Bush thanks Mubarak for the "positive role" of Egypt during the war on Gaza WASHINGTON, (PIC)-- The white house announced on Wednesday that the US president George Bush called the Egyptian president Husni Mubarak and thanked him for Egypt's "positive role" during the past few days of the war on the Gaza Strip.
White house spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, also said that Bush called the PA president Mahnoud Abbas and the premier of his illegitimate government Salam Fayyad and emphasized the need for a lasting cease-fire. "President Bush and the two Palestinian leaders discussed their efforts for a sustainable cease-fire. They agreed that for any cease-fire to be effective, it must be respected, particularly by Hamas," Johndroe said. Bush, who is leaving the White House in three weeks, has not made any statement about the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip. The Washington Post quoted a US administration official as saying that Israel chose to attack at this time to utilise the remaining days for president Bush in office. http://windowintopalestine.blogspot.com/2009/01/bush-thanks-mubarak-for-positive-role.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obama on Gaza: 'No Comment' December 27, 2008 "There was no immediate comment on the Israeli air strikes on Gaza from Obama, who is vacationing with his family in Hawaii, or his staff." This is how our incoming President has reacted to the worst attack on the Palestinian people in 20 years - by not reacting at all. The Bush White House, of course, has responded as we all know they would: Israel-has-the-right-to-defend itself, let the killing begin, etc., ad nauseum. And don't expect much better from the Obama camp. Remember how he scolded the UN for daring to even discuss the Gaza situation?: "We have to understand why Israel is forced to do this. Israel has the right to respond while seeking to minimize any impact on civilians. The Security Council should clearly and unequivocally condemn the rocket attacks. If it cannot bring itself to make these common sense points, I urge you to ensure that it does not speak at all." With his silence - or, at least, his very delayed reaction - it seems clear that Obama is taking his own advice. Even as Israel takes the possibility of a new page in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict off the agenda, and sabotages all his brave talk about a renewed US diplomatic effort, the great "liberal" hope is apparently tongue-tied. And when he finally speaks, "progressives" should prepare for the worst: after all, this is someone who endorsed the Israeli re-invasion of Lebanon. The Israeli-Palestinian "peace process"? The Israelis, for their part, are having none of it - and neither is our future President. http://www.alternet.org/rights/115809/obama_on_the_siege_of_gaza:_no_comment/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROTEST AT OBAMA'S VACATION HOUSE KAILUA, Hawaii (Reuters) - A small group of placard-waving pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered near U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's vacation retreat in Hawaii on Tuesday to protest against the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Obama has made no public comment on the strikes, which Israel launched on Saturday. Aides have repeatedly said he is monitoring the situation and continues to receive intelligence briefings but that there is only one U.S. president at a time. Some critics, however, say Obama did choose to speak out after the attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in November in which gunmen killed nearly 180 people, condemning them as acts of terrorism. Obama, who takes office on January 20 from outgoing Republican President George W. Bush, has also spoken out on economic issues facing the United States. "He is talking about how many jobs he is going to create but he is refusing to speak about this," said one of the protesters, Carolyn Hadfield, 66. Hadfield was one of eight protesters standing with placards reading "No U.S. support for Israel" and "Gazans need food and medicine, not war" near Obama's rented vacation home in Kailua, an upmarket suburb on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where Obama is in the second week of a vacation with his family. Obama had not left the compound on Tuesday morning and did not see the protest. Obama has in the past called Israel one of the United States' greatest allies and has vowed to ensure the security of the Jewish state. He has also said he would make a sustained push to achieve the goal of two states -- a Jewish state in Israel and a Palestinian state. Israel on Tuesday pressed on with air strikes in Gaza that it says are in response to rocket fire by Hamas militants deep inside the Jewish state. Medical officials put Palestinian casualties at 383 dead and more than 800 wounded. The Bush administration has so far backed Israel's actions in Gaza and demanded the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to a lasting ceasefire. "We are very upset with what is going in Palestine. There is a very great need for change in U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and Palestine. We need to stop giving Israel a blank check," said another protester, Margaret Brown, 66. The protesters were rebuffed when they tried to hand a letter signed by dozens of U.S. activist groups to a Secret Service agent guarding the access road to Obama's beachfront. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081231/...rael_usa_obama
