and an S, and an R,A,E and L
Whaddya got? You got the Israel 2009 pep rally, more formally known as the “AIPAC Policy Conference: The pro-Israel community’s preeminent annual gathering, with world leaders and activists, Policy Conference 2009, May 3-5, Washington, D.C.”
AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee calls itself America’s Pro-Israel Lobby. The annual Israel pep rally is unique. There is no other country that has a promotional pep rally like this. Imagine, Israel is only about the size of New Jersey, with a million less people than New Jersey, and yet the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has such clout. I’m guessing that there’s money involved. Lots of money.
The 2009 Israel Pep Rally promises to a blockbuster. If it’s anything like previous years it’ll feature 7,000 people, paying $499 each, including half the US Senate and many House members. It’ll be followed by 500 meetings with lawmakers in furtherance of policies and programs friendly to Israel.
To get a real feeling of the content and energy level, view the video here.
Talk about clout — we all remember the 2008 rally with its stellar lineup: Clinton, McCain, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and Rice.
The big news from that pep rally was not the speakers — particularly Obama, Clinton, Pelosi and Reid — praising Israel to the hills and dumping on Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, and of course keeping the threat of military action on the table, those were expected. Obama and Clinton, in particular, not only provided the required fulsome praise for Israel but also, after being in a tough campaign, praised each other. Their mutual love for Israel apparently healed all the campaign wounds.
Obama, after dissing Clinton in the nominating campaign for bad judgment on Iraq and a lack of foreign policy experience (shared with Obama):
- I want to publicly acknowledge Hillary Clinton for the outstanding race that she has run. She is a true friend of Israel; she is a great senator from New York; she is an extraordinary leader of the Democratic Party and she has made history alongside me over the last 16 months, so I’m very proud to have competed against her.
Clinton, after stressing Obama’s lack of experience, but now realizing she would not have a chance at the presidency but possiblty would get some other top job:
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I know–I know Senator Obama understands what is at stake here; it has been an honor to contest these Primaries with him. It is an honor to call him my friend and let me be very clear. I know that Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel. I know that Senator Obama shares my view that the next President must be ready to say to the world, America’s position is unchanging; our resolve unyielding; our stance non-negotiable. The United States stands with Israel now and forever.
Two political candidates who had had been (politically) ripping each others’ throats out for six months were brought together in a (political) embrace by a common love for Israel, pledging their mutual (political) troth. The 2008 rally covered all the big Israeli issues, including Gaza and Iran, and this year will be no different. Palestine and Iran top the list.
The speakers lineup for the upcoming 2009 Israel pep rally is not so stellar. This year AIPAC will hear from Senators Durbin, Kyl and Kerry, Representatives Hoyer and Cantor, LA mayor Villaraigosa, Robert Satloff, as well as James Woolsey and Newt Gingrich.
That was the speakers’ list in early April. In late April two more names were added: Maj. Gen. Ido Nechustan, commander of the Israeli Air Force, and Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA).
How interesting. It’s quite unusual to have a military speaker at the pep rally. General Nechustan (or Nehushtan) was appointed Commander of the Israel Air Force in February 2008. The next month he published: “How Will the IDF Confront Regional Threats? – A Strategic Overview.” extracts:
The three primary generators of Middle East radicalism and extremism are Iran’s “Shia Crescent,” the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Global Jihad. Having a nuclear weapon promotes its owner to membership in a top-tier club in the world and allows the possessor to promote its interests more easily. Iran is Persian, ideologically and historically different from the Arab world. Yet if Iran gets its hands on nuclear weapons in the future, the threatened pro-Western regimes of the Arab world may decide to join it and not fight it.
Iran’s nuclearization process is bringing a new dimension to the conflict. The process by itself is increasing regional fears. Having a nuclear weapon promotes its owner to membership in a top-tier club in the world. Having nuclear weapons is the ultimate insurance policy, and allows the possessor to promote its interests and negative policies (i.e., support of terror) more easily. This is the process we see now with Iran and that is why it’s so important to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon.
