Jonathan Steele is full of praise for Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy and attributes it to the candidate having spent part of his childhood in Indonesia. witnessing at close quarters 'the cynical face of the US empire'. But he makes an exception in the case of Obama's declared support for Israel, as demonstrated in his condemnation of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's view 'that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam'.
It's odd. Steele cites Obama's positions on Iraq and Iran as evidence of his independent judgement, but on Israel he regards him as having 'chosen to made large-scale compromises' and as the passive victim of the 'pro-Israel lobby'. Steele can't accept that Obama's position on all of these issues might result from the same progressive political instincts and values. While he claims to be excited about the prospect of 'a black person in the Oval Office,' Steele will only really be happy if that person falls in line with the tired agendas of the 'anti-imperialist' Left.
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