Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's Relief Boat Rammed by Israeli Ship

Why Cynthia McKinney decided to go on a mercy mission to the Gaza Strip is beyond me. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a boat carrying international peace activists, including Ms. McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.

The boat, according to media reports, wanted to make a statement and deliver medical supplies to embattled Gaza. The trip’s organizers said the boat was clearly in international waters, 90 miles off the coast of Gaza, at the time of its close encounter with the Israeli navy.

“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, denied there had been any shooting although the two ships had made “physical contact.” Palmor said there was no response to a radio warning to the Dignity, and the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat, leading to the collision. Cyprus state radio said the Cypriot government would seek explanations from Israel over the incident.

McKinney called on President-elect Obama to address the Gaza crisis, saying the weapons being used by Israel were supplied by the United States. McKinney denied that the incident was an accident. “What the Israelis are saying is outright disinformation,” she said. “What happened to us last night was a direct threat to our mission, but not our cause.” Palmor called those allegations “absurd.” “There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram anybody,” Palmor said. Source: AJC

Cynthia McKinney had me up until this point. She is calling on Barack Obama to intervene. Really Cynthia? News flash, he isn't the president yet and there is really nothing he can do about this mess. It will be on his brunch plate first thing January 20, 2009, after he is sworn in.

McKinney, who ran as the Green Party candidate for president, sees the voyage as a humanitarian mission, said her father, former Georgia state Rep. Billy McKinney. “Her mother did not want her to go,” he said, referring to concerns at home for her safety. “But I think that certain people have missions in life and you can’t deter them.”

The activists, organized by the Free Gaza Group, said their 66-foot yacht called “SS Dignity” would defy an Israeli blockade of Gaza and ferry 16 activists and three tons of Cypriot-donated supplies. The supplies are intended to help treat the wounded from Israeli bombings against targets in Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns. McKinney had sent an e-mail days ago to friends and supporters saying she intended to go to Gaza, said Hugh Esco, a Decatur resident who ran her presidential campaign Web site. “She has stood with people all over this planet against oppression,” said Esco. Source: AJC

Personally, I don't think she should have gone, given the volatile situation. I hope this wasn't a self-serving move on her part, but a geniune humanitarian effort. If the allegations are true, then the Israelis have played a dirty hand. On the other hand, Cynthia McKinney is no stranger to controversy--pandering for money from Saudi prince after 9/11 when Rudy Giuliani said no, to slapping a Capitol police man, plus the myriad of ridiculous antics in Atlanta--I take her actions with a grain of salt. Did she expect to descend on the Gaza Strip like Moses parting the Red Sea?