So General Nechustan sees no danger in nuclear weapons themselves, but rather in their ability to national interests.
Congresswoman Harman, the other name recently added to the agenda, was recently outraged to learn from reports leaked to the media over the last several days that the FBI or NSA secretly wiretapped her conversations in 2005 or 2006 while she was Ranking Member on the House Intelligence Committee. Harman’s views on Iran have changed over the past several years. In 2006 the view was hazy:
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I continue to believe that our sources are stale and our case is thin on the weapons programs and internal politics of Iran, Ms. Harman of California, said.
In 2007 it improved:
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it [the NIE] very clearly states the case, which is pretty persuasive as you read it, that Iran stopped its development of nuclear weapons in 2003 and at least at present has no intention to resume the development of nuclear weapons. . .It’s hard to penetrate Iran; a fair criticism which I am making is our government makes it harder because we don’t talk to Iran.
And in 2008 Harman saw more clearly, if not truthfully:
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the dangers posed by unsupervised, weapons-grade material in the hands of a regime that has threatened to “wipe Israel off the map” [all untrue] are unacceptable . . .Iran’s unsupervised [untrue] nuclear program poses an existential threat to Israel and possibly other nations.
An interesting nugget came out of a PBS interview of Harman on April 21, 2009.
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I just came back from a second trip to Israel in this calendar year.
It’s interesting because there is no report on Harman’s official website on why a Congresswoman on the House Homeland Security Committee (Pelosi had removed Harman from Intelligence) found it necessary to visit Israel twice in less than four months. Perhaps the facts that Harman has become more hawkish on Iran and is Jewish have something to do with it? Or did it fit in with the addition of Harman’s name to the rally agenda as an AIPAC ploy to force the administration’s hand on the charges against Harman (I like that one)?
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UPDATE: Israeli President Shimon Peres is confirmed for the 2009 AIPAC Policy Conference. In addition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak to conference delegates via satellite.
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The speaker that is most important on this list is Senator Kerry because, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his words will no doubt reflect the Obama/Clinton positions. Before we conjecture as to what Kerry might say, let’s quickly look at what the other speakers have said about Israe’s concerns.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL):
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Comprehensive legislation aimed at discouraging Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons was recently introduced on both the U.S. House and Senate floors, and now the bill’s proponents, including lead sponsor U. S. Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, are asking for support from their fellow congressmen. . .The best way to deal with Iran is to aggressively pursue sanctions regimes such as the proposed legislation and not to fight through military action, Durbin said. “If any president of the U.S., be it this one or any president in the future, suggested military invasions or military operations involving Iran, I don’t think the American population would support it,” he said, noting that the current situation in Iraq has “poisoned the wells.” . .”I would have thought this time that the Israelis would have gone into Lebanon hard enough to destroy Hezbollah.”
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“The Israeli people, of course, have been the victims of the terrorist attacks by these Hamas rockets, which are now capable of longer ranges and more damage and bloodshed, and the Israelis want to bring an end to this. When they left the Gaza strip, it was to try to bring peace to this area, return it to the hands of the Palestinians. And sadly, the Palestinian people have been victimized by incompetent and corrupt leadership, and at this point in time, I think the Israelis have said we have to put an end to these attacks from Gaza into Israel.”
Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ):
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“I have long believed that the American-Israeli strategic relationship is very important to both countries and that Israel is a beacon of democracy and tolerance in a troubled region. I am proud of my long record of working with Israel and my role as co-chairman of the U.S.-Israel Joint Parliamentary Committee on National Security, a group consisting of members of Congress and the Knesset that continues to meet and explore ways our two legislatures can work together to advance our common security interests. . .I have always tried to hold a comprehensive view of extremism that includes terrorist groups and their state sponsors, as well. It is not just Hamas and other Islamist terrorist groups, then, but also their sponsors—Iran and Syria—that the U.S. and our allies must confront. . .The most serious threat is Iran, with the lesser threat from Syria.”
