Turkish PM dismisses Israeli report on flotilla.

May 31, 2010: This image made from video
provided by the Israeli Defence Force shows
what the IDF says is one of several commandos
being dropped onto the Mavi Marmara ship by
helicopter in the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli
commandos rappelled down to an aid flotilla
sailing to thwart a Gaza blockade on Monday,
clashing with pro-Palestinian activists on the lead
ship in a raid that left at least nine passengers
dead.
JERUSALEM – Turkey's prime minister is
dismissing an Israeli inquiry's findings defending
the actions of Israeli troops in the deadly
interception of a Turkish-led protest flotilla to Gaza
last year.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Ankara on
Sunday that the Israeli report had "no value or
credibility."
The Israeli inquiry found that the actions of troops
who met violent resistance aboard one ship were
legal under international law. Israeli troops killed
nine of those on board.
The report said soldiers were attacked by activists
upon landing on the 600-passenger Mavi
Marmara and used lethal force because their lives
were in danger.
The flotilla was dominated by an Islamic charity
from Turkey and had the unofficial backing of
Erdogan's government.
update

An Israeli inquiry commission
defended the actions of the country's troops
during last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound
protest flotilla sailing from Turkey, finding in a
report released Sunday that Israel had not
violated international law.
While offering some criticism of the way the
takeover was planned, the commission's
conclusions exonerated the government, the
military and individual soldiers of wrongdoing.
The findings were unlikely to put to rest the
international controversy over Israel's actions,
which badly damaged its relations with Turkey
and led to the formation of a U.N. investigation.
Israeli naval commandos killed nine activists
aboard the Turkish protest ship Mavi Marmara on
May 31 after passengers resisted the takeover of
the vessel in international waters. The
condemnation that followed the bloodshed forced
Israel to ease the blockade on the Hamas-ruled
Gaza Strip.
The nearly 300-page reported released Sunday
by the government-appointed commission said
the naval blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza, the
decision to intercept the protest flotilla in
international waters and the soldiers' use of lethal
force "were found to be legal pursuant to the
rules of international law."
The commission, headed by a retired Supreme
Court justice, included four Israeli members and
two international observers — David Trimble, a
Nobel peace laureate from Northern Ireland, and
Brig. Gen. Ken Watkin, Canada's former chief
military prosecutor. All signed off on the
conclusions.
A fifth Israeli participant, 93-year-old international
law expert Shabtai Rosenne, passed away during
the deliberations.
Soldiers rappelling from helicopters onto the deck
of the Marmara, with some 600 passengers on
board, were mobbed by several dozen activists
as they landed on deck one by one.
Soldiers were beaten, and some were thrown
onto a lower deck. According to Sunday's report,
two of the soldiers were shot, apparently with
weapons taken from the Israelis themselves. Both
soldiers and activists have said they acted in self-
defense.
The commission faulted the military planners of
the mission for not taking into account the
possibility of serious violence, saying "the soldiers
were placed in a situation they were not
completely prepared for and had not anticipated."
However, looking at 133 individual cases in which
soldiers used force — 16 of them involving
shooting to kill — the commission found soldiers
had acted properly and that their lives had been in
danger. The soldiers, the report said, "acted
professionally in the face of extensive and
unanticipated violence."
Alan Baker, former legal adviser to Israel's Foreign
Ministry, said the report will likely be accepted and
rejected by countries based on their prior feelings
toward Israel.
He said the committee's makeup should boost its
credibility among Israel's allies. He also expected
the U.N.'s commission to take it seriously.
"Whether this will persuade Turkey is doubtful.
Whether this will persuade the Arab countries is
very doubtful. I think the serious countries will
take it very seriously because of the people who
were involved and because of the international
observers," he said.
"I doubt very much whether it will make an
impression on those elements of the international
community who are pushing the anti-Israel
hostility," he added


Source: Http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/23/israeli-inquiry-flotilla-interception-legal/

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Writing State Of The Union Speech: A Juggling Act.

