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The
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said yesterday that
the incessant insecurity in the West Africa sub-region is a serious
distraction to the entrenchment of enduring democratic governance and
values in member-states.

The Council, made
up of ministers in the ECOWAS member-states in charge of security, has
a role to play in the effort towards sustaining peace and security in
the ECOWAS sub-region.

Odein Ajumogobia,
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs minister, who made the observation at the
opening of the two-day ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council meeting in
Abuja, expressed regrets that the quest for lasting solutions to the
problem has taken prime attention over effort to mobilise resources
from the international community for the development of the sub-region.

“Urgent attention
needs to be given to the issue of Security Sector Reforms (SSR) in
member-states. In Guinea Conakry,Guinea Bissau, and Niger Republic, the
Armed Forces there and other ECOWAS member-states must be transformed
into professional armies that are subordinate to constitutional
authority and civil democratic rule,” Mr. Ajumogobia said.

He reassured the
Council of President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to the sustenance
of democracy and good governance in the sub-region, adding that the
administration is determined to continue Nigeria’s constructive
collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission and other sub-regional
organisations to find lasting solutions to the political crises in
member-states.

Apart from working
as a team to ensure a free, transparent and credible election in Guinea
Conakry in June 27, 2010, the minister enjoined ECOWAS member-states to
also encourage the Council for Restoration of Democracy (CRD) in Niger
Republic to fully implement its transition agenda for the election of a
democratic leadership in the country.

The minister drew
attention to the menace of small arms and light weapons (SALWs) as a
serious threat to the peace and security of the sub-region, adding that
though significant progress has been made in installing democracy in
most member-states, there is still a long way to go.

No new conflict

James Gbeho, the
President, ECOWAS Commission, noted the steady improvements in the
security environment in the region since last year, particularly in the
areas of advances in democratic restoration and consolidation, as well
as national reconciliation and development.

Mr. Gbeho
identified the absence of open conflict in the last decade, as well as
the successful presidential elections in Togo, and the breakthrough in
the inter-Togolese dialogue with the formation of an inclusive
government in the country, as indices of the growing political
stability in the region, though he noted the challenge of palpable
uncertainty over elections in Cote D’Ivoire and Guinea Bissau.

Apart from the
challenge of famine, Mr. Gbeho said the problem of drug trafficking and
other transnational organised crimes, like money laundering and human
trafficking, constitute mortal danger to politics and the region’s
growth.

He called for efforts to be intensified between ECOWAS and the
international community through the agency of the West African Office
of the United Nations on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) in the implementation
of the West African Action Plan on Drugs, to help bring to an end the
drugs scourge in the region.

Contrary to what some people think, women are top grade human beings. This explains why we always want to eat our cake and still have it in our hands! A woman would like her man to be a ‘man’, and at the same time, want him to be human. Now, what is the difference between the two? To many of the women that I have interacted with at one point or the other, being a man means fulfilling ALL the backbreaking, energy-sapping, nerve-wrecking societal expectations of the category known as ‘man’.

Though these expectations vary from place to place, the common elements may include bearing the sole responsibility for the provision of shelter (adequate or not); funding of formal education of the children; clothing for all; feeding; weekly salon costs and acting as driver in a situation where the family cannot afford a professional one. Others may involve meeting the obligations of the extended families both ways – basic needs, as well as costs of funerals, or sponsoring the education and wedding ceremonies of siblings. Similarly, he must not exercise his tear ducts or express himself in any ‘emotional’ manner. Moreover, being a ‘man’ may also mean ability to pummel one’s younger siblings to a pulp whenever they ‘offend’ madam, especially during courtship period. Similarly, it could show in engaging in a brawl at the slightest provocation, particularly if it is to ‘protect’ the woman. When a man can fulfil all these, then he qualifies as a ‘man’.

It is interesting that in addition to the heavy burden the man bears, most times suffering in silence, especially when he is still a ‘struggling man’, the same woman who benefits largely from his ‘suffering’ and enjoys her life at his expense, would still expect that the man will be ‘human’ or as they say, a complete gentleman. And what would this mean? Well, if a man respects the opinion of his partner/wife; shares household chores; relieves her of the burden of child-rearing by giving a helping hand from time to time; respects a woman’s dignity by not slapping her around sometimes (or all the times as in many cases) and supporting her to advance in her career; then he is a gentleman.

