| Cached/copied 02-11-09 For original link click here - http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/chi-gaza-obama_slyjan04,1,5617683.story Published January 4 2009, 1:44 AM CST
BEIRUT — President-elect Barack Obama's silence on the 8-day-old offensive in Gaza is drawing criticism among Arabs who have grown skeptical about hopes that his administration will break with the Mideast policies of the Bush era. Obama, who is moving to Washington this weekend, was on vacation in Hawaii when the crisis erupted and has made no statements, either about Israel's assault on Gaza or Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel. His aides say that he does not wish to address foreign-policy issues in any way that could send "confusing signals" about U.S. policy as long as President George W. Bush is in office. "The president-elect is closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza. There is one president at a time, and we intend to respect that," Brooke Anderson, chief national security spokeswoman for the Obama transition team, said Saturday. Arab commentators maintain, however, that Obama did comment on foreign affairs when he issued a statement condemning the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and that he has given several news conferences outlining his economic proposals. They suggest that his refusal to speak out on Gaza—where at least 460 Palestinians have died, compared with four Israeli deaths from the rockets—implies indifference to the plight of Palestinians or even complicity with Israel. The satellite TV network Al Jazeera contrasted footage of Obama wearing shorts and playing golf in Hawaii with scenes of the carnage in Gaza, by way of highlighting what it called "the deafening silence from the Obama team." "People recall his campaign slogan of change and hoped that it would apply to the Palestinian situation," said Jordanian analyst Labib Kamhawi, speaking from Amman, Jordan. "So they look at his silence as a negative sign. They think he is condoning what happened in Gaza because he's not expressing any opinion." "If he does not want to talk politics yet, at least he could address the humanitarian suffering taking place," Kamhawi added. "He did not even send one signal to the people of this region that he is not happy with what is happening." It is not only the Arab world that has noticed the president-elect's silence: At a gathering of celebrities to condemn Israel's assault in London on Friday, speakers called on Obama to speak out. Such calls underscore the challenge confronting a president-elect who has promised to deliver change and who may now face unrealistically high expectations as to how far that change will go. Nowhere is that challenge greater than in the Muslim world, where the policies of the Bush administration have pushed opinions of America to an all-time low. Obama has said it is one of his priorities to restore America's image among Muslims. But Arabs enthusiastic about the departure of Bush say they have already been disappointed by some of Obama's statements on Israel, and by his appointments of key aides whom they identify with pro-Israeli policies, such as his incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and nominee for secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. "His current silence falls into the pattern of disappointment so far," said Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. "Most people understand that the president-elect can't take issue with what the current president is saying, but it certainly is a disappointment." Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, called Obama's silence "strange" and said it suggested he was fearful of offending Israel as past U.S. presidents have been. But he said he understood that it would be difficult for Obama to speak out on Gaza and also to make any kind of impact in the Middle East after he does take office, because anything he might say now would be likely to offend one side or the other. "If he talks against the Palestinians he will lose any chance before he has even started," he said in an interview. "And if he talks against the Israelis, this will not help him." With the conflict still raging and the outcome uncertain, it is hard to know exactly what Obama could say to make a difference, beyond assuaging Arab sensitivities to the perceived past indifference of the U.S. to the suffering of Palestinians. Arabs believe Israel took advantage of the transition period in the U.S. to launch its offensive, knowing that Bush would be unlikely to raise any objections. By the time Obama takes office Jan. 20, the fighting is likely to be over and the Palestinians in such disarray that the prospects for a viable Middle East peace process in the near future will be in tatters, analysts say. But that does not stop Arabs from wishing Obama would do more. "We want him to say something at least to stop the bloodshed," said Suhail Natour, a Palestinian activist who lives in the Mar Elias Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. "Waiting until the 20th, with the bloodshed continuing, I don't think is an acceptable way of confirming a new policy in the Middle East. Silence on this means complicity." |