Today, brother Noam Chomsky follows up his magisterial historical-political analysis of the recent US-backed Israeli incursion into Gaza, "Exterminate all the Brutes": Gaza 2009 with today's Obama on Israel-Palestine.
Join me below the fold, if you dare.
Here's the money quote and a bit more:
Obama's talk emphasized his commitment to a peaceful settlement. He left its contours vague, apart from one specific proposal: "the Arab peace initiative," Obama said, "contains constructive elements that could help advance these efforts. Now is the time for Arab states to act on the initiative's promise by supporting the Palestinian government under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, taking steps towards normalizing relations with Israel, and by standing up to extremism that threatens us all."
Obama is not directly falsifying the Arab League proposal, but the carefully framed deceit is instructive.
The Arab League peace proposal does indeed call for normalization of relations with Israel - in the context - repeat, in the context of a two-state settlement in terms of the longstanding international consensus, which the US and Israel have blocked for over 30 years, in international isolation, and still do. The core of the Arab League proposal, as Obama and his Mideast advisers know very well, is its call for a peaceful political settlement in these terms, which are well-known, and recognized to be the only basis for the peaceful settlement to which Obama professes to be committed. The omission of that crucial fact can hardly be accidental, and signals clearly that Obama envisions no departure from US rejectionism. His call for the Arab states to act on a corollary to their proposal, while the US ignores even the existence of its central content, which is the precondition for the corollary, surpasses cynicism. [italics in original; bold my emphasis]
...
Obama had not one word to say about the settlement and infrastructure developments in the West Bank, and the complex measures to control Palestinian existence, designed to undermine the prospects for a peaceful two-state settlement. His silence is a grim refutation of his oratorical flourishes about how "I will sustain an active commitment to seek two states living side by side in peace and security."
...
It is perhaps unfair to criticize Obama for this further exercise of cynicism, because it is close to universal, unlike his scrupulous evisceration of the core component of the Arab League proposal, which is his own novel contribution.
I'm happy to see President Obama begin to restore decency and humanity to so many parts of US domestic and foreign policy. But in many ways, like his economic plan, which was criticized by Paul Krugman in his NYTimes column last Friday (23 Jan 2009), the rumors suggesting that the Democratic Party he leads is abandoning the 50 state strategy for his re-election, and the appointment of so many conventional DLC types to his cabinet, Obama is turning out to be a rather conventional politician, who is not really going to upset the Villagers and their status quo. I have no doubt that his administration is working in many ways and places to restore sanity to policy, but his so-far manifest failure to even signal that he's willing to do the hard heavy-lifting, like creating a real new New Deal and changing the thrust of US foreign policy in the Middle East, makes him look, well, timid. Obama isn't even trying to talk the talk, much less walk the walk, anymore. However, I have an open mind, but NOT an empty mind -- there is a difference. I await the day when Obama actually pleasantly surprises me with something other than his election.
I'm dedicating this diary to Chomsky's wife, Carol, who recently passed away after nearly 60 years of marriage, and to LithiumCola for his diary About That Kid in Omelas. I consider the Palestinians, and especially the Gazans, to be the tortured child in the little sealed room. I cannot and will not stomach any attitude of moralism, much less moral superiority, from President Obama or anyone in his administration until this utterly evil US-Israeli policy of rejectionism is reversed and our client state Israel ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and oppression of the Palestinian people. If Obama gives the order to jump, Israel will ask how high and in what direction, just like Suharto did in East Timor when Bill Clinton told him the game was over. To quote Rabbi Hillel,
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And when I am for myself, what am 'I'? And if not now, when?
and
That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.
Amen, sermon over.
BTW, I know exactly what I wrote when I titled my diary. As a radical libertarian socialist anarchosyndicalist, I just LOVE irritating politically correct liberal types and I'm trying to attract attention. For those who can't handle words, much less truth, get over it. I don't care about your empty trivial criticism. If you want to criticize me, please pick something on-topic, preferably substantial, m'kay? Calling me racist, anti-semitic, sexist or anything else is just a waste of your keystrokes and my time. Love, poemworld.
UPDATE:
D'OH! Pattern Math beat me to Chomsky's article on Obama and I/P. It's great! Go give it a read.