What most women fail to realise is that the law of reciprocity applies to most, if not every, situation. When you give something and receive in return. For instance, when a woman shares the burden of the responsibilities that are associated with societal expectations with her spouse/partner, he is more inclined to share the power and control levels with her. Some women want their partners to be ‘men’, as well as ‘gentlemen’ in one breath, whereas such women cannot share their own resources to alleviate their partners/spouses’ stress.

I always say that men are not born irrational or unfeeling, but have been conditioned that way through our actions. I am also sure that many of them would rather be a gentleman than be a man, but think they really have no choice in the matter, I believe that a woman should be aware of the differences between a ‘man’ and a ‘gentleman’ and make up her mind early enough on what she wants. This will also mean knowing the privileges that she may have to give up.

Thank goodness, I do not have to prove anything to anybody and I can express my emotions whichever way I please, as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. Isn’t it pure delight to be a woman?

Christine
Ibori-Ibie, the only surviving sister of James Ibori, and Udoamaka
Onuigbo (Okoronkwo), his associate, were yesterday sentenced to 5 years
each in prison by Judge Christopher Hardy of a Southwark London Crown
Court.

The sentence
followed the June 1 and 2 2010 court ruling that found Ms. Ibori-Ibie
and Ms. Onuigbo guilty of the charges of money laundering and mortgage
fraud levelled against them.

The jury however, acquitted the third accused in the case, Adebimpe Pogoson, Mr. Ibori’s former assistant, of all charges.

The money
laundering trial involving Mr. Ibori’s female aides began at the
Southwark Crown Court, London, after Ms. Pogoson, (a personal assistant
on confidential matters during his tenure as Delta State governor) and
his sister, Ms. Ibori-Ibie, were charged in December 2007 on three
counts of conspiring “together with Mr. Ibori, Ms. Onuigbo, and others
to defraud the Delta State government.” The aides were charged with
helping the former governor move an estimated £70 million worth of
looted funds through several London banks.

A large turn out

According to those
who attended the trial, Judge Hardy had to shift the court venue from
Court 8 (which was the original venue of the sitting) to Court 9 and
then finally to the largest court room in the Southwark London Crown
Court to accommodate the number of Nigerians who came to witness the
sentencing of the Ibori women.

The convener of the
Nigeria Liberty Forum, a civil rights group, Kayode Ogundamisi, who was
also at the court sitting, said more than 300 Nigerians were already at
the court premises by 12:30pm, although the court did not begin
proceedings till 2pm.

“The courts were
filled and people were standing outside. They were brought in and
escorted by two prison guards and the prosecution filed an application
asking the court to confisticate all the assets recovered and
unrecovered from the convicts, but the defence opposed the
application,” said Mr. Ogundamisi.

The judge subsequently fixed a later date for the case on the confistication of the assets of the convicts.

Plea for leniency

The defence counsel
to Ms. Ibori in its final submission pleaded with court to be lenient
with her. The team hinged its plea on the fact that Ms. Ibori has three
dependent children, had lived in the UK for more than 25 years, and
also needed medical care. To buttress this last point they presented
medical reports. The defence teams also brandished a letter purportedly
from a pastor stating that she is a person of good character. They also
insisted in their final summation that the real criminal in the case
was James Ibori, and that two women were only pawns in his money
laundering activities.

They admitted that
the 40 million pounds found in fixed assets in the United Kingdom were
only 10 percent of James Ibori’s total worth.

Indicting the Nigerian judiciary

During his ruling,
Judge Hardy slammed the Nigeria judiciary for allowing itself to be
influenced by Mr. Ibori. The judge described as half hearted, the fight
against corruption by its anti-graft agencies in Nigeria.

“He (the judge)
also stated that Nigeria, being a signatory to the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption, must live to the true tenets of such
agreement.

Before he passed
sentence, Judge Hardy said although he had carefully listened to the
plea for mercy by the defence and taken into account the mitigating
circumstances they outlined, he has to send a strong signal by way of a
punishment to serve as a deterrent to others.

According to Mr.
Ogundamisi, Judge Hardy also said the jury in the case believes
strongly that the two accused persons were in the full know how about
the fraudulent activities of Mr. Ibori. Mr. Hardy is also reported to
have said the real victims in this case are the Nigerian people and the
people of Delta State who have been deprived of a lot of amenities.