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD):
- “Today this House stands united in support of Israel as it faces enemies bent on its destruction. For eight years, Hamas, aided by Iran and others, has sent deadly rockets and mortars into Israel. In 2005, Israel dismantled its settlements and withdrew its military from Gaza—and still the rockets came, more than 6,000 since Israel’s withdrawal. Each one of them—intended to kill the maximum number of civilians, and falling indiscriminately on southern Israel’s cities and towns—was a war crime, by definition. Their harm is undeniable, and I have seen it firsthand; when I travelled to the southern Israeli town of Sderot, I met families whose children had lost the ability to speak, who no longer had control of their bodily functions. That is the profound and ever-present fear that covers much of Israel today.
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Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable, new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told The Jerusalem Post hours after entering the party leadership position. The Maryland Democrat said the view is shared by his party, rejecting assertions that the Democrats would be weaker than the Republicans on Iran. He also said that the use of force against Teheran remained an option.
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), (from an article co-authored with Steny Hoyer):
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During this difficult war in the Gaza Strip, we stand with Israel. Why? Because we have been to Israel. We have seen Sderot. . .Like most Americans, we identify strongly with Israel’s ongoing, elusive quest to achieve peace and security in a dangerous part of the world. We recognize that by arming and training Hamas, Iran has made this latest Israel-Hamas war a key front in its effort to remake the region in its own radical image.
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A stalwart conservative who happens to be the only Jewish Republican in the House of Representatives, Mr. Cantor, a fourth-term Congressman, represents Virginia’s seventh district, a mixture of state capital and western Virginia conservatism. His views on Israel and its struggle against Palestinian terror are among the most hawkish in Congress. He has sponsored legislation that would cut off all US taxpayer aid to the PA until they put a halt to unauthorized excavations on the Temple Mount.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently added his voice in support of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
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In a statement, Villaraigosa said “every country has a right to defend itself against attacks from a foreign enemy. Every nation is obligated to beat back forces dedicated to its destruction. And Israel cannot sit silently while innocent civilians are attacked.”
Los Angeles Muslim leaders have been deeply disappointed with the Mayor’s stand on Gaza, but what have their financial contributions anounted to? Villaraigosa has made the obligatory visit to Sderotand has also adorned the LA City Hall with an exhibition of drawings by Israeli children from that Israeli city.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is focusing on Iran:
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The Israeli people are facing the threat of a nuclear Holocaust, former US Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich warned the Herzliya Conference held by the Institute for Policy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya on Tuesday afternoon. . .”Israel is in the greatest danger it has been in since 1967. Prior to ’67, many wondered if Israel would survive. After ’67, Israel seemed military dominant, despite the ’73 war. I would say we are (now) back to question of survival,” Gingrich said. . . “Three nuclear weapons are a second Holocaust,” Gingrich declared, adding: “People are greatly underestimating how dangerous the world is becoming. I’ll repeat it, three nuclear weapons are a second Holocaust. Our enemies are quite explicit in their desire to destroy us. They say it publicly? We are sleepwalking through this process as though it’s only a problem of communication,” Gingrich said.
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“I oppose a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities because I think it is inadequate. I am for achieving more than a military strike, not less than one. Our goal has to be to replace the current dictatorship. We should begin with a Reaganite strategy of helping organize every dissident group in Iran, dramatically expanding our information campaign into the country, applying diplomatic and economic pressure, but we cannot stop there. We certainly have to be prepared to use military force if necessary but only if these earlier efforts fail.”
James Woolsey, a former CIA director, will also be a speaker at the rally.
