Obama adviser aligns with White House in criticism of rocket attacks on Israel

[laststeamtrain]

Obama adviser aligns with White House in criticism of rocket attacks on Israel

Ewen MacAskill in Washington
The Guardian, Monday 29 December 2008

Barack Obama yesterday appeared to line up behind the Bush administration in support of Israel's attack on Gaza.

Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, his chief adviser, David Axelrod, initially repeated the Obama team's formula that there could only be one president at a time and that president was George Bush.

<snip>

Although Obama has repeatedly said he would not comment on policy matters until he becomes president on 20 January, he has largely abandoned this in relation to the economic crisis, on which he has spoken regularly over the last few weeks, often at odds with Bush. So far, Obama has given no hint on his policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though he has said finding a peace plan would be an early priority of his administration.

Before running for president, he provoked suspicion among Israelis and some US Jewish groups when he expressed sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. But after winning the Democratic nomination earlier this year he veered in the other direction, voicing strong support for Israel in a speech in Washington to the Israeli lobby group Aipac.

<more>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/29/barack-obama-israel-gaza
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[thewiseguy]

1. As an Obama supporter I criticized him for that AIPAC speech

I was told that what he did was necessary to win the election.

[laststeamtrain]

4. Politicians say all kinds of stuff.

Then they do what needs to be done.

I'm hoping for a little 'deAIPACification' of US policy.

[Uzybone]

2. I agree, Hamas should not have been firing rockets on Israel

"At the time, Obama said : "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.""


So would I.

[thewiseguy]

3. Gaza was under a military blockade even when Hamas and Israel agreed to a truce.

[SoCalDem]

7. Israel's "leaving Gaza"

and maintaining the blockade/barricades/closed borders is very much like the staff of a prison, all leaving..but leaving the inmates still locked in their cells:(

[subsuelo]

5. Agreed. And Israel should not be massacring the people of Gaza either.

[atreides1]

6. And would you also...

...target areas where you knew that women and children were at, or would you try to find out exactly where those rockets were coming from before you decided to kill innocent people?

Just wondering.

[Pastiche423]

8. Not surprised