Background

In December 2009 ,
a Nigerian judge sitting in the Delta State, which Ibori ruled as
governor, dismissed a 170-count fraud case against him. He subsequently
fled Nigeria after the country’s anti -corruption body invited him for
questioning, following new allegations that he used Delta State
government funds for a personal business deal. Mr. Ibori was arrested
on May 12, in Dubai, on a U.K. warrant and remains there on bail.

Meanwhile, Mr.
Ibori is himself wanted in the United Kingdom to answer charges similar
to those that led to the conviction of the two women. He is, however,
still in Dubai awaiting the processing of his asylum request by the
United Arab Emirate. Meanwhile, security agencies including the London
Metropolitan Police, are hoping the claim will be rejected and Mr.
Ibori extradited to the United Kingdom. Nigeria does not have an
extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates so the authorities
here are hoping to piggy back on the United Kingdom to ensure Mr. Ibori
answers for the charges against him.

While fielding questions at a media parley organised to mark her
second anniversary in office, in Abuja, the EFCC boss, Farida Waziri,
said that the extradition process on Mr. Ibori is in progress and that
the agency is collaborating with the UK government. “There is no
extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates, but we have with the
UK. We have been talking and he is likely to be extradited to the UK,”
she said.

The governor of
Nigeria’s central bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has criticized the
Federal Government’s continued spending on reducing fuel cost, renewing
the call for the removal of a subsidy programme that has gulped
trillions of naira but has failed to reach ordinary people as intended.

Mr. Sanusi was
speaking on Monday at a meeting of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc
Committee on Nigeria’s local and foreign loans. He said he supports a
full stoppage of the “immoral” subsidy because its intent has been
diverted from the target masses to a “cabal of elite.”

“This subsidy is going to a small group of people. The greater Nigerian people are not benefitting from it.’’ Mr. Sanusi said.

According to him,
‘‘the subsidy is creating a pool of funds for a cabal. These are the
same people who borrow from banks and do not pay; the same people who
are rigging elections.”

Mr. Sanusi is the
latest in line of a number of government officials who have made it
clear they would like to see the removal of the oil subsidy but the
first such public declaration by a member of President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration.

Recent governments
have complained of channelling huge finances that could have helped
develop infrastructure, into minimizing domestic fuel cost, and have
proposed a deregulation programme which is severely opposed to by the
Labour union.

The CBN governor said the continued existence of the subsidy has significantly raised Nigeria’s debt profile.

According to Mr.
Sanusi, “last year, we spent over a trillion of which we are
borrowing,” he said. “Why should we be paying a N570 billion subsidy
that small elite are enjoying at the expense of the Nigerian people?”
he said.

The sort of
borrowing Mr. Sanusi referred to, internally and externally, including
those applied for other purposes, have soured to a peak figure, raising
federal debts to the highest level in four years. According to the
Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga, who also attended the event, the
country’s debt profile stood at $35.94 billion before the exit of
Nigeria from the Paris Club.

At the end of 2006,
the amount was $3.54 billion; by December 2007 it had risen briefly to
$3.67 and hovered at $3.72 at the end of 2008.In 2009, the figure stood
at $3.62 and has already clocked $4.3billion by ending of March 2010.

Mr. Aganga,
however, said the current debt level of the country was below the
international debt sustainability ceiling if it is compared to compared
to Nigeria’s peer countries. This is more so since over 85 percent of
the total debt was obtained from concessionary sources, and with a long
repayment period, he explained.

But the two officials both warned against a relapse into unbridled borrowing.

“The problem is not about borrowing but what the monies are being applied for,” Mr. Sanusi said.

“There’s a limit to
which you can cut down on expenditure; salaries have to be paid, roads,
hospitals and other infrastructures must be done. What we should focus
on is an increase in government revenue,” he added.

The Nigerian Guild
of Editors has urged Nigerians to support the federal government’s
post-amnesty programme so as to maintain stability in the Niger Delta
region.

The call was part
of a communiqué issued at the end of the guild’s sixth All Nigerian
Conference of Editors in Port Harcourt. Such support, the Guild said,
was necessary to prevent any resurgence of militancy in the oil-rich
Niger Delta.

The editors
acknowledged that the amnesty programme initiated by late president,
Umaru Yar’Adua, remains a positive development that has impacted on the
oil and gas industry, especially with the arrest of militancy in the
region. The editors also commended the incumbent president for the
sustenance of the programme and urged all editors to promote the
programme to forestall a possible resurgence of militancy which they
said almost took the nation to the brink of bankruptcy.