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from an article by John Taylor: James Woolsey. . . “If you don’t think Iran is interested in nuclear weapons … I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d be happy to offer you. Of course it’s a nuclear weapons program.” . . Not satisfied with the overthrow of the Iraqi regime, Woolsey has argued vehemently that Syria, Iran, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, and even the U.S.-allied military dictatorship in Egypt all represent major threats to the United States. . . As part of his argument for radical and violent change, Woolsey asserts that the hostility of many Arab and Muslim societies to the West and Western ideas is rooted in the nature of their autocratic, Islam-influenced governments. . .Woolsey claims that in the 1960s he and his wife Sue actually saw a UFO.
Woolsey has more red meat to throw at the conferees:
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“We have a situation where democracies in the west such as Israel and the US, and Japan and others too, are at war with a group of Islamist totalitarianism ideologies and movements – very loosely analogous to the movements of the 20s and 30s – Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and Japanese imperialism…” Asked his opinion on the establishment of a Palestinian state, the former CIA director recommended that it not happen in the coming decades. He said that though the Jewish presence in this region precedes the Moslem claim – “for some Muslims like Arafat to deny that Jews were ever present here is idiotic” . . .Openly avoiding the question of the nature or borders of a Palestinian state, he emphasized his opinion that “the Palestinians should not be granted the right to statehood until they start to treat Israeli Jews who settle in the West Bank as fairly as Israel treats its Muslim citizens.”
Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, will offer some more red meat.
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“You [Israel] control the territory. You will be the ones who make the calculations over the relative importance of geography, security, and demography. In broad strokes, you are masters of your own fate. Almost every other actor is reactive. Historically, the Palestinians are reactive. . .My government is essentially reactive, too. And this is a good thing. The basic approach of the United States, including leaders of both parties and across administrations, is to try to be as helpful as they can to governments of Israel that seek ways to ensure peace and security for the people of Israel. . .if Israel defines its own roadmap as a unilateral path, America will support it too, despite its rhetorical commitment to that other Roadmap. “The key, in my view, is in the deciding. The rest, as the sages say, is commentary.”
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“Defeat for Israel–either on the battlefield or via coerced compromises to achieve flawed cease-fires–is a defeat for U.S. interests; it will inspire radicals of every stripe, release Iran and Syria to spread more mayhem inside Iraq, and make more likely our own eventual confrontation with this emboldened alliance of extremists. Victory–in the form of Hezbollah’s disarmament, the expulsion of the Iranian military presence from Lebanon, the eviction of Meshal and friends from Damascus, and the demise of the Hamas government in Gaza–is, by the same token, also a victory for U.S. (and Western) interests.”
Now the big gun, John Kerry (D-MA), Chairman of the Semate Foreign Relations Committee. Okay, he made even George Bush look good in 2004, an almost impossible task, but he’s not a bad legislator. This committee held hearings on Iran on March 5. But first, let’s look at Kerry’s stated position on Palestine. (Incidentally, Kerry has not only made the obligatory visit to Sderot but has also visited post-slaughter Gaza.)
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So why do I believe we can succeed now where we have failed before?
I believe it because broader trends present an opening to make peace possible. In fact, I see four major causes for hope, which together comprise a case for action.
The first and most important is a tectonic shift in Middle East geopolitics. The rise of Iran has created an unprecedented willingness among the moderate Arab nations to work with Israel. This re-alignment can help lay the groundwork for progress towards peace.
Second, the Arab Peace Initiative has emerged as the basis on which to build a Regional Road Map that enlists moderate Arab nations to play a more active role in peacemaking and to paint a clearer picture than ever before of the rewards peace would bring to all parties.
Third, the outlines of a final status agreement are in fact clearer than ever. The challenge is how we get there. I believe the answer is to move simultaneously on capacity-building in the West Bank and final status talks.
Fourth, the Obama Administration presents an extraordinary opportunity for a new beginning where America reclaims the role of an active and creative agent for peace. We can capitalize on this by charting a new path that will empower moderates on all sides who have been lacking political cover and losing political ground.
