The Post and Times have continued this drumbeat for military escalation even as Gaddafi's side embraced a peace proposal from the African Union, which included a cease-fire and acceptance of democratic reforms. The Libyan rebels rebuffed the offer, insisting that the ouster of Gaddafi and his family must be a precondition to any settlement.
That rejection came at a time of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata and amid reports of atrocities being committed by rebel troops against suspected Gaddafi loyalists.
There have also been reports that surface-to-air missiles seized by Libyan rebels are ending up in the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists who might use them to shoot down civilian airliners. Though most Libyan rebels appear to be motivated by a desire to oust Gaddafi from power, their stronghold around Benghazi has been known as a hotbed for radical jihadists.
However, instead of giving peace a chance, NATO nations -- egged on by neocon opinion leaders on both sides of the Atlantic -- are moving toward a long-term program of providing the rebels with military training, supplies and weapons. [For more on the U.S. press, see Consortiumnews.com's "Warriors of the Mainstream Media" and "Through the US Media's Lens Darkly."]
Peace Obstacles
The Washington Post's editors also have chastised Obama for pressuring Israel regarding peace negotiations with the Palestinians, rather than concentrating American influence and power on unseating Israel's principal adversaries in the Muslim world, in places like Libya and Syria.
In an April 15 editorial, the Post criticized the Obama administration's emphasis on an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, while faulting Obama for "eschewing active American leadership in Libya, Syria and elsewhere in the Arab world."
The Post expressed special concern over a Palestinian plan to seek United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state in September. While denouncing this proposal, the Post argued that the real obstacle to an Israeli-Palestinian peace has been the obstinance of the Palestinians:
"Palestinian leaders have little interest in negotiating with the current Israeli government. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu just twice in two years and has conditioned further talks on concessions that he knows Israel will not make -- such as a freeze on all housing construction in Jerusalem."
The editorial reiterated points made in a column last month by deputy editorial page editor Jackson Diehl. The newspaper headline for Diehl's column had decried Obama as "a barrier to Mideast peace." The online headline asked, "Whose side is he on?"
Diehl also absolved Likud hard-liners, while pointing the finger of blame at Abbas, who, Diehl wrote, "has repeatedly shrunk from committing himself to the painful concessions he knows would be needed for Palestinian statehood."
On that point, Diehl and the Post editorial willfully ignored the evidence, since Al Jazeera reported earlier this year that leaked documents revealed Abbas making major land concessions to Israel including the surrender of almost all of East Jerusalem, infuriating many Palestinians. However, the Israelis still were not willing to reach an agreement with Abbas.
Washington's influential neocons continue to frame the debate in ways most supportive of their long-held goal of applying U.S. military and diplomatic power to advance Israel's geopolitical interests in the region.
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