With nothing good to say, Obama still silent
Güncelleme Tarihi:
WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's studied silence on the subject of Israel's 11-day-old war against Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip is only partly out of deference to the man who still has the big job for two more weeks.
Obama's reserve is also a political calculation that saying nothing is the better of his unappealing options. At least it lets all sides think he's in their corner for a little while longer. His promises to start fresh in the Middle East, and Arab hopes for a more sympathetic U.S. ear, are part of that calculation. So are the strongly pro-Israel views of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's choice for secretary of state.
Anything Obama says about the crisis, either now or on Jan. 21, will be taken as a clue to his longer-term approach to peacemaking, and it is bound to disappoint someone. There is little in Obama's resume or his public statements to suggest he suddenly would be tough on Israel or brimming with fresh ideas to address the dismal web of interlocking economic, political and security problems in the Palestinian territories. Obama's only extensive remarks about the Israel-Palestinian conflict during the presidential campaign were strongly pro-Israel.
Clinton was considered naive for a gaffe as first lady in which she kissed Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat's wife, but as a New York senator she's been consistently pro-Israel.
Nonetheless, Palestinians look to Obama. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki expressed disappointment that the president-elect has refused to comment on the Israeli offensive in Gaza, even though he made a statement on the recent attacks in Mumbai, India.
"We expected him really to be open and responsive to the situation in Gaza," Malki said Monday. "And still ... we expect him to make a strong statement regarding this as soon as possible."
Talking about the crisis in the same terms Bush uses would drain the goodwill of Palestinians and the Arab intermediaries Obama needs, said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator and a scholar at The Century Foundation. It also would limit Obama's maneuvering room later.
Israel may end its broad ground war before Obama takes office on Jan. 20, but the festering problem of Israeli-Arab hostilities will remain. In the near term, if the Israeli incursion continues under an Obama administration Obama must decide whether to continue Bush's policy of defending Israel even in the face of mounting world criticism of civilian deaths.