The recent Senate Iran hearing featured a statement (excerpt) from Kerry:
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I have long said that, following consultations with our allies and partners, we must engage directly with Iran, and I’m glad that this idea’s day is coming. But as I said on Tuesday, we must be honest with ourselves: we will not solve this problem just by talking directly to Tehran. While Iran was just talking to the IAEA and the Europeans, it deftly sidestepped every supposed red-line laid down by the international community. While Iran was just talking to the world, it moved to the threshold of becoming a nuclear-capable state.
Iran’s leaders need to understand that the full weight of the international community will come down on them if Iran continues to defy the United Nations Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency. It also needs to understand that talks will not be a substitute for Iran meeting its international obligations.
In short, we need to act boldly, wisely, and quickly with our allies and partners to win agreement on the way forward, and to engage Iran backed by real consequences for its continued non-compliance. I am hopeful that a solution to this problem may yet lie within our reach, and I am looking forward to today’s discussion and our witnesses’ guidance and recommendations on how to actually do that.
It is not just an American problem, and it cannot be just an American solution.
Among those testifying before the committee were Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser for President Jimmy Carter, and Gen. Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser for presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush.
Brzezinski (excerpt):
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Current U.S. policy toward the regime in Tehran will almost certainly result in an Iran with nuclear weapons. The seemingly clever combination of the use of “sticks” and “carrots,” including the frequent official hints of an American military option “remaining on the table,” simply intensifies Iran’s desire to have its own nuclear arsenal. Alas, such a heavy-handed “sticks” and “carrots” policy may work with donkeys but not with serious countries. The United States would have a better chance of success if the White House abandoned its threats of military action and its calls for regime change.
and Scowcroft:
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If Iran is allowed to pursue a nuclear weapons capability, countries around the world might feel compelled to take the same path, Brent Scowcroft, who advised two U.S. presidents on national security, said on Thursday.
“We’re on the cusp of an explosion of proliferation and Iran is now the poster child,” said Scowcroft, who served under former President Gerald Ford and President George Bush, the father of former President George W. Bush.
“If Iran is allowed to go forward, in self-defense or for a variety of reasons we could have half-a-dozen countries in the region and 20 or 30 more around the world, doing the same thing, just in case,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Finally, this from a Kerry letter to a constituent:
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I believe we must deliver a strong message to the Iranians as part of a comprehensive approach that imposes effective, multilateral sanctions should they continue to defy the will of the world. As part of our multilateral diplomatic efforts, the U.S. and our allies must offer real incentives for verifiable nuclear cooperation.
NOTE: The “will of the world” consists of a demand by the United Nations that Iran cease doing what it is legally entitled to do under international law, which is to pursue the benefits of nuclear power. The UN Atomic Energy Agency has continually determined that Iran is in compliance with its legal obligations, i.e. that it is not diverting fuel from its intended purpose.
It should be quite an event. Will Harman show up, and if she does will she get the best welcome? Will the general announce “bombs away” as he speaks? Will anyone take any notice of the other boring on-message speakers? Will Kerry come up with something new? Stay tuned.
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Don Bacon is a retired army officer who founded the Smedley Butler Society several years ago because, as General Butler said, war is a racket. Other articles by Don Bacon may be found here and here.
The Saudis have quite a lobby as well. It is just a lot more discreet. What other country could have flown out the entire binLaden family out of the US on Sep13, 2001? What is novel about countries trying to influence other countries?
Yawn
Id you’re bored, Scott, you could go elsewhere.
There’s nothing novel about countries trying to influence other countries through all sorts of methods–war, terrorism, spying, bribery, propaganda, etc… What makes it interesting in this case is that, as Glenn Greenwald has pointed out, Americans on the whole are split on the I/P conflict, with many thinking we should be evenhanded, whereas most American politicians fall over themselves in contests to see who can be most obsequious to AIPAC. That’s rather interesting.
Yawn my foot!
Foreign countries peddling their influence are required to register… except for AIPAC…
Every foreign lobbyist has to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act by registering as an agent of a foreign power… This would put legal restrictions in place that would cut the Lobby down to its proper size.
