The United States continues to blindly support Israel even as it bombards Gaza’s virtually defenseless population and falsely claims it is acting in self-defense.
Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, told reporters on Saturday the United States “wants the same thing as the Israelis want,” which is an end to rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Rhodes disputed that a precipitating factor in this violent escalation was the Israeli air strike that killed Hamas commander Ahmed Jabari.
“Just to be clear on the precipitating factor: These rockets had been fired into Israeli civilian areas and territory for some time now. So Israelis have endured far too much of a threat from these rocket for far too long and that is what led the Israelis to take the action that they did in Gaza,” Rhodes said, ignoring the fact that several Israeli acts of violence, plus an incursion into Gaza territory by Israeli tanks, were the precipitating factors.
When asked about Israel’s targeting of government buildings and infrastructure in Gaza, Rhodes again blindly defended Israel’s irresponsible militarism: “We wouldn’t comment on specific targeting choices by the Israelis other than to say that we of course always underscore the importance of avoiding civilian casualties. But the Israelis again will make judgments about their military operations.”
The White House has explicitly ignored the chronology of events so as to conform to Israel’s false claims to be acting in self-defense. Rhodes again reiterated the Obama administration’s belief that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”
Of course, no mention was made of whether or not Gazans have a right to protect themselves, not just from Israeli bombardments but near daily artillery fire into Gaza and and imposition of a harsh, brutal economic blockade that has been impoverishing Palestinians in a cruel form of collective punishment.
Former CIA analyst Paul Pillar lamented the US’s one-sided response to the Israel-Gaza conflict: “The closest the [White House’s] statement comes to even a pretense of recognition of the – substantially greater – pain and destruction being inflicted in the other direction is to ‘regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians’ and to ‘encourage Israel to continue [sic] to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties,'” but only after hailing Israel as righteous.
“This posture is especially discouraging as one of the administration’s first official statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since President Obama’s re-election,” Pillar added.
Doesn't surprise me that the Israeli instigation of the latest crisis has been airbrushed out of history. Look back at the past 60 years and you can see the same general narrative at play – Israel=Good guys, never starts war, not aggressive except in defense, only wanting peace. Palestinian/Arab/Muslim=bad guy, intransigent, war like, not interested in peace. (although I accept that the Palestinian leadership aren't 100% squeaky clean) This is why the crime of the occupation will continue as confronting the truth is too uncomfortable. It's like having a child abuser blaming the child for his prediliction (and his supporters sticking by him as to do anything else would force them to question their own judgement and morality with the abuser).
obama and company are drinking the coolaid prepared for then by aipac,what a sorry bunch by their actions and utterances they have put themselves out of the middle east and its no comming back.
The falsified democracy and double moral, double language is à rutine politics conducted by USA for many years, is part of vulture capitalism war mongering culture…, don't believe me…, look at the USA, the England, Europe in general.., don't go that far.., just look at the last 60 years and wars which either side of Atlantic been involved, orchestrated or created.
Well, after all nothing can beat the esprit de corps amongst members of the Mafia, even when they belong to different families, which incidentally is not the case here.
Of course America has to back Israeli attacks, after all, Israel is the 51 State of the USA !
The USA is a State of Israel, especially with AIPAC controlling the Congress. One former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, even publicly said Israel owns America.
Israel is nothing but a puppet created by our corporate rich who own the oil and war materials industry. Israel nothing but a terrorist state to maximize profit in the trading of war materials for Middle-East oil.
John, I think you have it backwards. I'm quite sure that the US government is the (willing) puppet here, controlled jointly by the Zionist leadership via the Mossad and our own neo-con shadow government. US corporate entities participate and profit.
Go ahead. Call me a conspiracy theorist.
A listing of all the anti – demos Israel in the world.
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/11/...
It is the intention of the Zionist to chip away at the Palestinians till they are all either killed, driven from their homeland or made subservient to the "chosen".The only solution is giving up on 2 states and adjitating for inclusion into Israel with one person one vote.It may take decades and involve much suffering and humiliation on the part of the indeginous people but in the end will prevail if done by "turning the other cheek".
I notice few mention the repeated attacks by Israel on Gaza. In 1955 Israel started the killing by sending the Israel military into Gaza and murdering 39 policemen. Ike told the aggressor Israel to leave Gaza. In 1967 Israel returned and murdered many more Arabs, During this attack the murderous Israel military murdered 34 USA Naval personal on the USS Liberty.
It is amazing the clear group of aggressor get to cry on the bias news of the suffering of land thiefs
While they occupy your mind and you are busy thinking about tax cuts, Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest and cost of living taxes.., and talk about jobs and taxes again.., their allies murdering people around the world and these people blindly helping them to do so, while you are occupied figuring out what democracy is, the falsified democracy is acting to de-democratize the social systems that are based on democracy or growing toward a functioning democracy.., while you are busy thinking about how long your job will last.., they stealing your social rights and fooling you by giving you hope, a hollow and delusional word based on emptiness of their promises. Look: all that talks about taxes and budget is about how they spend it and where to create another wars, most of the US income is what US exports and what they get in taxes is what they can produce in USA where people work and pay taxes, the war machinery is the largest employer, then is car manufacturer and oil companies follow after and they want their share as subsides paid by the tax payers, so when they are talking about Tax cut is not your tax that they are talking about.., is these companies taxes to be cut and by how much, then there is this budget talks.., talking about your tax as a tax payer to compensate the different that they are going to give these companies. The budget talks mostly is about arming other nations around the world, arming them with US made arms making sure that they along with US militarism regime fighting so they can sell more, thats where they blindly support more of their alike allies and Israel although getting all that arms for free but Israel is one of them having the same agendas as US and EU.
On the basis that the US infers that Government buildings and infrastructure are not civilian then Niether were the twin towers civilian infrastucture as they were owned by a tier of the Government, now I dont believe that, so Government infrastructure is unless expressly military, Civilian. Also note that under US law and Precedent (Hamden V Rumsfeld) and according to Geneva which is also Israeli law,as Hamas isnt according to the Israelies an Army, they just like the Prisoners at Gitmo have at least Civilian status!
US government can infer what it wants in its reckless proxy support of the renegade state of Israel. This renegade entity intentionally murders women and children amonst other atrocities. One has to infer that that the US and its proxy are not complying with Geneva convention. Therefore, the citizens of the USA and its proxy are legitimate targets for retalition whithin or without. One can argue Timothy McVeigh targeted a government building with civilians in it as revenge for the US military killing of Iraqi citizens. 'Destroy my house……I will come after you, ' Destroy my family…… I will kill you.'
Obama's first speech after his 2008 nomination was under a big AIPAC logo.
Any questions?
The Zionists are committing suicide with their genocide in Gaza. Wont someone tell them that?
Why should we tell them?