A Stain on Obama’s Inaugural Robes

The party promises to be a big one. Today in Washington, Barack Obama will become the 44th president of the United States. A few hours before the celebration, the Israeli government has even had the good sense to stop the hostilities in Gaza, a gesture that prevents further complicating the debut of the Obama presidency. The Hebrew state may also have the decency to restore the electricity in Gaza so its inhabitants can see the inauguration as it happens.

The TV viewers in Gaza may find the spectacle disconcerting. For three weeks, the president of change has not deigned to condemn the massacres in Gaza. As the new team made its plans to combat the financial crisis, Obama left the Middle East to the departing Bush administration. By saying nothing and therefore implying approval, Obama should not be vexed by the weakening of Hamas, which, until the new term begins, is on the list of terrorist organizations. Conditions are therefore uniting to resume an American peace process. But does the new president imagine for one second starting from zero, from a blank page?

Because operation “Heavy Metal” has emerged as a disaster the damage from which we have barely begun to measure. Israel has shown a violence unequaled since the beginning of the second Intifada. On-site humanitarian organizations cannot remember so many civilian losses and destruction since the siege of Grozny in Tchetchnia. A firestorm for nothing. As if to emphasize the absurdity of its offensive, Israel stopped it overnight. Without accomplishing any of its stated objectives. Southern Israel remains at the mercy of the rockets and missiles coming from Gaza. Some authorities already recognize that it will only be a matter of months before Hamas establishes new tunnels under its border with Egypt and reestablishes its arsenal. As to the lost fighters, we can bet that the Islamist movement will not have much trouble recruiting new ones within the ruins of Gaza.

Locked in their unilateralism, the authorities in Tel-Aviv ended a ceasefire with themselves. Never mind that it hangs by a thread. In addition, the Israeli arsenal can boast of having restored its “capacity for dissuasion.” In fact, the enemies of the Hebrew state, particularly Iran, know where they stand. Contrary to its actions in 2006, Hezbollah made sure not to open a second front. The dissuasion worked, the cynics will say. But that is to forget that each new demonstration of force is more devastating than the last. About 1000 dead Lebanese in the summer of 2006, nearly 1300 killed this winter in Gaza. We do not dare imagine the next Israeli operation, if a rocket hits a school or in case of a larger attack. Obama has promised to immediately address the explosive problems in the Middle East. He will have to work hard to remove the stain of Gaza from his inaugural finery.