Politico writer Ben Smith makes more than a valid point:
"A delicate diplomatic maneuver by President Barack Obama to smooth frayed relations with Israel without alienating America’s Arab allies may have been blown out of the water Monday morning by Israel’s botched attempt to enforce the Gaza blockade — and by the lack of condemnation from Washington that followed it.
For while much about the incident remains unclear, a day of carefully parsed statements from the White House and State Department left at least one irrefutable aftershock: With much of the world expressing fury over the raid, the contrast with Washington’s muted response could not have been more striking."
And:
"The charm offensive appears to have worked. But now an administration that itself has expressed its own fury toward Netanyahu and his government in the past finds itself close to sharing Israel’s isolation at the moment — a dynamic that could complicate Obama’s outreach to the rest of the region."
"A delicate diplomatic maneuver by President Barack Obama to smooth frayed relations with Israel without alienating America’s Arab allies may have been blown out of the water Monday morning by Israel’s botched attempt to enforce the Gaza blockade — and by the lack of condemnation from Washington that followed it.
For while much about the incident remains unclear, a day of carefully parsed statements from the White House and State Department left at least one irrefutable aftershock: With much of the world expressing fury over the raid, the contrast with Washington’s muted response could not have been more striking."
And:
"The charm offensive appears to have worked. But now an administration that itself has expressed its own fury toward Netanyahu and his government in the past finds itself close to sharing Israel’s isolation at the moment — a dynamic that could complicate Obama’s outreach to the rest of the region."
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