Diversify the economy

They also
commended Mr. Jonathan for signing the Local Content Bill into law and
for setting up the Local Content Monitoring Board. They urged the media
to publicise the provisions of the law and the activities of the board,
adding that the law provided opportunities for empowerment of Nigerians
in the oil and gas sector. Stressing the need for transparency,
accountability and probity in the allocation and utilisation of oil and
gas resources, the editors said they believe such attitude would
engender growth and development and eliminate restiveness in the
oil-rich Niger Delta region.

They, however,
criticised the over-dependence on oil and advised the government to
develop other sources of revenue such as solid minerals and
agriculture.

On the Freedom of Information Bill before the National Assembly, the
editors re-echoed their earlier demand for the passage of the bill to
allow people to hold the government accountable.

The bubble finally
burst on Wednesday last week. After a long time, Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and a member of the House,
Independence Ogunewe, came close to boxing each other openly that day.
But for the intervention of some members, perhaps, there would have
been bloodshed that day.

But let’s look at
the genesis of the enmity between Messrs Bankole and Ogunewe, a member
representing Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte federal constituency of Imo State
on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In October 2008,
the Speaker redeployed Mr Ogunewe from the Committee on Aviation to the
Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa as chairman. Bethel
Amadi, another Imo lawmaker from Imo State who had been the Chief Whip
during Patricia Etteh’s tenure as Speaker, was named chairman of the
Aviation Committee. The redeployment angered Mr Ogunewe for two reasons.

First, he
identified with the Integrity Group, a pressure group in the House,
which played a prominent role in installing Mr Bankole as Speaker the
previous year.

In fact, in one of
the rowdy sessions that preceded the forced resignation of Mrs Etteh,
Mr Ogunewe almost went violent in the quest to oust the former Speaker.

Second, Mr
Ogunewe’s Aviation Committee top seat was given to Mr Amadi with whom
he had formed some form of alliance to fight Emeka Ihedioha, who had
then become the Chief Whip of the House. Mr Ogunewe had reportedly eyed
the position too, but lost to Mr Ihedioha, a fellow Mbaise man.

To break Mr
Ogunewe’s back, Mr Ihedioha reportedly used his influence with the
leadership to send Mr Ogunewe to the Committee on Cooperation and
Integration, perceived as a less influential committee, and gave Mr
Amadi the Aviation Committee to chair. Thus, Mr Amadi automatically
ceased to be Mr Ogunewe’s ally.

The result was that
Mr Ogunewe went to war against the leadership, not just Mr Ihedioha.
Indeed, he allegedly hired some people who went to town claiming that
Mr Ihedioha was not an Mbaise man.

In 2009, Mr Ogunewe
and a handful of others spearheaded the campaign for a probe of the
N2.3 billion car scandal, apparently with the hope of nailing the
leadership of the House who allegedly padded the cost of the 308
vehicles. The struggle had a short life span after the leadership was
cleared by the Ethics and Privileges Committee. But though many of the
members of the group were sacked as committee chairmen, he seemed to be
the arrowhead of the group. Even when the group fizzled out, he
continued to fight.

At the plenary
session on February 26, 2009, he was suspended for two weeks, sacked as
chairman of the Committee on Cooperation and Integration and stripped
of his membership of other committees. Since then, there has been no
love lost between himself and Mr Bankole.

Blames all round

There have been
fitful attempts at reconciliation, but promises by the Speaker to
restore him to his chairmanship position were never kept. However,
unconfirmed report say the Speaker assisted him in some other ways,
especially in the area of trips. Mr Bankole also visited him at home
but met only his wife.

But for a man who has no other work to do at the assembly except to sit in plenary, it was something too hard to swallow.

Sources say after
the two-hour meeting the Speaker had with committee chairmen and
deputies that Wednesday, Mr Ogunewe got wind of the plan by the Speaker
to name new committee chairmen and he was not considered for any of the
posts.

That, perhaps, was the reason he asked the Speaker, “is that all?” during the brawl with the Speaker.

Mr Ogunewe’s
frustration clearly drove him to do what is not honourable – harassing
the Speaker in public. Although parliaments are not immune from rows,
he did not show respect for that exalted office of the Speaker.
Besides, he was not conscious of the fact that he is the elder. At
nearly 50, Mr Ogunewe should have maintained some decorum in his
behaviour.

