Well, the Israelis might as well at this point. I don’t think it was an accident that they attacked the Free Gaza Flotilla while it was still in international waters. The Israelis wanted to spit on international law, and by extension, on the whole international community. As if that didn’t drive the point home, soon afterwards an Israeli soldier shot a tear gas canister into the face of an American woman at a demonstration on the West Bank, causing her to lose her left eye. Do you think the U.S. government will protest this? Probably not, since they didn’t protest the murder of Rachel Corrie. I expect that Congress will pass another resolution supporting Israel’s war crimes. Meanwhile, the Turkish government is protesting the killing of Turkish civilians. So which government do you think is more democratic, ours or Turkey’s? A government that doesn’t care about the lives of its own citizens is not democratic.
It apparently doesn’t matter to the Israelis that Turkey is a long-time ally of theirs. I guess they figure that as long as they have the support of the U.S. government and the U.S. media, they can treat everyone else with impunity. However, with the U.S. military bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the U.S. economy struggling, American influence in the world has begun to wane. The Israelis are playing what will ultimately prove to be a losing game.
The Spanish Prisoner 
June 11, 2010 at 8:02 am |
I’m suspicious of public US government statements. I think the US wants to dump Israel. When it’s so oblivious about world opinion, that Hamas comes good. The US is not as loyal as some think.
June 13, 2010 at 6:21 am |
There’s still a lot of support for Israel in the government. Then tensions between Obama and Israel suggest that support is starting to fray, but I don’t think they are ready to dump Israel.
June 13, 2010 at 7:16 am |
The flotilla incident was to punish Turkey for negotiating with Iran, and getting closer to Syria. Israel supports Kurds in Iraq. I think that is the backdrop.
The siege mentality is real in Israel. Very dangerous.
I’d find it hard to believe, that there isn’t some talk of separating the US from Israel. They are going to have to be put on a leash.
June 14, 2010 at 6:18 am |
You may be right about Israel’s motives. If so, the Israelis behaved stupidly, because this will just cause Turkey to move closer to Iran and to Syria.