When called upon during Obama’s first “prime-time” presidential news conference, Helen Thomas asked if he knew of any country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons. In keeping with tradition, he refused to acknowledge the obvious or speak to the hypocrisy of forcing Iran to uphold a treaty that Israel refuses to sign.
MJ Rosenberg forgives Obama.
Why Did Obama Diss Helen Thomas?
MJ Rosenberg, Director of Policy for the Israel Policy Forum
Huffington Post, 10 February 2009
Had Obama spoken the truth, the media would have made his “blunder” the story of the night. He cannot afford that because, frankly, we have more important things to worry about, like rescuing the economy.
So I don’t fault Obama. But I salute Helen Thomas. Next time she should ask how he felt about those pictures that came out of Gaza. As the father of those two precious girls, we all know how he felt. But it would help America in the eyes of the world if he’d just say it.
Only specialists in twisted logic would dare propose it possible to separate the funding of war crimes and a perpetual war industry from any economic rescue. The destroy and rebuild strategies that underlie wealth cartelisation are unsustainable; internally, due the insatiable greed and amoral code of its architects and contractors and externally, due to simple math. The costs outweigh the benefits.
Rosenberg’s ham-fisted reassurance Obama really, truly cares about the victims of U.S. and Israeli crimes despite all evidence to the contrary and his suggestion a publicity stunt is in order rather than real foreign policy changes is black and white ugly.