Federal officials have developed a sophisticated knack for dodging questions they don’t want to answer. And the State Department is in no way different. The State Department’s response to the Israeli intention of building a barrier along the Egyptian border was quite simple. It read:
“Israel has a right to defend itself and to monitor and protect its borders. Israel is solely responsible for security and law enforcement on the Israeli side of the border.”
The statement effectively condones the border wall but doesn’t delve into any of the concerns expressed about the barrier.
And, in yesterday’s State Department Briefing, Acting Deputy Department Spokesman Gordon Duguid does it brilliantly. He obfuscates the administration’s position on the barrier and instead focuses on other aspects of the conflict. The exchange went like this:
QUESTION: I was just wondering your position on the wall being built along the Rafah border in Egypt.
MR. DUGUID: We have seen that Egypt is carrying out activities which will help stop weapons smuggling into Gaza. We believe that weapons smuggling should stop, and that measures taken to stop that weapons smuggling should be – could be carried out, yes.
QUESTION: Well, aside from the weapons going through those tunnels, there’s also humanitarian aid that does and medicine and food going through.
MR. DUGUID: We also support greater access for humanitarian supplies to get into Gaza. There are established channels for that, and those established channels should not be hindered by Hamas or any party in Gaza. We do support the humanitarian supplies flowing into Gaza.
QUESTION: So you’d like to see the Egyptians open the Rafah border for humanitarian aid, then, which they haven’t done.
MR. DUGUID: What we’d like to see is for Hamas to stop using the border crossings as methods for smuggling in weapons and let’s get the weapons smuggling stopped, but at the same time look for ways that we can improve the lives of ordinary Gazans through the supply of humanitarian aid.
QUESTION: If I could just follow up, mainly on the political scope of what – of the wall. It’s creating a political rift inside Egypt’s parliament as well as with the upcoming elections, and they view this wall being built as a possible hindrance to Egypt acting as an honest broker through the peace process. Is that of concern to you that the –
MR. DUGUID: I will – we will continue to work with Egypt as one of the parties that has much influence in the region and has been working to try and get the parties back to the negotiating table. That is our concern right now. We want to see the parties return to the negotiating table to start talking about the issues that will lead to a settlement or that can build the confidence to lead to a settlement. For reactions or divisions within Egypt, I refer to you to the Government of Egypt for that.
QUESTION: But Hamas and the majority of the Egyptian parliament, they believe that this wall will be a huge problem for the peace process and it will hinder negotiations. So, having said that, do you support this wall being built, even though it’s –
MR. DUGUID: I think I’ve given you our position that we need to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza, and this wall is being built as – in that effort.
