dilemma (The Audacity of Hope)

see note for reviewers.

mr. obama & co. face a dilemma

amongst all the rest of this summer’s

twists & turns---

a boat (one of 10 dubbed

“Freedom Flotilla II-Staying Human,”

carrying 300-400 activists from all over

the world bringing aid to palestinians in the gaza strip),

known as

“The Audacity of Hope”

after mr. obama’s bestseller,

will be carrying nearly 50 americans

into international waters

in order to bring much needed

humanitarian aid to the people of

gaza who are suffering due to the

israeli government’s

illegal

blockade.

 

the first freedom flotilla that sailed

last year,

was attacked by the israeli military &

9 people died,

including furkan dogan,

an 18 year old young man who was

shot 4 times in the head &

once in the chest.

 

now, though many attempts have been made

to get the US government to

ensure the safety of its citizens aboard this

boat,

obama & co. have replied with a demand

that these individuals not go through with their

plan to sail to gaza with the flotilla,

threatening them with prison time or fines,

when they return to the US.

 

in fact,

our fearless secretary of state---

whose cold dead stare & perpetual frown is matched

by no one---    

supports israel’s “right to use force” against those

unarmed american citizens who are bringing

humanitarian aid to gaza---

to her, obama & co.,

this flotilla & presumably the humanitarian

aid being attempted is

not “necessary or useful” &

she tries to bait us in the audience with more tales of

the israeli government’s graciousness of

“building houses” in the strip, etc.

 

apparently these are

“israeli waters” which are being entered now?

does that mean israel is still occupying gaza?

is humanitarian aid brought by

unarmed citizens,

provocative?

 

do you know that the israeli government is

warning the press not to write about the flotilla & the

events that will subsequently occur when

these boats do enter the water near gaza?

 

did you know that if you are a reporter & you are

found on one of these ships by the israeli military,

you’ll be banned from israel for 10 years and have your

equipment taken?

 

does israel value a free press?

does the US back israel in this view?

 

while you think about those questions,

understand that at least $3 billion dollars of your money

(if you are an american taxpayer),

goes to israel every year

in military & economic aid,

while gaza has the highest unemployment rate in the

world.

 

25% of the people on

“The Audacity of Hope”

are jewish---they want the people of the world to know

that

THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT DOES NOT SPEAK IN THEIR NAME.

 

so,

will obama & co.

solve this dilemma by stopping the israeli military from

attacking these unarmed US citizens in their humanitarian attempt to bring

gaza

aid?

 

or will they let netanyahu & co. do

what they please,

inevitably resulting in

bloodshed?

Author's Note

REPORTER: Well, people at the State Department have said Israel has a right to defend itself against these flotillas. What exactly would it be defending against? That’s what’s not clear to me.

VICTORIA NULAND: Like all states, Israel has a right of national self-defense. Again, I don’t want to get into where the boat might be and law of the sea and all this kind of stuff. We are simply saying this is the wrong way to get aid to Gaza. The correct way to get aid to Gaza is through the established mechanisms, which are improving, which are open, and which can get aid to the people that it’s intended for.

REPORTER: But it’s just humanitarian aid, so I don’t see why it would be—Israel would have to defend itself, if it’s just humanitarian aid coming in.

VICTORIA NULAND: It’s the matter of all states to provide coastal defense, but I’m—again, I’m not going to get into the law of the sea issues here. We’re simply trying to make the point that we want this done in a way that not only is going to get the aid where it’s intended but is going to ensure that we don’t have dangerous incidents.

-State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland fumbling her way through questioning by a reporter when defending Obama & Co.’s warning on Friday, June 24th, 2011.