You can’t have it two ways, Mr. President

PHOTO CREDIT: HuffingtonPost.Com

While I admittedly expressed tepid support for the campaign of presidential-candidate, Senator Barack Obama, that cautious engagement was not because of my disdain for him as an individual. I think that he is a brilliant mind and man who took the cards that were dealt him and made the best out of it. I think there can be little debate around the question of his intelligence. My hesitation with then-presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, was rooted in my belief that the political powers of this world are far more entrenched then any one man’s personality. Meaning: the unjust policies of the American Empire felt the world over, would not just vanish because of a historic presidency. They may be dressed up, eloquently spoken of, or passionately described, but the corporate powers that-be would not allow them to magically disappear. Though we have a hugely popular president, there are some topics that even for him are now off limits. You don’t hear much talk of Genocide in Darfur anymore. You don’t hear much about civilian casualties in Pakistan because of American drone attacks. The list really could go on, but you get the picture. These are issues that have made it among the “untouchable” category. I’m sure that many of you could add on to my short list.

That notwithstanding, I am thankful by our President’s willingness to at least open the door to dialogue with those who, in my estimation, have been found unworthy of presidential attention for far too long. If communication is the key to the prospect of healthy diplomatic relations, then President Obama is at least showing effort – infinitely more than his predecessor – to extend a listening ear to those who have been given the quite dubious distinction of being labeled “Enemies of America.” For this I am cautiously thankful.

President Obama displayed this new chapter of American diplomacy at the recent Conference of the Americas in Trinidad & Tobago. The president was photographed shaking hands and laughing with Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, one of America’s harshest foreign policy critics. While this has created a stir among some of his political opponents, many seem to put it in proper perspective and context, thinking it to be just a polite greeting that should be expected of world leaders.

That’s right Mr. President. It’s not just good policy, but it’s a sign of strength and maturity to reach out to those who hold different views than one’s own.

That’s why I was quite perplexed to learn that the Obama Administration will be boycotting the Durban Review Conference on Racism, etc. which will be evaluating progress on the goals set forth at the World Conference on Racism hosted by the United Nations in 2001 which the U.S. also boycotted. The reason why the U.S. is once again boycotting the conference? It basically comes down to this sentence that is found in the 2001 document:

Concerning the Middle East, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) expresses concern about the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation and recognizes the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the right to an independent state. It also recognizes the right to security for all countries in the region, including Israel, and calls upon all governments to support the peace process and bring it to an early conclusion.

According to this South African newspaper article, the Israeli and Jewish lobby worked feverishly to get the United States and other Western Nations to boycott the conference held this week because of the implied criticism of Israel in the statement. In fact, there is no criticism, just a statement of fact. Israel is an occupying force causing great injustice and oppression of the Palestinian people. Yes, it is unpopular to say that, but any rational human being who engages even in elementary research will find it to be true.

But, the Israeli Government (and I do make a distinction between the government and the people, knowing that there are many dedicated Israeli citizens and Jewish organizations like Jewish Voices for Peace who sacrifice much to take an unpopular stand against the unjust practices of their government) and their very powerful lobby that has its hands deep in the pockets of the American Government, have persuaded an American President to boycott the conference altogether! An American President, who is naturally inclined to seek out common sense paths to shared objectives with those from differing ideological camps.

Dear Mr. President. You can’t have it both ways. If you’re going to be the president who reaches across the aisle to those whom you are “not supposed to diplomatically engage,” then you’ll do far better in that regard when being consistent in that practice. In a matter of seven days, you have both encouraged and disappointed those who thought it was truly a new day in at least one aspect of American foreign policy – something as simple as presence and conversation. Prayerfully, Mr. President, you will reconsider your unfortunate decision to boycott a conference committed to standing against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. One would imagine that your administration would be able to significantly contribute to this conference in ways that no other American president could.

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