Obama Breaks Silence On Gaza, Express Concern For Civilian Casualties

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, breaking his silence about the Gaza war, expressed deep concern on Tuesday about civilian deaths in Gaza and in Israel and vowed to push for Middle East peace when he takes power.

Speaking after Israeli tank shells killed at least 40 Palestinians at a U.N. school where civilians had taken shelter, Obama said "the loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern for me."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Americafirst2008]

Obama has a chance to regain our standing in the world, letting AIPAC pull his strings will put our nation, soldiers and economy at further risk.

Give us back our $100 Billion Israel. Fight your own battles and stop dragging America down with you. Why do we need to give you $8 billion a year so you can give racist settlers free homes and give healthcare to your own kids when we in America don't have the same luxury

You are not our friend, no matter how much you keep repeating it. In fact you are working directly against our own interests.

Racist, religious fundamentalist orthodox colonists are worse than the apartheid regime in South Africa.

[montecarlo408]

I don't know if anyone knows, but the Middle East hates America not just because of out support for Israel, but because of what they perceive as our excessive and hedonistic lifestyles. They think that any country who is not Muslim is doomed to hell, you know, kind of like the nutty right wing fringe. The Palestinians and the Israelis have been fighting since time immemorial, and that isn't going to change. I think that little thing called the Haulocaust has the Israelis a little gun shy, and I can understand that. By the same token, Bush made a HUGE mistake by supporting elections in Gaza that were anything but democratic. They elected Hamas! I'm not saying that israel is without fault, because they are at fault to a large degree, but it seems like you can't be a liberal unless you support the Palestinians, and you can't be a conservative unless you support Israel. I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. It usually is.

[papapj]

Incorrect on several counts. The Middle East doesn't "hate America", a very simplistic observation. People anywhere are sophisticated enough to distinguish between government policy and the people who occupy the country. The elections in Gaza where freer and FAIRER than our own elections of 200 and 2004, as observed by Jimmy Carter. The notion that Hamas is somehow usurping power in Gaza is patently incorrect.

What is correct though is that despite protestation to the world at large, Israel continues it's expansionist colonialist policies. To expect the natives to sit back and watch it happen is wishful thinking..­...

[coreyishere]

By all accounts, the Palestinian elections were quite democratic, well-observed, and accountable; we just don't like the results.

[slarabee]

I think that by now most people who have read the history of the Israeli - Palestinian conflict understand that the reason for all of this is our continual unrestricted support for Israel.
The arguments that were made about the blockade are not fantasy. This attack by the Israelis has been planned for months. For us it is only a distraction, which in political terms is great for Bush and the GOP but to the people living in that region Israel is committing every kind of war crime they can get away with and we are why they get away with it.
The UN has condemned them and the Bush administration has blocked the UN's ability to do anything about it.
If we want peace for our country we have to stop supporting Israel or at the very least reign them in. They are not in charge. We are. We write the checks. Obama needs to make that clear the very first day he takes office. If he does, anything he fails to do now will be forgotten.
The sad reality everyone keeps forgetting is that we are still (for 13 more days) operating under the Bush doctrine. God help us.

[mick7191]

This my seem simplistic to the intellectuals (of which I am not) who frequent this site, but, the Israelis would be driven into the sea without our support. I feel that eventually the time will come that they will not require our support eventually. That time is not now nor the foreseeable future. This is not just a Bush thing.

[slarabee]

I understand what you are saying and it is true that without our support the Israelis would be consumed by the region.
However I do not think we can continue to support them if they are going to continue with the tactics they engage in now. The blockade against Gaza left the people in that region with no supply routes for, food, medicine etc... which forced the tensions into the conflict that it is now.
Going back to the beginning the Palestinians have a legitimate complaint and still have legitimate complaints now. We cannot continue to support Israel if they are going to ignore the Palestinian's right to not only exist (as people) but have access to basic human needs.

[coreyishere]

About damn time. Though I don't expect any great changes in our policy toward this conflict. Obama has already voiced his support for Israel during his speech to AIPAC. To wit:

"...nothin­g reflects the face of AIPAC more than the 1,200 students who have traveled here to make it clear to the world that the bond between Israel and the United States --that the bond between Israel and the United States is rooted in more than our shared national interest; it’s rooted in the shared values and shared stories of our people. And as President I will work with you to insure that it is this bond that is strengthen­ed."

Yes, indeed, America and Israel do have shared values and stories: the occupation, dispossesion, and oppression of Indigenous peoples.

[digdeeper]

Oh! and don't forget wall street and finance

[CologneCitizen]

In remaining silent Obama is wasting an opportunity. The fact Bush is still president is besides the point. Obama was welcomed from the world as a hope for the world. By January 20th how many more will be dead ? This will of course not be his fault, and we should not expect he will find solutions from scratch for things going on for ages. But especially as the muslim world carries great hopes for him he should act and say something. If he continues down the same road as Bush, all the Obama mania wíll be gone very soon. The only change will be your new president is black and that's about it.

[geobushono]

currently the record for this type of obscenity is the war criminal kissinger. who dragged out the Paris Peace Talks as Americans and Vietnamese died by the thousands.

here's a refresher I pulled off the net.

After Nixon's election, problems still continued. For many months the North and South famously debated over the shape of the table that would be used at the Paris Peace Conference. The North favored a circular table, in which all parties, including Viet Cong representatives, would appear to be equal in importance. The South argued that only a rectangular table was acceptable, for only a rectangle could show two distinct sides to the conflict, the North and South. Eventually a compromise was reached, in which representatives of the North and South government would sit at a circular table, with members representing all other parties sitting on individual square tables around them.

!!!!!!!

[STEPPINGOUT]

Why not hold the current President accountable now? Is Bush not "wasting an opportunity?"

