In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday afternoon for more than two hours, rearranging her schedule.

Then President Barack Obama’s National Security Adviser, Gen. James Jones, visited him at his hotel before the president called Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to express his “deep condolences” for the death of Turkish citizens.

Davutoglu called on US to take a tougher stance of Israel, telling reporters: “It should not be a choice between Turkey and Israel, but between what is right and wrong, what is legal and illegal.”

Clinton, carefully avoided calling for an end to the blockage, said she wants the US wants to see humanitarian goods reach Gaza on a regular basis.

“The situation in Gaza is unsustainable and unacceptable. Israel's legitimate security needs must be met, just as the Palestinians legitimate need for sustained humanitarian assistance, and regular access for reconstruction materials must also be assured,” she said.

One of the passengers onboard one of the ships in the flotilla is Edward Peck, a former ambassador to the US.  

“As you may know, we were well off the coast, we were in international waters,” he told reporters Wednesday, adding they were unsure of what Israel would do.  

“People were there from 30 countries,” said Amb. Peck.  “This was a European effort and they decided it would be good to have the participation of some Americans [on board].  They contacted me, for reasons which are not entirely clear, but I accepted as it gave me an opportunity to do more than talk and listen, which I’ve been doing for the last 25 years.”  Asked about Israel’s defense that the organizers had links to Hamas and links to Al-Qaeda, Amb. Peck said:  “I would be very surprised if they didn’t make that charge. Even if they had a boat load of clergy, that’s what they have to say to defend and explain what they’ve done.

“As for any links to Hamas, that may be the case, but it had nothing to do with the cause, as it was a humanitarian aid mission,” said Amb. Peck.  “Our hope was that the Israelis come to conclusion to avoid what they chose to do.”

Asked about his role in this as a former US diplomat, Amb Peck said:  Nobody wants anything bad to happen to Israel, and I’m certainly in that category.    But I fear that bad things are going to happen if they keep doing what they’re doing.  Bad things are going to happen not only in Israel, but also to Palestinians and Americans.

Meanwhile American newspaper editorials, especially those long viewed as being pro-Israel, have weighed in on the attack, with surprising opinions.

The New York Times lead editorial on Wednesday slammed the current Israeli government:

“There can be no excuse of the way that Israel completely mishandled the incident that left nine activists dead and has opened Israel to a torrent of criticism.

This is a grievous, self-inflicted wound. It has damaged Israel’s ties with Turkey, once its closest ally in the Muslim world; given the Hamas-led government in Gaza a huge propaganda boost; and complicate peace talks with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank,” said the Times.

“It also has made it much tougher for the Obama administration to persuade the United Nations Security Council to put new sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program – which Israel insists is their top priority.

The NYT’s then criticized Obama’s response to the attack:

“…On Tuesday, President Obama expressed his ‘deep regret’ over the flotilla incident.  He is doing Israel no favor with such a tepid response.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown time and again that he prefers bullying and confrontation over diplomacy.  Washington needs to make clear to him just how dangerous and counterproductive that approach is.

“Mr. Obama needs to state clearly that the Israeli attack was unacceptable and back an impartial international investigation.

Additionally, it published a New York Times’ “Letter to the Editor.”

“When I was 13 years old, in 1948, I won awards for collecting donations for the new state of Israel.  Well, I’ve had it with Israel, and I want my money back.  – Judith R., Berkeley, Ca.”

The Washington Post also had harsh words for Tel Aviv.   Editorialist David Ignatius wrote:  “Governments make mistakes.  But if they’re smart, they learn from them.  If the Israeli government is sensible, it will use the uproar provoked by its attack on a flotilla of relief ships to rethink its policies for Gaza and the region.”

President Barack Obama also took flak from Jackson Diehl, who editorialized in the Post:  “If the Obama administration had been skillful in managing its relationship with the difficult Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, it would have some room to maneuver in responding to Israel’s disastrous attack on the Free Gaza flotilla….. But Obama has not handled Netanyahu well.”