Lawnmowing

What a relief to see the fresh, new leadership of our country at the State Department signaling by their presence that diplomacy will now take precedence over brute force. If the symbolism weren’t clear enough of Obama and Biden escorting Hillary Clinton to announce the appointment of special Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan envoys on only day 2 of the new presidency, their remarks were quite explicit: we’re leaving the disastrous approach of the last team far behind.

Our ‘enduring values’ will be key to American policy, said Obama while announcing the end of torture. America ’s ‘moral example’, not just its military might, will dictate its strategy. These explanatory words are at least as important as the executive order signed to close Guantánamo and end the kangaroo courts there. They suggest thaat his actions are not mere expediency in recognition of a failed strategy but rather a condemnation of morally reprehensible actions.

Obama also took the opportunity, albeit hesitatingly and couched in the required rhetorical bows to the poor-victim Israelis, to refer to the intolerable suffering of the people jammed into the Gaza open-air prison camp. With George Mitchell standing by his side, Obama’s suggestion that their well-being will matter in the diplomatic nudging to start up again in the Middle East is a tiny step in the right direction. Given the nearly exclusive focus on the colonials’ comfort in the last decade and especially the last month, forcing the parties and American public opinion to consider Palestinian lives as essential to progress there is a radical departure.

Speaking of which, I had the opportunity to listen to NPR on the way back from Washington and heard the most remarkable report from Jerusalem. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to track down the broadcast or the transcript [help welcomed from any savvy weboids out there]. But even without the exact phrases in front of me, I can state that it was an amazing example of the Israeli lock on our national thought process as well as a reminder of the cynicism of that old bromide about ‘balance’ in news reporting.

You can’t get a serial killer story on the local TV channel without airtime for the accused’s lawyer to add some pathetic spin. But a ‘serious’ news entity like All Things Considered can actually broadcast a story covering the ‘full political spectrum’ in Israel (the reporter’s phrase) without a single Arab voice—even though they comprise one-fifth of the population and just might have dissenting views on a few things.

‘All’ the people in this case obviously means ‘all Jewish Israelis’, which says something about the NPR reporter’s unconscious identification with his sources.

I doubt if the two boosters interviewed really do span the notoriously fractious Israeli political spectrum, but let’s assume they’re representative given the enormous popularity of the war among Israel's Jews. There’s no need to repeat the justifications repeated since the Gaza assault began, but the uncritical NPR ‘report’ accidentally revealed something about the motives behind it in the minds of its enthusiasts.

One of the talking heads used a telling analogy: the IDF, he said, was in Gaza to ‘mow the lawn’, not to dislodge Hamas. Obviously, grass grows back, so the exercise will have to be repeated periodically. (The ‘analyst’ admitted as much.)

In short, according to the ‘full political spectrum’ in Israel, Zionism will be at war with non-Jews pretty much forever, and Israel plans to go blow up its neighbors at regular intervals until the end of time. I guess that eliminates the need to pursue a peaceful solution, and it’s a great example of why the departed W was so comfortable with his Israeli counterparts—they conduct their business the same way he did.