From: William Gladys <william.gladys@tiscali.co.uk>
Date: Sun, Jun 26, 2011 at 5:28 PM
Subject: Fw: Muna Khan: The audacity of the Obama administration. Or why I lost hope that anything would change.
To: Al-Hilal <Al-Hilal@sky.com>
Cc: world_Politics@googlegroups.com
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/06/25/154753.html
Muna Khan: The audacity of the Obama administration. Or why I lost hope that anything would change.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
The Audacity of Hope will join other vessels to form a Freedom Flotilla to take aid to Gaza. (File photo)
The Audacity of Hope will join other vessels to form a Freedom Flotilla to take aid to Gaza. (File photo)
By MUNA KHAN
Al Arabiya
Bear with me a minute before I launch my daily diatribe.
I was watching an episode of "The West Wing" last night in which the fictional US President Jed Bartlett acquires a map of the Holy Land from 1709. He wants to put it up in the West Wing of the White House and is appalled at his inner circle staff members disallowing him to do so because the map doesn't recognize Israel.
A flabbergasted president of the US says that Israel didn't exist then, and everyone agrees with that fact but says displaying the map from 1709 would offend everyone.
The map hasn't gone up yet—and I'm not holding my breath.
None of "us crazy Muslims" as so many of our beloved commentators enjoy pointing out are surprised by America's alliance with Israel on a host of issues but the audacity of it still surprises. The US flotilla to Gaza is just another example of it.
Ironically the boat is called The Audacity of Hope, perhaps in an effort to pay homage to Barrack Obama's career, and even remind him of his forgotten promises. The boat carries 50 citizens, many of them notable intellectuals and writers like Naomi Klein and Alice Walker.
The Audacity of Hope will join other vessels to form a Freedom Flotilla to take aid to Gaza.
The ship plans to depart from a Greek port except that Greek authorities are under a lot of pressure from Israel and the Obama administration to disallow it, and other vessels, from using its ports to head to Gaza. Israel is using economic incentives at a time when Greece's economy is all but bust to place pressure on Athens.
That makes sense for Israel.
That the Obama administration is issuing warnings to its citizens against traveling to Gaza by any means "including sea" doesn't make sense to me.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, noting "that previous attempts to enter Gaza by sea have been stopped by Israeli naval vessels and resulted in the injury, death, arrest, and deportation of US citizens," states very clearly which side the Obama administration is on.
Even if it does not surprise, it bears noting that last year flotilla fiasco saw the death of one US citizen on board the Mavi Marmara and the American government did nothing on his behalf after his death—including assisting in the seeking of compensation from Israeli government.
Given that US administrations are quick to fight wars on the pretext of protecting its citizens, it is almost laughable that it is warning its citizens on, not protecting from, Israeli aggressions.
What, if any, measures is the Obama administration taking to protect Americans sailing to Gaza amidst a backdrop of Israeli aggression? A cursory online search did not find any statement by a US official to Israeli authorities asking them to show restraint. Instead, you will easily find statements by US officials warning its citizens that it will be their fault if they are harmed.
Is it just us crazy Muslims who see that there is something very wrong with this picture?
Gaza is under siege—and the Obama administration's actions validate it. Under which law does it say that aid can only be delivered to 1.5 million people living like hostages in Gaza through Israel?
What laws are participants of flotillas in violation of when they travel to deliver humanitarian assistance?
Mr. Obama and his administration's audacity to behave this way leave little room for any hope. Of the 535 members of Congress, only six have signed a letter asking the government to ensure the safety of its citizens participating in the flotilla.
We've always known that the lives of the 1.5 million in Gaza are immaterial. It seems that the 50 lives aboard The Audacity of Hope amount to nothing as well.
If that's not worthy of some form of contempt, I don't know what is.
(Muna Khan, Editor of Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: muna.khan@mbc.net)
city of Hope will join other vessels to form a Freedom Flotilla to take aid to Gaza. (File photo)
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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
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