The Speaker has
some share of the blame too. He did not act maturely. Mr Bankole almost
confirmed that he was ‘a mad man’ by pushing to physically attack Mr
Ogunewe. Can two people be mad at the same time? Couldn’t Mr Bankole
have exercised restrain, and deal with the matter later? Does he not
have all the official powers to tame Mr Ogunewe?

Some form of
respect is expected of leaders. Mr Bankole did not behave as one. No
matter the extent of confrontation by his subjects, a leader must act
like one.

Patience is one of the greatest attributes of a leader and he is judged by it, among other things.

Now, Mr Ogunewe reportedly apologized to the Speaker during the
executive session later that day for embarrassing him. The scar of a
sore does not disappear easily even long after it has healed. The
matter is now before the State Security Services. The security
operatives grilled Mr Ogunewe for hours last week. Isn’t that a bad
image for the House, whose public perception is lamentable? Nobody can
tell really how this matter will end. It is almost certain that other
things will follow.

The leadership of
the House of Representatives might have stalled further legislative
action on the report of the committee which indicted an oil firm, Total
Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) in a $43 million contract for the
purchase of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).

This indication
emerged at the weekend following complaints by TILONE Nigeria Ltd,
which petitioned the House on the alleged breach of contract by the oil
giant.

The contract for
four Remotely Operated Vehicles Services for the Akpo Field Development
Project on Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 was initially awarded to TILONE
Nigeria Limited but was later given to TUPNI.

The House Committee
on Public Procurement subsequently investigated the matter and laid its
report on December 17, 2009. However, since then the report has not
been considered.

The committee said
in the report that the management of TUPNI deliberately and willfully,
and against best business practices, disregarded the rules and
regulations governing the award of contract for the project.

It also said the
award of the contract contravenes the Public Procurement Act and local
content policy in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

The report also
indicted TUPNI on the falsification of the bid figures submitted by
TILONE and recommended that anti-graft bodies should further
investigate the matter and prosecute culprits.

It was gathered
that the petitioner recently sent representatives to the House to find
out why the report was yet to be listed for consideration in plenary
six months after it was ready.

Talk of blackmail

When contacted, the
chairman of the Public Procurement Committee, Yusuf Tuggar, said it was
only his Rules and Business Committee counterpart, Ita Enang that could
give reasons for the delay.

“You should ask Ita
Enang that question,” Mr. Tuggar said, adding “The issue is out of our
hands. We have presented the report, the House has accepted it. The
next thing is the consideration of the report; So it is now completely
out of our hands. Every standing committee in this House has its own
functions and we cannot overstep our boundary.”

Mr. Enang, in his
response, said the failure to list the matter is not deliberate, noting
that it is always upstaged by other more important matters. Some of
them, according to him include the budget and the recently concluded
constitution review.

He described as “blackmail” insinuations that TUPNI had approached the leadership to abort the deliberation of the report.

Technology driven
ventures in Nigeria are not properly managed and this has led to the
short lifespan of those organizations, the minister of science and
technology, Mohammed Abubakar, has said.

Mr Abubakar said
since no nation can develop beyond the level it is able to sustain
continuous and purposeful development of science and technology
innovation, there is the need to build critical mass to manage
technology related activities in the country. To bridge this critical
gap, the federal government, through the National Centre for Technology
management (NACETEM), has undertaken to train interested Nigerians in
technology management at post graduate level.

“The challenges are
basically that of sustainable development of science, technology and
innovation, the infrastructure that will support the activities and an
industrial sector that will translate these activities into
exchangeable goods and services,” Mr Abubakar said, at the orientation
ceremony for NACETEM Postgraduate Diploma students in Abuja.

Mr Abubakar, who
was represented by Ochapa Ogenyi, director of Planning, Research and
Policy Analysis in the ministry also said it is not enough to produce
scientists and engineers, the nation must produce experts in turning
science and technology into wealth creating activities at personal and
industrial level.

Willie Siyanbola,
director general of NACETEM, explained that poor management of
technologies in Nigeria has led to loss of assets and jobs and
establishments that depended heavily on technology have often collapsed.

“When you look at
all the various projects of government, especially those that are
technologically driven, for example the Ajaokuta Iron Ore complex, the
various petrochemical projects, our refineries, even the service
industries that are technologically driven like the Nigerian Airways,
the management of such needed to be learnt. We need to train people on
how to manage technology driven ventures,” he said, adding that the
challenge has always been lack of capacity.