[stell]

Bingo. When Obama said that change HAS come to America on election night, the only thing that had changed that night was the fact that he was elected the first black president. The novelty will wear off really fast if nothing changes fundamentally. He can smile and grin all he wants. Some people want results.

[KingLudd]

@ jasapy
"Oh,i guess you wanted obama to say something that could magically end this conflict huh?
He can't do a thing about what's going on in the middle east right now.."

Obama could end this conflict instantly by picking up the phone and telling Israel that if this aggression continues when he takes office all aid to Israel from the US will be cut off and will remain cut off in perpetuity.

This is something he will never do. Not because there are two sides to the argument. There aren't. There's only one right thing to do. The reason he won't cancel aid to Israel is because the US needs a strategic ally in the region. Because the region is unstable and full of oil - and the US needs oil for it's economy.

Once you understand that salient fact all the ludicrous attempts to draw some kind of moral equivalency - and all the specious arguments and nonsensical rationales for inaction all begin to make sense.

Those kids are dying because America needs oil. We all know it - people in the region know it. But when America is next attacked there will be the same confusion as we saw after 9/11, with people saying 'why do they hate us?'. It's unsurprising that Americans are blithe: when something like this Gaza attack happens even the Huff leads with a story about the election of the head of the CIA.

[klondiker]

I'm sorry, I am not buying this "One president at a time" argument which Obama seems to have made a habit of trotting out, since November 4th, as a way to avoid taking a stance.

He had no problem commenting on the Mumbai attacks. He had no problem going on a tour of the Middle East and Europe as a presidential candidate. He had no problem holding joint press conferences with foreign leaders. Where was the "one president at a time" consideration then?? His press conference with Sarkozy over the summer was unprecedented because it was the first time a candidate had met with the president and held a joint press conference.

Nobody is suggesting that Obama should jump on a plane and head to the Middle East tomorrow. But, there is nothing inappropriate about an incoming president commenting on a situation of global importance that directly affects the United States.

[PlainBread]

Geez, it's not like he kept his mouth shut about it. He did make some comments regarding the problem.

If you're not happy, wait until January 21st and he'd make more comments and also formal actions / decisions as POTUS

[digdeeper]

Agreed. See my post above. He is already in the mire and his position compromised because the powerful forces in the White House will not allow change

[STEPPINGOUT]

What is it that you would like Obama to do now that the actual current President isn't able to do?

[fishingriver]

That's the path Barack. Stick to peace talks and don't sully
yourself with taking sides. Israel and Palestine are incapable
of coming to a peace agreement without US and world involvement.

[kawika]

For every Israeli killed, one less milion to the Palestinians; for every Palesinian killed one less Million to Israel. Enogh said!

[CallMeCrazy4Now]

STOP The Killing Of Children!

http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/2009/01/06/stop-the-killing-of-children/

[rebelzz]

I'm outraged over Gaza too, and Palestinian civilian deaths. However, there are many happenings behind the scenes. Plus the Jewish in US are quite a strong lobbying body. We shall wait. Only a few days more.

[citizensrus]

Is there usually an escalation in violence in the Israel-Gaza situation just before an American President leaves office? Is this a pattern?

[NotMcCain]

No.

Bush greenlighted this specially to give Israel every military advantage before Obama comes in.

And, in the process, to make PEACE a thousand times harder to negotiate (not to mention the intensification of hatred toward the U.S policies around the world. Thanks for nothing, GWB).

[sweetwhine]

Good question. I think they're testing Obama. I don't think it's a good idea to do that.

[StellaRay]

If only Obama could shoot off his mouth as freely as those on this blog. When do we begin to get that the hate that has gone on for years and years between Isreal and Palestine will need to be dealt with, to borrow Obama's imagery, "with a scalpel," not an ax.

So many here have good points to make for both sides, this is clearly not a black and white situation. I send up a prayer for Obama to be able to seperate the wheat from the chaff and move us forward. I think of Sadat, the last guy who really tried to make a difference in the Middle East, and what happened to him. This is dicey folks, and everyone who tries to solve it steps into a ring of danger.

[ManyColored]

I'd settle for a toothpick just to start scratching the surface. Do you actually think ANYTHING will be accomplished by the United States?? All that will happen is what always happens. Just a lot of meaningless words by the powers that be, and not one finger lifted to work towards a legitimate settlement. If you think differently, go look in the papers over the last sixty years.

[basenji]

Are Dems eager for terrorism against Americans???

"Zawahiri urges attacks on Israeli, Western targets
In internet message, al-Qaeda's second-in-command calls on Muslims to 'hit the interests of the Zionists and crusaders wherever and in whichever way you can' in response to Israeli operation in Gaza"
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3651771,00.html

Dems plan pro-Israel resolution
January 6, 2009
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Top Democrats are planning to introduce a non-binding congressional resolution supporting Israel's goal in its Gaza Strip operation.

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the U.S. House of Representatives majority leader, told JTA he was looking at such a resolution, which is being drafted in the office of Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.)­, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"Certainly it would not demand a cease-fire," Hoyer said. "It would speak to the conditions that would justify a cease-fire. A cease-fire is not a just cease-fire when it's just Israel" holding fire.

Israel launched its major operation Dec. 27 in a bid to end rocket attacks on its South. Such attacks, carried out by militants allied with Gaza's Hamas rulers, drastically intensified last month following the end of a six-month cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, also may join the resolution.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/01/06/1002014/dems-plan-pro-israel-resolution

[digdeeper]

Did the sraelis open up borders? Funny I thought that was part of the truce agreement.

[Julie02]

How Obama handles this issue will be interesting. Americans are not as pro-Israel as they used to be but there is a historical polical alliance. It's a tightrope.