President Obama delivers his State of the Union
address Jan. 27, 2010. For White House
speechwriters, the address is one of the more
complicated speeches they must write.
For a White House speechwriter, there is a
conflict in the State of the Union address. It's the
speech that gets all the attention, where the
president lays out his legislative agenda for the
year ahead. But as far as poetry, arc and theme, it
can also be the clunkiest.
"They can be an absolute legislative laundry list,"
says Mary Kate Cary, a speechwriter for President
George H.W. Bush. "And that doesn't make it
very fun to write.
"On one hand, it's nice to have the glory of
saying, 'Well, I wrote the State of the Union
address,' " she says. "But really, you'd rather
want to be known for writing the inaugural
address. That's where the poetry is, and the State
of the Union is a bit of a slog, I think."
A Management Challenge
Most presidential speeches take shape vertically —
that is, one speechwriter is in charge. He or she
sends it up the White House ladder until it reaches
the president.
But the State of the Union takes shape
horizontally. Every department and agency
submits its plans for the coming year. And
everyone has an opinion about what the speech
should say, which can be a management
challenge, says former George W. Bush
speechwriter John McConnell.
"You get a lot of suggestions from throughout
the administration of things that need to go in the
speech," McConnell says. "You get suggested
language at times from people, and you have to
give everything fair consideration."
The planning takes months and starts before
Christmas.
This year, people familiar with the process say
White House speechwriters were working on a
draft on Saturday, Jan. 8. That day, a gunman
opened fire in Arizona, shooting Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords through the head and killing several
others.
For the team writing the State of the Union, the
attack meant the mood of the speech had to
change. During marathon revision sessions, they
struggled over how to appropriately reflect the
moment that the country is in, both after Tucson
and after two years of economic struggles.
'A Leader For The Whole Country'
Former Clinton speechwriter Jeff Shesol says
Tuesday's address can't just be a sequel to the
eulogy that Obama delivered in Arizona.
"An event like Tucson will certainly have an
effect," Shesol says. "That said, it's been clear
already that he's going to talk about the deficit,
he's going to talk about spending cuts, he's very
likely going to talk about tax reform. Those things
were already going to be in the speech, and they
will still be in the speech irrespective of what
happened in Tucson."
Still, the attacks will be a big part of this speech.
People from Tucson will almost certainly sit with
the first lady in the House Gallery.
And former Clinton speechwriter Michael
Waldman says the president would be foolish not
to use this moment to build on the political gains
from the Tucson speech.
Speaking After Tragegy
Obama is hardly the first president to deliver his
State of the Union address after a national
tragedy. Here's a look at memorable lines from
recent presidents who used the address not only
to push their agenda but also comfort the nation.
Ronald Reagan had to delay his State of the
Union address in 1986 so that the country could
honor the seven astronauts who died in the
Challenger space shuttle explosion, which
occurred the day he was originally scheduled to
give his speech. When he took to the podium in
February, he laid out his plan to continue
pursuing space exploration — while also pushing
his tax reform agenda.
"We paused together to mourn and honor the
valor of our seven Challenger heroes. And I hope
that we are now ready to do what they would
want us to do: Go forward, America, and reach
for the stars. We will never forget those brave
seven, but we shall go forward."
When George W. Bush addressed the nation in
2002, he had to console a nation still grieving
over the Sept. 11 attacks and discuss very serious
issues — terrorism and weapons of mass
destruction.
"We last met in an hour of shock and suffering.
In four short months, our nation has comforted
the victims, begun to rebuild New York and the
Pentagon ... captured, arrested and rid the world
of thousands of terrorists ... and freed a country
from brutal oppression."
— Chelsea Keenan
"President Obama will want to use a speech like
this to reassert his standing, not as a divisive
partisan figure but as a leader for the whole
country," Waldman says. "He really began to do
that with the success in the lame-duck session of
Congress and with the powerful and very widely
praised eulogy in Tucson, but this speech is the
next chance to do that."
Working With Both Parties
And the need for someone who can work with
both parties is stronger now than ever.
Behind Obama, Republican House Speaker John
Boehner will be sitting in the chair that Democrat
Nancy Pelosi occupied last year.
So one option is for Obama to strike a
conciliatory tone with Republicans. But McConnell
says there's another option.
"I think back to President Bush in 2007, when he
was facing a new majority and his back was
against the wall, in a sense, because he was
trying to push the troop surge in Iraq, and the
support for that was very thin in the Congress,"
he says. "And he went in there in the State of the
Union, and he gave a very powerful message
and had them on their feet."
And that year, even though Democrats controlled
Congress, the troop surge happened.
Source: Http://www.npr.org/2011/01/23/133087065/writing-state-of-the-union-speech-a-juggling-act

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Obama: State of the Union speech to focus on jobs.

