What's To Investigate?

[Fozzledick]

The condemnation came fast and furious. It came from all corners of the world: from Germany and Iran, from Syria and France, from Turkey and China, with an apparently unified message of criticism. But listen more carefully to the language of condemnation: It was similar in tone but not identical in content. Two U.N. officials argued that such "tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza." For them, what was "unacceptable" was not the disastrous result of Israel's raid on the flotilla. They wanted an end to the blockade on Gaza, as did the Russian foreign ministry and the Turkish government.

But this isn't what Egypt wants. And no wonder. The Egyptians, who share a border with southern Gaza, were also condemned by the emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim, who expressed hope that the incident will "be used as a catalyst to lift Israel's and Egypt's blockade of the Gaza Strip." Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak criticized the use of "excessive and unjustified force" but not the blockade itself. Similarly, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he "condemns a disproportionate use of force." The White House expressed deep regret over the "loss of life and injuries sustained," but it didn't criticize the siege on Gaza.

Parsing the language of condemnation is not just a linguistic game; it is a must for all those wanting to understand what happened and what should have happened, to better judge the reason for and the outcome of the raid. The debate about the effectiveness of and justification for the Gaza blockade will be useful some day, but it has nothing to do with the raid on the flotilla.

As long as blockade is the policy, no bunch of kooky protesters can be given the right to enter, no matter how peaceful they claim to be. Neither Turkey nor Russia nor France nor Britain would allow a ship of protesters to cross into its territory, nor into territory it had declared impassable. Whether Gaza is entitled to jurisdiction over its shore is another worthy debate. But it also has nothing to do with the failure of the Israeli government to effectively enforce its policy.


http://www.slate.com/id/2255572/

[EFerrari]

1. Wow. What an idiot. The flotilla was exactly about the illegal siege of Gaza.

And as the world knows, Israeli policy against Hamas is a total failure. It only put Hamas in complete control.

How embarrassing.

[TomClash]

2. Another shill for Israel - "As long as the blockade is policy"

Does Israeli policy equal some sort of Old Testament fiat? Who cares if the blockade is policy?

The Flotilla was in international waters when it was attacked. Israel occupies Gaza illegally. Gaza is not part of Israel. The importance of these facts seem to have eluded the author.