Perhaps one of the toughest jobs imaginable is being a White House spokesperson, especially in the Bush administration. After all, the self discipline required to maintain a straight face while remarking that the US is deeply disturbed at the increasing rate of Palestinian civilian casualties at the same time that the US prepares a four billion dollar military aid package to Israel is nothing short of astonishing.

US tax dollars, in the form of US military aid to Israel, are being used to fund Israel's oppressive policies and sustain their illegal occupation of Palestinian land as well as providing means for Israel to continue violating the human rights of Palestinians. Moreover, this is in clear violation of the US Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the President from furnishing military aid or selling weapons to any country that consistently violates internationally recognized human rights standards. Yet, after every Israeli vicious killing of Palestinian civilians, White House spokespersons, hiding behind their podium, express their deep concern for the loss of innocent lives.

While White House spokespersons spoke of US pressure on Israel to release frozen PNA funds needed to alleviate the humanitarian disaster in the occupied territories, the administration was busy preparing an economic aid package worth $10 billion to help the Israeli economy, including $600 million in civilian aid for 2003. Of course, White House spokespersons issued their deep concern over the starving Palestinian population, though never condemned Israel for blowing up a food warehouse that belonged to the U.N.-affiliated World Food Program and contained enough flour, cooking oil and rice stored on its ground floor to feed 38,000 people for a month.

As White House spokespeople insisted that the US did not want Israel involved in its actions against Iraq, fearing for Israel's "security", but also not wishing to inflame Arab countries, the US military has been busy training under the supervision and expertise of the Israeli military in urban warfare. The Israelis have built two mock cities, in classified locations that far surpass US facilities as part of this training operation. Moreover, Israel has been conducting clandestine surveillance missions in the western Iraqi desert and allowing the US to place combat supplies in Israel, according to US Defense and intelligence officials.

US spokespersons have to stand before the world and state that final borders will be decided through negotiations between the parties, while they and their administration simultaneously support Israel's "security" fence, which effectively sets up a de facto border and allows Israel to expropriate more Palestinian lands. But perhaps the toughest time for the Bush administration spokespersons comes when they maintain that Sharon is a man of peace committed to helping the US in its 'Road Map,' while Sharon's own party continues to refuse even the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.

Do these spokespeople ever wonder, like the rest of us, what exactly is going on?