In this Dec. 6, 2010, file photo President
Barack Obama, visiting Forsyth Technical
Community College in Winston-Salem, N.C.,
speaks about the key to boosting American
competitiveness, that it rests in the nation's
willingness to invest in a more educated
workforce, a deeper commitment to research
and technology, and improvements in
infrastructure, from roads and airports to
high-speed internet. Under pressure to boost
the economy the same message will likely be
at the center of his State of the Union address
Tuesday, Jan. 25.
President Barack Obama said Saturday he
would use his annual State of the Union address
to urge both parties to act to lift U.S. growth
and create more jobs.
“My number one focus is going to be making
sure that we are competitive, that we are
growing, and we are creating jobs not just now
but well into the future, ” he said in a video e-
mailed to members of his Organizing for
America grassroots movement.
Obama plans State of Union speech
for Jan. 25th
Obama’s press aide Gibbs departs the
White House
Republican Boehner sworn in as
Speaker for new U.S. Congress
Mr. Obama’s speech Tuesday to a joint session
of the U.S. Congress will show how he plans to
rise above the political gridlock that marked his
first two years in the White House, shaping his
2012 re-election prospects.
With U.S. unemployment at 9.4 percent, Mr.
Obama said deficits and debt must be dealt with
in a “responsible way,” acknowledging the need
to cut spending without undermining the
country ’s gradual recovery.
“We’re up to it, as long as we come together as
a people - Republicans, Democrats,
Independents - as long as we focus on what
binds us together as a people, ” the Democratic
president said.
Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have improved in
recent weeks, in part because Americans seem
pleased with his decision to strike deals with
Republicans to extend tax cuts and spur growth
after his party ’s heavy losses in the Nov. 2
elections.
Republicans took control of the U.S. House of
Representatives and gained seats in the U.S.
Senate.
Fiscal Discipline
But voters are also worried by the U.S. budget
deficit and rising debt, and the White House has
said fiscal discipline will be an important part of
Mr. Obama ’s speech.
Republicans have called for $100-billion in cuts
to government spending, and a bipartisan
presidential debt commission has urged a bold
overhaul of the U.S. tax code, alongside stiff
curbs on federal spending.
The White House will lay out its full fiscal plans
in an annual budget expected during the week
of Feb. 13. It has emphasized the need to make
targeted choices that protect priorities like
education, infrastructure investment and
innovation.
Mr. Obama, whose video gave no details of
measures to be outlined during his speech, has
been pushing for ways to spur job creation and
ease unemployment in the wake of his party ’s
recent election defeat.
He stirred some Democratic opposition by
agreeing with Republicans to extend Bush-era
tax cuts, while making several key staffing
choices that signaled a shift toward the political
center.
On Friday, he named General Electric Co Chief
Executive Jeffrey Immelt as his top outside
economic adviser in a bid to improve strained
White House ties with big business.
Mr. Immelt, whose appointment was cheered
by the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
will chair a presidential council on
competitiveness and jobs that is designed to
encourage private investment and hiring.
“We’re going to have to out-innovate, we’re
going to have to out-build, we’re going to have
to out-compete, we’re going to have to out-
educate other countries,” Mr. Obama said.


Source: Http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/obama-state-of-the-union-speech-to-focus-on-jobs/article1879978/?service=mobile

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‘Mr. President, Say This on Tuesday Night ’.

