Obama’s First Big Test – The Crisis in Gaza

by Gordon Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, January 16, 2009

As each new day dawns here in the Western Hemisphere, the morning news shows bring reports of the continued fighting and the rising death tolls from the streets of Gaza. Because their dawn precedes ours by several hours, we have the opportunity to hear of the early morning battles as we prepare to eat our breakfasts. In the details of the reports will be the disturbing mental images of men, women and children blown apart. We who live in the relative safety and comfort of our American neighborhoods, thankfully, have no concept of the daily struggle faced by the citizenry of Israel and Palestine. Because of the distance between our neighborhoods and theirs – both literally and politically – we cannot easily relate to the news. I admit, shamefully, that I have found myself feeling no reaction upon hearing of the death toll nearing 800 souls.

I guess we tend to shield ourselves from things that bring us discomfort, and the thought of so many lives lost is definitely discomforting. As the reporters surrounding our President-elect questioned him about his silence concerning the crisis, it became clear to me that it was discomforting to him as well. At the point of this writing, his repeated mantra has been that we have only one president at a time and at this time, Bush has the responsibility of condemning or justifying the action of either side. Well, the inauguration set for January 20 will change all that. He will no longer have the punt option available. It will be ‘First-and-10” and he will be the quarterback.

Based upon the above, what play should our new QB-in-Chief run?

A brief history lesson and a few observations would serve us well as we examine the options Obama may employ in dealing with this crisis. First of all, it is important to recall that Israel is a unique nation, created by the action of the United Nations in 1948, even though she traces her identity and claims upon her lands back to the pages of the Old Testament. She now faces threats to her security without a hint of aid from that international organization which recognized her right to exist 60 years ago.

It is also important to bear in mind the nature of the group that brought this current crisis upon the civilians of this tortured land. The Iranian-sponsored terrorists who call themselves Hamas took advantage of the “Road Map to Peace” that Israel believed would lead them to peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians. Hamas followed the Palestinian people into the lands relinquished by Israel as she bowed to international pressures and withdrew from the Gaza strip in 2005.

The ensuing years since that withdrawal have been marked by rocket attacks from those very streets bartered away by the Israelis in the hopes that peace would come through appeasement. Over 6,300 rockets have landed on Israel’s sovereign soil, each firing representing the international definition of an act of war. These rockets came from densely populated civilian areas and were targeted not at military outposts or strategic targets as during a conventional war, but instead they were aimed at schoolyards, kindergartens and hospitals.

Israel had shown great restraint in her response to these attacks until she finally realized her duty and responsibility to protect her citizenry and, in the broad scheme of things, to preserve what it means to be a sovereign nation. Since her retaliatory strikes upon Hamas targets and weapons caches hidden in mosques and apartment buildings, Israel has faced growing international criticism. The idea that her retaliation was not in proportion to the rocket attacks simply because more casualties resulted from her warplanes is missing the point of how one should deal with a terrorist.

Terrorists such as those in Hamas are like the thugs from the old Dirty Harry movie, in which they stood behind the frightened face of a diner waitress in the belief that no one would dare shoot at them while innocent lives stood in the way. Israel has shown more mercy for the lives of the Palestinians than the leaders of Hamas have shown. Taking the time to warn the residents before the ground offensive began and offering to cease hostilities while humanitarian aid was delivered, Israel has gone beyond the extra mile to limit civilian deaths. Hamas, however, has fought an illegitimate war and done so in an illegitimate fashion. To grant them any semblance of legitimacy by opening up diplomatic channels at this time would be foolish and naïve.

As Obama takes that oath on January 20, he will also be taking the position “under center” and he can ill afford to throw an interception on his first pass from the oval office. He must hold the leaders of Hamas responsible for this latest conflict, and demand that instead of international pressure upon Israel to surrender more of her land and her independence, she should receive international aid in her quest to rid the world of this terroristic threat.