Obama had been taking plenty of criticism for not speaking out on Gaza, mostly from the left flank of his party and the world, which wishes him to signal the “change” he promised by condemning Israel. The Guardian bemoaned his silence this week, and noted the negative response of some Arab media:
Today, Obama offered a few sentences, which will be overanalyzed all the more due to their brevity and their delay in coming.
It’s calculated to be an inoffensive nod to civilian casualties on both sides of the conflict, the separation from the White House embodied in what he does not say. Hamas and the threat of terrorism go unmentioned, relieving Obama of the duty of making moral judgments while assuring supporters of imminent nebulous change in the Middle East. There was a time when he had no problem with the possibility of Israeli self-defense against Gaza- when the only rockets were coming from Gaza and the only civilians under threat were Israelis. In July, while visiting Sderot in southern Israel, Obama said forcefully:
“Everything in my power to stop that.” Was it classic, lyrical Obama overstatement, from a man who had the luxury of pulling heart strings without ever pulling the trigger on policy? If it wasn’t, why didn’t he offer a cursory mention of self-defense, terror, or the threat to Israel in today’s short statement? Whether there’s one president at a time or not, he knew the world was listening. Today’s statement is vaguely reminiscent of his signature miss-the-point moment on Georgia this summer, when he called upon both sides to show restraint, deploring violence itself instead of the violator. The clear aggression of one party against a sovereign, democratic state seemed not to weigh heavily in his assessment. Now as then, many will wish the leader of the free world made it more clear he stands with free people when they must defend themselves from thugs. But he’ll have much more to say about it after January 20. Stay tuned. Update: Meanwhile, Democratic leaders are working on a pro-Israel congressional resolution, about which they’re being more forthcoming than Obama is about his thoughts.
