Israel's legitimate self-defense in the flotilla attack, in which she killed nine violent "activists," was enough of a pretext for demonizing her and putting pressure on her. On May 31, after news of the deaths surfaced, Obama was a bit more restrained in his condemnation of Israel than his European allies and called for all the "facts and circumstances." Had he been genuine in this, he would have, after the videos of the attack on the IDF went viral the next day, totally sided with Israel and nipped the demonization in the bud, but he didn't. He had an agenda, and he wanted to use this crisis to announce that the blockade was "unsustainable." He allowed the pressure to mount so he could achieve his ends. Shelby Steele argues most convincingly that "the end game of this isolation effort is the nullification of Israel's legitimacy as a nation." He attributes this scapegoating of Israel to a "deficit of moral authority" in the West. While that is sadly true, it ignores the fact that realpolitik, which has taken hold of the Obama administration, dictates a similar result. Yet I would argue that the pursuit of self-interest by the U.S. is assured greater success with Israel as a strong ally rather than without her. This is not to say that Israel should cease its PR efforts. She shouldn't. She should continue to provide her friends with the truth so that they maintain their friendship, lest they be infected as well. Notwithstanding all