President Obama delivering the State of the Union
address last January.With four days until President
Obama gives his State of the
Union address, interest groups
have buried the White House
with a barrage of unsolicited
advice about what they want
him to say.
The suggestions come from all quarters — the
Mr. Obama’s liberal supporters who are already
suspicious of his commitment to their causes, the
conservative activists who oppose his policies
and independent groups who are urging
compromise and conciliation.
Gun control groups want the president to call for
restrictions on the size of high capacity
ammunition clips. Gay rights organizations say
he should talk about bullying aimed at
homosexuals. Think tanks believe he should
focus on the nation ’s debt. Tea Party groups
hope he will endorse a repeal of his health care
overhaul.
Aides to Mr. Obama remained largely silent on
which of those, if any, are likely to make it into
the president ’s address, which he will give
Tuesday night in front of a joint session of
Congress.
“The State of the Union is an annual occasion to
get a mountain of advice both public and private
on what to include in the speech, ” said Dan
Pfeiffer, the president’s communications director.
“A lot ends up on the cutting room floor, but
getting all the ideas and sifting through them is a
very constructive process. ”
The Caucus asked more than 20 interest groups
in Washington what advice they are giving the
president, either in public or in private. Here ’s a
sampling of their responses:
Mark McKinnon, No Labels: “President Obama,
you have an opportunity in your State of the
Union Address to bookend the great speech you
delivered in Tucson. We are at a potential
inflection point in our politics where we have an
opportunity to tone down heated hyper-partisan
rhetoric and recognize that our opponents are not
“enemies” but people of pure motive who just
have a different approach and ideas. Your speech
next week can help heal the partisan breach by
compelling us all to work together to achieve
consensus on the pressing issues facing the
country. ”
Damon Silvers, policy director for the AFL-
CIO : “We need to have an economic recovery
that creates jobs and rebuilds the middle class
because if we are reduced to competing to cut
spending instead of deciding how to compete in
the world economy then we are having the
wrong conversation. … We also hope that the
president will protect and defend Social Security
and Medicare, which are crucial lifelines for
working families, seniors and the disabled.”
Terry O’Neill, president of the National
Organization for Women: “I am writing to you
with a heartfelt plea to take a stand against Social
Security benefit cuts or any other weakening of
the program that may be attempted in the new
Congress. Will you speak out against any
undermining of Social Security in your State of
the Union message ?”
Edward F. Coyle, executive director of the
Alliance for Retired Americans : “Retirees will
be watching the State of the Union address on
Tuesday, and they will support President
Obama ’s call to lower federal spending. But they
know that Social Security did not create these
deficits and that we cannot balance the budget on
the backs of current and future retirees. ”
Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin,
national coordinators of Tea Party Patriots:
“Based on his newfound understanding and
respect for the views of the majority of
Americans, Tea Party Patriots hopes that he will
encourage repeal of Obamacare in the Senate,
and then sign the bill and begin to engage in true
bipartisan negotiations to solve the nation ’s health
care problems.”
Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring:
“If he fails to address the need to rein in the
excessive and economically ineffective deficit
spending of his administration ’s first two years,
anything that he says about raising the debt
ceiling should be disregarded. ”
Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: “We’re
hoping he’s going to say something about gun
violence. Here’s a chance for some leadership and
some eloquence. He should call for a presidential
commission on guns and support for the
legislation limiting the size of ammo clips. ”
Fred Sainz, spokesman for Human Rights
Campaign : “This past year Americans were
confronted with the epidemic of bullying against
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young
people that goes on in our schools. The State of
the Union address would be an appropriate time
for the president to assert leadership on this
moral issue and call on all schools to address the
problem head on.”
Jim Kessler, vice president for Third Way:
“The president ought to make long term
economic growth the theme of his State of the
Union. He should declare that with the passage of
health care reform, America’s 85-year quest to
weave a strong safety net is now complete. From
there he would describe a clear, tangible, and
compelling destination for the nation – that of
American excellence. It is a destination where
America has the strongest, most vibrant, and
most advanced economy on earth. ”
Ralph Benko, senior adviser on Economics
for American Principles Project : “President
Obama must make the case that public funds for
essential government services not be used up in
paying exorbitant retirement benefits, a trillion
dollar problem that news reports show is
threatening more than 100 American
municipalities with bankruptcy and up to 20
states with insolvency.”
Former Senator Pete Domenici, a senior
fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center : “First,
he must carefully explain the severe nature of the
nation ’s debt and deficit problem, showing why it
is unlike any other fiscal problem we have ever
faced. Next, he should discuss the consequences
that may occur if we simply continue to delay
facing the problem with concrete proposals.
Finally, I hope that he will outline a
comprehensive plan of what must be contained
in a real debt stabilization initiative.”
Adam Green, co-founder, Progressive
Change Campaign Committee : “He should
use the State of the Union to draw a firm line in
the sand against any reduction of the Social
Security benefits that American workers earned,
paid for, and do not want to see cut. Then he
should offer a progressive vision for creating jobs
and fighting for middle class families over big
corporations.”
Grover Norquist, president of Americans
for Tax Reform : “You should say you recognize
that spending $800 billion on stimulus didn’t
create jobs. You should say you will bring
corporate tax rates down, extend the expensing
of business investment, and allow repatriation of
overseas assets. These are tax cuts that you and
Democrats have endorsed that would have
bipartisan support. ”
Richard Socarides, president of Equality
Matters : “In order to be the kind of
transformational leader he can be, he should
show the country the way forth on dismantling
the so-called Defense of Marriage Act so that the
law no longer robs the states of their right to
decide the question of marriage, nor deprives
lawfully married gay Americans of their federal
benefits. That’s the advice I’m giving to all the
people I know who might actually influence the
speech. If you want to be a leader, this is the
speech in which to do it. ”

Source: Http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/mr-president-say-this-on-tuesday-night/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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