END TO GAZA HOSTILITIES CANNOT BE NEGOTIABLE - THE WAR IS ILLEGAL We must wonder first why Barack Obama is showing such extremely politically damaging weakness, in his solidarity with George Bush. Bush is clearly wrong, and even as a citizen, and much more so as the president elect of the United States, Mr. Obama, needs to make his own personal view on Gaza evident now, for the historical record and for the sake of his future dealings with the world community. We cannot see now, how he can evade the situation. The world must know, now, and forever, whether he approves of the Bush position on Gaza or whether he disapproves and is in favor of an alternative course of action. The weight of that opinion in the current crisis, needs to be known now, not after thousands more have suffered and died. He will then share personal responsibility with George Bush, and his presidency will remain tainted by that fact. In a democracy every person has the duty, not only the right, to express their opinion, whatever the weight of that opinion, in terms of what is wrong. Mr. Obama cannot continue to evade that duty of making his own position clear to the world, unless he truly chooses to back Mr. Bush’s policy as what he considers as being right. Failure to clarify that issue, if the position is one of differing, can only prove crippling to world community efforts and to the United Nations. Dissent with Mr. Bush is anticipated, but uncertain. At least we can hope that Mr. Obama has a humanity, that Mr. Bush clearly has proven that he lacks.
The situation in Gaza has reached a most critical condition, demanding actions that are not yet evident. Gaza is legally Israel's responsibility under international convention, and has been allowed to flaunt and ignore international law, now clearly violating all relevant standards of international law and human decency as regards the civilian population. One cannot expect normal and legal responses from other directions, where anger is beginning to peak and may unleash an uncontrollable and extremely unpredictable level of response, unless the world community acts to enforce an immediate and unconditional end to hostilities. Under international laws pertaining to the situation in Gaza the world community would have to act to prosecute both Israel and Hams members for their actions in terms of a long history of violations of multiple international laws, which have now led to the extremes of suffering in Gaza, and the deaths and woundings of increasingly vast numbers of civilians. Clearly it is becoming imperative to break the siege of Gaza decisively to enable adequate levels of medical and humanitarian aid to the civilian population. The need to evacuate a growing number of wounded and ill civilians is becoming an almost unimaginably difficult situation. It is unlikely that adequate facilities can be brought to Gaza within any comparably reasonable period of time, to remedy the sufferings of thousands of victims. Robert Morpheal --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
