Obama stays silent

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

Lester B. Pearson (1897 - 1972)


Politics, diplomacy behind Obama’s Gaza silence

Reuters

WASHINGTON -- Even as Israelis and Palestinians plunged deeper into conflict, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama remained silent, refusing to budge from his one-president-at-a-time mantra.

Obama takes office Jan. 20 but has not commented on the Middle East crisis since Israel launched attacks on Gaza nine days ago. His advisers insist that only President George W. Bush can speak for America until then.

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While most prominent U.S. politicians have backed Israel, critics have noted that Obama joined Bush in condemning the killing of civilians in attacks in November in Mumbai, India. They would have liked him to say something about the fate of Palestinian civilians caught in the fighting.

The president-elect also has commented on the global economic crisis and his plans to try to pull the U.S. economy out of recession.

Asked about the apparent contradiction, an Obama transition aide who asked not to be named said Sunday: "President Bush is our nation's president until Jan. 20, and he is responsible for our nation's diplomacy with the world.

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He also knows any statement is fraught with traps.

"If I were Obama, I wouldn't want to talk about it either. Frankly, it's a lot more comfortable to let this one hang on the president," said Edward Walker Jr., who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 1997 to 1999.

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Pro-Israeli comments by Obama risk upsetting the Arab world even before he takes office. Comments that seem critical of Israel would anger its American supporters.

Morton Klein, president of the pro-Israel Zionist Organization of America, noted that Obama spoke out on Mumbai.

"And he's acting almost as if he's president when it comes to the economy, right? He's not screaming ‘there's only one president' when he's talking about the economic stimulus package," Klein said.

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