See:
AMERICA’S DEFENSE LINE: The Justice Department’s Battle to Register the Israel Lobby as Agents of a Foreign Government (Paperback)
by Grant F Smith (Author)
Key Phrases: foreign principal, foreign political parties, bona fide dispute, Jewish Agency, American Zionist Council, United States (more…)
http://www.amazon.com/AMERICAS-DEFENSE-LINE-Departments-Government/dp/0976443759//antiwarbookstore
Scott you ought to be careful about what you swallow while you are yawning.
The UN Atomic Energy Agency has continually determined that Iran is in compliance with its legal obligations
Sorry Don, no matter how many times you repeat this, it isn’t getting less false.
Iran has not implemented the modified text of its Subsidiary Arrangements General Part, Code 3.1, on the early provision of design information and has continued to refuse to permit the Agency to carry out design information verification at IR-40.
Whatever AIPAC is doing, it’s registering with the American people. 2 years after “The Israel Lobby” exposed the Vast Zionist Conspiracy, and yet Israel is popular as ever. Go figure! Americans must simply be stupid, or insane, or bloodthirsty religious lunatics.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/116308/Americans-Support-Israel-Unchanged-Gaza-Conflict.aspx
Vadim,
Why do you have a continuing mental block in regard to understanding that the legal authority of the UN to determine compliance under the NPT extends exclusively to preventing diversion of nuclear energy from peaceful uses to nuclear weapons, and that the NPT does not authorize fishing expeditions and witch hunts promoted against Iran by the US for political reasons associated with Israel?
Don, Iran assented to the modified text of the subsidiary agreement back in 2003. It is a binding agreement imposing “legal obligations” that the IAEA has clearly stated have not been met (most recently in Fenruary of this year, when they issued the statement I cited.)
With exactly which part of this do you disagree? Is the modified text in your eyes non-binding? Does the IAEA not have standing to enforce this agreement? Was it signed under duress?
Vadim, that agreement was abrogated when the UN demanded the cessation of uranium enrichment and imposed economic sanctions, which are a form of aggression. Any agreement is based upon good faith performance by the participants and when one side aggresses the other that good faith vanishes, and so should any agreement between the two.
But you know all that, don’t you. We’ve been all through this before you took your extended leave, and now you return with the same disproven contentions, perhaps to impress any new readers who might actually believe that you have something worthwhile to say.
more speakers announced:
Israeli President Shimon Peres is confirmed for the 2009 AIPAC Policy Conference. In addition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak to conference delegates via satellite.
This is shaping up as a watershed event, no? Now if the O-Man would attend . . .
The principals in the US government can grovel and pander to the AIPAC because we the people let them. We have no one to blame but ourselves. The US is a democracy. That means the buck stops with us.
Those speeches linked to above were all delivered five months before the election. Obama supporters kept comments about them out of blog columns, out of sight, out of mind. We dutifully elected the man chosen by the AIPAC, the media, and ‘progressive’ blogistan to be POTUS.
We the people are, yawn, too tired and bored to take notice of the fact that our leaders are traitors. That’s the word for people who put the interests of people other than those they ‘serve’ first.
Yeah they’re traitors and whores. But who lets them get away with it year after year, decade after decade?
Every organization is optimised to get the results it does get. If human beings will not intervene in the operation of the machine it will consume them, all of them.
Any agreement is based upon good faith performance by the participants and when one side aggresses the other that good faith vanishes, and so should any agreement between the two.
Your claim addressed the IAEA’s views, not Iran’s:
The UN Atomic Energy Agency has continually determined that Iran is in compliance with its legal obligations
Clearly the Agency views Iran’s participation in the NPT and its subsidiary agreements binding, or they wouldn’t mention this non-compliance again and again in all their reports.
http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/Others/infcirc214.pdf
The Subsidiary Arrangements may be extended or changed by agreement between the Government of Iran and the Agency
No, doesn’t say anything about UN aggression allowing Iran to change these terms itself.
