SEARCH BLOG: ISRAEL and OBAMA.
UPDATE:
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Israel has been becoming increasingly nervous about its belligerent neighbors and the apparent coziness of the Obama administration with the Muslim Brotherhood... the organization precipitating increasingly belligerent actions. The question is: has Israel decided to take
whatever actions it sees as necessary and appropriate to defend itself even if it means creating situations that disrupt the Obama administration's Middle East policies?
There are some who will blame Israel regardless of whether it is being aggressive in its retaliation or not; they will disregard what precipitated the action and characterize Israel as the big, bad military power killing defenseless people.
Bloomberg Businessweek, not necessarily a fan of Israel, couches a recent article about how Israel responded to
115 rockets fired into Israel by Hamas in terms of how it temporarily affected oil prices. Fortunately, it looks as if oil prices will not stay affected by Israel's actions. Unfortunately, this will not be the last time Israel is attacked by Muslim forces which surround it.
Oil in New York remains in a downtrend channel on the daily chart, signaling price advances may not be sustainable, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Futures have traded between the middle and lower Bollinger Bands for almost two months. These indicators, representing technical resistance and support levels respectively, are around $88 and $82.50 a barrel today.
The Israeli strikes followed the firing of more than 115 rockets from Gaza into Israel this week, adding to a total of about 14,000 missiles fired from the territory in the past 11 years, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry. Since the conclusion of Israel’s 2008 ground attack on Gaza, the government has said it holds Hamas responsible for the rocket attacks because it runs the coastal territory.
The New York Times characterized the Israeli retaliation this way:
Ferocious Israeli Assault on Gaza Kills a Leader of Hamas.
Israel hit at least 20 targets in aerial attacks that killed the military commander of Hamas, damaged Israel's fragile relations with Egypt and escalated the risks of a new war in the Middle East.
Nevertheless,
to his credit, President Obama did side with Israel with regard to this attack and retaliation:
President Barack Obama spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi Wednesday night about rocket attacks being launched from Gaza into Israel and escalating violence in the Gaza Strip.
The White House said Obama reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to self-defense from rocket attacks being launched against its civilians and urged Israel to “make every effort to avoid civilian casualties” in its response.
Israel carried out a blistering offensive of more than 50 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, assassinating Hamas’ military commander in the most intense attack on the territory in nearly four years.
Israel said the airstrikes, launched in response to days of rocket fire out of Hamas-ruled Gaza, were the beginning of a broader operation against Islamic militants. Israeli defense officials said a ground operation was a strong possibility in the coming days though they stressed no decisions had been made.
Obama and Netanyahu agreed that Hamas needs to stop its attacks on Israel to allow tensions to ease, the White House said. The two leaders agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days. Earlier Wednesday Netanyahu also spoke to Vice President Joe Biden on the events in Gaza.
Obama spoke separately to Morsi, given Egypt’s central role in preserving regional security, the White House said. The two men agreed on the need to de-escalate the conflict as quickly as possible. [source.]
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What's wrong with that?
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