THE GAZA ASSAULT: LAST PLOY OF THE NEOCONS

[A Jazzman Chronicle]

What is happening in Gaza may be considered the last act of the Neocons – the masterminds that gave us the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Israeli assault on Lebanon – or an attempt to preempt the foreign policy of the next president of the United States.

Two weeks short of his inauguration, president-elect Barack Obama is walking a tightrope, treading lightly on the precarious grounds of the most intractable conflict in modern history. Thus far he has chosen to remain silent.

The great and recently departed dramatist Harold Pinter was a genius at manipulating silence. Like a jazz musician understands that the space between notes is as important as the notes themselves, Pinter understood that the silence between words is as meaningful as the words themselves. Properly applied, the silence is not ambiguous unless it is intended to be.

Much has been said concerning the silence of Obama on the events in Gaza. Most left leaning commentators are singing a lament. They fear that Obama’s silence suggests agreement with Israeli actions. They note that Obama spoke out when terrorists struck Mumbai. They observe that he has taken issue with the Bush administration on economic issues like the labor action in Chicago.

What then are we to make of Obama’s silence on an ongoing massacre?

In assessing the meaning of Obama’s silence we should first understand what it does not mean. There is an unspoken law in American politics that partisan concerns are left at America’s borders. We strive to present a united front in foreign affairs whenever possible. It is ludicrous and often immoral but it is there. At the very least there is a reluctance to criticize or oppose our government’s stated policies or positions in the initial stages of a conflict.

Obama was free to speak out on Mumbai because he had no issue with the Bush administration. Indeed the world was fundamentally united on Mumbai. That he has not spoken out on Gaza does not suggest agreement with Bush’s position (all blame on Hamas, all support for Israel); it in fact suggests the opposite.

If Obama’s position echoed the blind support that Bush has always given to Israel, he would have no reason for restraint. We can assume then that Obama at the least has reservations concerning Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where over a thousand Palestinian lives (many of them civilians, women and children) have already been lost against a dozen or so Israelis (three by friendly fire).

Is it a question of provocation? It is a dog chasing its tail. Where do we begin: The election of Hamas or its subsequent nullification? The assassination of Hamas leaders or the upcoming election in Israel? The breaking of the truce by Hamas or by Israel? The sanctions and blockade strangling Gaza or weapons smuggling through Egypt? Hezbollah’s symbolic victory in the Lebanon attack or the expiration of the Bush administration?

Both sides clearly share blame but it is the Israelis pulling the strings, orchestrating a chain of events just as they did in Lebanon and the Neocons are the puppet masters.

The question of disproportionate retribution cannot be ignored yet Israel believes it can overcome reality through determined manipulation of media. The assault continues, casualties mount and all defenders of everything Israeli take their posts on the propaganda front.

How can Obama remain silent when so many lives are on the line?

The real question is: Could Obama save lives by speaking out now? Would the Israelis reconsider their aggression and pull back or would the prospect of an opposing government just around the corner give added impetus to their aggression? Would they push even harder to achieve “victory” before the transition in American power?

Obama must surely recognize that he is a target of the Neocon strategy behind this ploy. The Gaza massacre (how else should we describe it?) is intended to force his hand, to push him toward a radical pro-Israeli position, to support Israel unconditionally. If he takes the bait he loses virtually all the good will the world has granted him on the occasion of his election and the Neocons will be back in business.

If Obama is only half as smart as I believe he is, he will not fall into the trap. He will not allow the Neocons to lay siege to his foreign policy.

On the first day of his presidency he must distance himself from Israeli actions, demand a cessation of hostilities, call for a resumption of humanitarian aid and move quickly to put in place the diplomatic machinery that will make any further horrors of this nature impossible under his watch.

Obama must bring all parties to the table and find the means to compel them to negotiate in good faith.

We elected him for change and he must not allow the Neocon hands behind Israeli militancy to control the destiny of the world. They had their chance and they failed spectacularly. Booted from the government by the electoral process, they have retained their seats in the corporate media because media is a pay-to-play venture. They leave behind a planet on the brink of collapse – poisoned, impoverished and ready to explode. It is time for them to retire and fade into the sunset like the soldiers they so admired but could never be.

It is time for the new president to deliver a message: Your services are no longer required.

Jazz.

[This Chronicle posted by the National Free Press – World Edition.]

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). THE CHRONICLES HAVE BEEN POSTED ON THE ALBION MONITOR, BELLACIAO, BUZZLE, COUNTERPUNCH, DISSIDENT VOICE, THE DAILY SCARE, THE NATIONAL FREE PRESS, PACIFIC FREE PRESS AND CANADA NEWSDAILY. SEE WWW.JAZZMANCHRONICLES.BLOGSPOT.COM