Israel and the USA, A similar situation like Korea and China

Israel and the USA, A similar situation like Korea and China
By Carlos T Mock, MD
June 2, 2010


The USA is demonstrating to its neighbors, and the world, that being the only superpower is not necessarily to be welcomed. Though it has become undeniable that its ally and client, Israel, raided naval vessels that killed nine people, many of them Turks, on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, no direct condemnation by US Official has come forth.

When the U.N. Security Council Condemned ‘Acts’ in the Israeli Raid, the wording (influenced heavily by the US) seemed designed to dilute demands for condemnation of Israel, which argues that its soldiers acted in self-defense in response to violent resistance from passengers on board the vessels they intercepted. After the raid, Israel seized hundreds of activists as well as their ships.

Einat Wilf, a Labor Party member of Parliament who sits on the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that she had warned Mr. Barak and others well in advance that the flotilla was a public relations issue and should not be dealt with by military means. “This had nothing to do with security,” she said in an interview. “The armaments for Hamas were not coming from this flotilla.” It is well documented that the arms that are the supposed cause for the blockade are actually flowing freely through tunnels under the Egyptian border.

Israel’s deadly commando raid on Monday complicated President Obama’s efforts to move ahead on Middle East peace negotiations and introduced a new strain into an already tense relationship between the United States and Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel canceled plans to travel to Washington on Tuesday to meet with Mr. Obama. The two men spoke by phone within hours of the raid, and the White House later released an account of the conversation, saying Mr. Obama had expressed “deep regret” at the loss of life and recognized “the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances” as soon as possible.

In the short term Israel’s behavior has damaged the United States. Watching the US defend the indefensible probably helped provoke the multiple worldwide demonstrations against the US and Israel.

An end to the crisis in the Middle East will require a more responsible approach by Mr. Obama. Abstaining from a Security Council resolution is not enough; the US must act decisively to restrain Israel from further provocations. The events of the past week are a sign that the US cannot continue to be seen as propping up a criminal client state and also be regarded as benign in its growing power. Sooner rather than later, it will have a choice to make.

Dr. Carlos T Mock is a native Puerto Rican who resides in Chicago, IL and Three Oaks, MI. He has published four books and is the GLBT Editor for Floricanto Press in Berkley, CA. He contributes columns regularly to Windy City Times in Chicago, Ambiente Magazine in Miami, Camp Newspaper in Kansas City. He can be reached at http://www.carlostmock.com/