Only In The US.

For the past few days the Israelis have been able to have their version of what happened when they stormed a freedom flotilla given free reign - as they were holding anyone who might contradict their version of events in custody - but they have now decided to release the activists they have been holding, and already their narrative is being questioned.

The decision to free the activists came as first accounts from those on the ships began to emerge, with some claiming the Israeli forces who stormed the largest ship in the flotilla – the Mavi Marmara – shot to kill and used electric stun guns.

The accounts differed sharply from those coming from Israeli politicians and military, who said the soldiers were provoked into violence. A spokesman said it had been a measure of last resort after its troops had found themselves in a lynching when they landed on the ship.

Israel insists its troops came under sustained and unprovoked attack, pointing to what it claimed was cast-iron video evidence and soldiers' testimony.

All those detained would be sent home at Israel's expense, an Israeli official said. "Things have evolved," he said. "Everyone will be released, as long as long as they produce papers. No one will be prosecuted. Interrogations did not yield material that could result in a conviction in a court of law."

It is no surprise that the people on the Mavi Marmara will have an entirely different version of events to those we have been hearing since Israel launched her assault. Israel wasn't keeping those people away from us by accident. She was holding them so that she could float her particular version of the outrage which we had all witnessed.

Of course, the only opinion which is going to have any effect here is the opinion of the United States, and there is no reason to believe that Obama's administration is going to feel the same level of outrage as the rest of us. The US seems incapable of such emotion when it comes to Israel.

Erdogan demanded the US condemn the assault, but Washington blocked an attempt at the UN security council for an international inquiry, issuing a mild statement regretting the loss of life. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, later called the Gaza situation "unsustainable".

"Israel's legitimate security needs must be met, just as the Palestinians' legitimate needs for sustained humanitarian assistance and regular access to reconstruction materials must also be assured," she said.

The United States is almost completely alone in the way it is viewing this carnage which has taken place, which is clearly illustrated by the way Glenn Greenwald is treated throughout this interview.

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There is literally no other country in the world, including Israel, where the Israeli action is being looked upon favourably.

Only in the US, it seems, is it impossible to criticise the actions of Israel. In Israel itself there are many commentators who are lining up to condemn the stupidity of Netanyahu's governments actions, but watching Greenwald having to respond to a ridiculously one sided argument favouring Israel - despite the fact that people are dead because of her actions - leaves one open mouthed.

This is why many in the Arab world feel that the United States are complicit in every Israeli action. It really does appear as if there is no outrage Israel can commit that they will not seek to justify and defend.

The condemnation of what has taken place is almost universal, yet only in the US is Greenwald treated as if he is holding some dangerously radical position.

UPDATE:



Here Monica Crowley attacks Obama for throwing "Israel down the stairs". The rest of the planet is seeing the US do what it always does in issuing bland statements which fail to express outrage. Crowley, apparently, sees the opposite.

Click here for full article.

Tags: Israel, Turkey, United States, Mavi Marmara