Use the knowledge

He said although it
is good to have knowledge of science, but it is infinitely better when
people know how to deploy such knowledge to support government’s
aspiration in the area of development.

About 100 students registered for the post graduate course.

Olumuyiwa Olamade,
director, NACETEM North Central office, said creating a critical mass
of people skilled at initiating and managing change for sustainable
delopment is a step in the right direction.

“We are convinced that the change we seek to create in every office
and on every table in our establishments is exactly the change that
must be sustained to create Nigeria’s equivalent of General Electric,
Toyota or Microsft and to achive Vision 20:2020, the MDGs and other
development agenda of the government,” he said.

Ten senior officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos Command, have been retired.

The retirees, who
consist of officers that have been in the service for 35 years, or have
reached the 60 years maximum retirement age duration in the customs
service, ranged from the rank of Assistant Comptroller (AC), Chief
Superintendent of Customs (CSC), Superintendent of Customs (SC), Deputy
Chief Inspector of Customs (DCIC), Assistant Inspector of Customs
(AIC), Principle Inspector of Custom (PIC), and Customs Assistant 11
(C/A11).

Adedeji Michael,
MMA comptroller of the service, during the send forth ceremony of the
retirees at the weekend, commended the officers for their dedication
during their years of service to the nation, adding that the command
will miss them. He also advised the officers not to lavish their
retirement entitlements, and urged them to invest their benefits in
order to get returns.

“The most important
thing when an officer is in service is for him or her not to loose
focus on what will be their future especially after leaving the
service, because whatever we do today will surely tell on us tomorrow,”
he said. “I want to urge our retiring colleagues to make sure that they
continue to use their time judiciously, they must shun bad companies
and register it in their mind that the retirement does not mean to tie
wrappers in the morning or active hours of the day. They should ensure
that they get good business minded people to advise them on investment
ideals.”

The retirees
include Akinferfon J. (AC), Nnamani N. (AC), Akintunde T. (SCS), Mkpong
P. (SC), Ashiekaa D. (DCIC), and Akinbi P. (DCIC). Others are Oni O.
(ACIC), Akhalumenyo I. (PIC), Adeshida C. (PIC), and Wuzor J.
(enforcement unit).

Mr. Nnamani, who
spoke on behalf of the retirees, disclosed that the serving officers
should not relent on their effort in the service, adding that they
should plan for retirement while serving.

“This will not make the retirement period come to them unawares or unprepared,” he said.

This week’s deadly Israeli attack on an activist flotilla in the Mediterranean seems to have left the White House adrift.

World leaders were
quick to condemn the Israeli sea assault Monday that took the lives of
nine people on an aid flotilla to Gaza. President Barack Obama wasn’t
one of them. He spoke with the prime ministers of Israel and Turkey,
but said nothing beyond those private conversations. Officially his
administration urged Israel to release the hundreds of activists it
captured and investigate the incident, but Washington didn’t criticize
anyone.

“Turkey and Israel
are both good friends to us,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
“and we are working with both to deal with the aftermath with this
tragic incident.”

Some Republicans
were quicker to choose sides. “The Israelis have been very clear about
sustaining a blockade of Gaza, and they have every right to sustain a
blockade of Gaza,” Newt Gingrich, a senior figure in the Republican
Party, told Politico.Com. “Hamas is actively every day trying to kill
Israelis, and as a matter of international law, Turkey should not have
allowed that flotilla to go down there.”

Last month’s BP
oil-well disaster hasn’t been fixed and oil continues to soil the
southern U.S. coast. Both it and the Israeli attack have one thing in
common: they’ve forced the Obama administration to navigate its way
through someone else’s mishap.

Many Americans have
complained that the president seemed too passive in the days after the
oil disaster, leaving BP to address the emergency. Some people outside
the U.S. complained that the administration has been nearly absent from
the debate over Israel’s attack, leaving others to manage that crisis
too.

“I have to be frank: I am not very happy,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. “We expect a clear condemnation.”

The United States
wants to encourage oil companies to supply it with ample, inexpensive
energy and, at the same time, it wants to safeguard the environment.
The United States wants to be Israel’s protector and, at the same time,
it wants to calm tensions and improve its standing in the Muslim world.

It can be difficult to head in such different directions. After the
two mishaps at sea, the White House has appeared to its critics and
even some of its friends, to be just treading water.