Background: Significant that Pres. Obama Accepted Terms of References of Terkel Commission

Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
14 June '10

Let's look at the 13 June Statement by the White House Press Secretary on Israel's investigation into the flotilla:
http://thepage.time.com/gibbs-statement-on-israels-gaza-flotilla-probe/

#1. Defines the parameters of the investigation required: "Through a presidential statement of the United Nations Security Council, the United States joined the international community. supporting the completion of a prompt, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation."

So the parameters are:

(a) prompt,

(b) impartial

(c) credible

(d) and transparent investigation

#2. Confirms that the Israeli commission meets those parameters: "the structure and terms of reference of Israel's proposed independent public commission can meet the standard of a prompt, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation."

That's:

(a) prompt

(b) impartial

(c) credible

(d) transparent investigation

Now let's look at the "terms of reference" that President Obama accepted from the resolution appointing the Terkel Commission:
www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/Spokesman/2010/06/spokemashat130610.htm

"4. The Commission will submit its conclusions on the question of whether the actions set out in paragraph 1 and their objectives, as well as additional matters involved therein, were in conformity with the rules of international law.

For this purpose, the Commission will address the following issues:

a) Examination of the security circumstances surrounding the imposition of the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip and the conformity of the naval blockade with the rules of international law.

b) The conformity of the actions taken by Israel to enforce the naval blockade in the incident of 31 May 2010 with the rules of international law.

c) Examination of the actions taken by the organizers of the flotilla and its participants, as well as their identity.

5. In addition, the Commission will examine the question of whether the mechanism for examining and investigating complaints and claims raised in relation to violations of the laws of armed conflict, as conducted in Israel generally, and as implemented with regard to the present incident, conform with the obligations of the State of Israel under the rules of international law."

The "terms of reference" that President Obama accepted limit the investigation to the legality of Israel's actions - not if anyone screwed up. In fact, the only group being investigated in an open ended fashion are the organizers of the flotilla.

The only instance that the Terkel Commission could arrive at conclusions that would reflect on any of the Israeli actors (e.g. DM Barak) would be if they concluded that they acted in violation of international law.

To conclude, while the remark by White House Press Secretary Gibbs that "we will not prejudge the process or its outcome, and will await the conduct and findings of the investigation before drawing further conclusions" does leave open the possibility that there will be problems with President Obama on this matter, his acceptance of Israel's "terms of reference" represents a significant limitation on future criticism of the Terkel Commission.

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