking news you have to impart?
http://criminalstate.com/blog/?tag=david-axelrod
http://www.aipac.org/Publications/SourceMaterialsCongressionalAction/CongressIsraelGazaSelfDefense.pdf
LOL!! I guess some of u thought Obama was really going too support Hamas? Get real folks that was never going to happen. Hamas has made it very very clear that it will NEVER ever accept Israel as a State or anything else. With their eyes set on Martyrdom these religious fanatics want only one thing victory or death. I think death is more likely what many are going to be getting soon.
What nuance in that comment!
I suppose that Israel, a place that reeks of religion, is not as equally endowed with religious fanatics as the other side.
Ding, ding, ding give the man a cigar! Hamas and the religious fanatic settlers demanding a greater Israel deserve each other.
The tragedy is that Israel's land stealing religious fanatics have FAR more power to kill innocents than Islamic religious fanatics do.
blutodog
Obama has absolutely nothing to do with this. In a few weeks we'll see if they can do anything.
Never say never, it can happen. If Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran stopped supporting Hamas they would dry up and blow away.
This year it's Hamas, next year it will be called something else.
Whatever you call it, Israel is the fly who captured the flypaper in 1967, and has yet to figure out how to get unstuck.
It will never be through killing, no matter how much you justify it.
"If Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran stopped supporting Hamas they would dry up and blow away."
Thank you Thomas. Sometimes, it drives me crazy when some people refuse to acknowledge the enablers of terrorists such as Hamas and the zionists running and ruining Israel. I would add that the zionists are still keeping Hamas alive for the purpose of selectively killing innocent Palestinians and they're just about as nasty as the dictators and police forces in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. By the way, I hear the UAE and Syria are trying to rescue the Palestinians with humanitarian aid and are even allowing them into their land as refugees, something you'll rarely hear of Egypt, although they're not providing any troops in Gaza to protect the Palestinians from the senseless IDF either.
Terrance Mitchell
Redfield, South Dakota
Thomas More and TMinSD, good points.
People talk about the occupation of the Palestinians by Israel. But what about the occupation of the Palestinians by the Syrians, by Iran, and by the Saudis? Where do people think they are getting their rockets from? Unfortunately, the Palestinians are being used as pawns and cannon fodder for anti-Zionist Arab dictatorships. If these foreign powers ended their meddling, not only would Hamas vanish, but the Palestinians could actually begin to transform themselves into a free and just society. Not every Palestinian is a Jew-hating terrorist. There are many people who support a two state solution, renounce terrorism, and who want to rejoin the international community. Unfortunately, these people are being held captive by Hamas.
Interesting. Perhaps we could find some common ground here. I'll have to correct you though. Yes, the Arab dictatorships have a lot to do with this mess. However, you and tm are ignoring the fact that it's the US that's controlling them as well as doling out unlimited handouts to Israel and Israel never has to pay the US back and never will. And how much money is the US gonna keep borrowing from China and Japan to fund Israel? If you ever saw the cartoon series "Garfield & Friends" back in the early 1990s, you would have noticed that Jon Arbuckle is way too "nice" to allow Garfield to eat and sleep all the time like a big fat cat despite the fact that Arbuckle is a poor fool who can't take care of his finances let alone find a date. Applying this to the current situation, Arbuckle is the US and Garfield is Israel. And what about poor old Odie? Just like Garfield bullying Odie all the time because Arbuckle will never hold Garfield accountable, Israel never stops bullying Palestinians because she knows that the US will never hold her accountable.
If you wanna stop funding Saudi Arabia, then get off the reefer madness and tear down this 72 year ban on INDUSTRIAL HEMP so that we can grow our own hempseed oil for fuel and let the people in that country tear the dictators to shreds.
By the way, in an earlier post, DCBeltway1 perfectly explained to TM how Egypt gets its bribes with unfair stipulations and limited amounts from the US while Israel gets its shares with no strings attached. And don't give me shit telling me that Israel somehow deserves unlimited aid while others don't !
And just in case you're too lazy to search, let me help you out. Sorry I have to quote DCBeltway1 but I can't trust you to try and search:
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DCBeltway1 January 2nd, 2009 9:43 am
nomoreexceptionalism That is my point exactly. Why bother with those posting the Hasbara talking points. I don't. I feel Terrance thinking is muddled on this issue.
So our corrupt Politicians in DC fear AIPAC and tow the line (you can read about that here www.wrmea.com) and the Arab dictators fear another Lavon Affair type incident or sanctions etc. and tow the line. At the root of all this is the fear over the power Israeli supporters wield. At the end of the day America is the superpower here. The Arab world are post-colonial developing nations and AIPAC wields enormous clout over the American superpower's political leadership. Arab dictator are culpable in this but cower in front of this power. From what I have witnessed with my own eyes in Washington Walt and Mersheimer are correct.
Also foreign aid has strings attached to it. Including repayment strings for the Arabs and not for Isreal. Not everyone is all that eager to take that aid given some of the conditions that go along with it. Egypt gets aid because of its peace treaty with Israel. Israel though is the largest receipiant of US foriegn aid and they have no preconditions and never are obligated to pay it back. Congress always forgives their loans. They also get it in one lump sum unlike Egypt. They also get more military aid then all the Arab countries combined. Israel is the 5th largest military power on the planet.
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Interesting comment. Though I'd say that the US certainly has no control over Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
But there is no doubt for a minute that that is correct about the others and the loans by us to Israel and Egypt, etc.
Now that the fantasy of Globalism has collapsed, we may find a whole new situation. I expect China and the US to be clashing over trade soon enough.
I know we will be hit big time if we cut off China PNTR because China will definitely retaliate by cutting off the borrowing and currency manipulation as if they're not doing some of it already in the form of creating their own trade barriers but the sooner China PNTR is cancelled, the better for both the US and Chinese workers as it's turning out.