Iran’s “legal obligations” are actually spelled out rather clearly here, in the very same document where you claim the mandate of the IAEA is restricted to fissionable material (again, a very weird reading of the treaty’s preamble) ; are you claiming that the NPT treaty is no longer in force? Or only some sections??
If Iran has **any legal obligations at all defined by the NPT**, they have an obligation to observe the Subsidiary agreements related to related to reactor design. Frankly your implication that the entire agreement is no longer in force due to UN aggression is bizarre.
Frankly your implication that the entire agreement is no longer in force due to UN aggression is bizarre.
I have found that Don’s interpretations of much of what transpires here is bizarre.
Mr. Lee: “The US is a democracy. That means the buck stops with us.”
The US is a representative democracy. We elect people who are supposed to represent us, our votes being based on what candidates say during their campaigns for office. There appears to be a growing epidemic in the US of representatives who say one thing and do another when elected. Moreover, Americans have only a very intermittent opportunity to vote, meaning too frequently they are stuck with the lies and half-truths of the last election. The buck never stops moving.
We are now downstream of arguably the largest transfer of wealth (theft of assets) in the history of the US. There is no precedent for this crime. The biggest names in US criminal history are all miniscule pikers by comparison. People are out of work, out of their homes, out of their pensions, and living in tents, cars, or fear of destitution. The magnificent quest for profit has produced a nation that can no longer manufacture the most basic societal needs. The legal system, fueled by dollars, some of which are the very same that were transferred from the elderly, the young, and virtually everyone who is not wealthy to greed-crazed financial hotshots, is doing its best to assure that the perpetrators’ rights are being upheld, even if it takes until 2030 to sort things out, and many of the victims of this grand crime are dead and silent, while the still-living are even more firmly ensconced as economic slaves.
We are also downstream of a war that was built on lies, more lies, and non-stop lies that has wrecked the US international reputation (our friends included) and helped weaken the US economy so the greedheads’ effects could be more devastating.
We are also downstream of a US administration that thought it was above the law in its arrogant pelvic thrusts for more and ever more power, and that in fact didn’t give a damn about the law and sought to subvert, limit, or change it to their advantage.
And on top of all this we are infected with and seemingly defenseless against the propaganda of a tiny nation–Israel–with a militaristic, expansionist, genodical, quite probably suicidal government. Compared to earth’s human population, Israel’s tiny 7 plus million people are better represented on the world stage than the almost any other demographic segment. In Washington DC, Israeli interests are better represented and more powerful than the almost any other demographic segment of Americans, including Hispanics, Latinos, Blacks, Asians, Hawaiians, and Native Americans. Israel’s influence probably exceeds that of most states of the union.
The concepts and policies of the current Israeli government do not align with those of the US, and in fact conflict with them in significant ways that directly affect the security and self determination of Americans. Why we find ourselves unable to withstand the foreign usurpation of our rights by a tiny number of hell-bent humans, indeed to even stop enabling them by regular gifts of vast sums of dollars, is at once a conundrum and a shame.
Here’s another “bizarre” observation by Jeremy Hammond published recently in the Foreign Policy Journal:
Iran’s view, of course, is that as a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), who has not been shown to have been developing a parallel weapons program, their program is perfectly legal and their right to enrich uranium guaranteed under international law. It is therefore the U.N. resolutions themselves which are illegal, a violation of the very Charter under which they were passed and therefore null and void.
There can only be one correct interpretation. In this case, a reading of the relevant texts under international law clearly demonstrates that Iran’s interpretation is actually the correct one.
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2009/04/08/irans-outlawed-nuclear-program/
What is never addressed is the logic, the ethical and moral considerations enouraged and abetted by US citizens and their political reps, to have “foreign” interests impact policies and views suoerceding ” a citizen’s right to a government of the people by the people and for the people OF THE USA” {not the interest of Israel, Italy, Iran, Irak or Belize.
A natural consequence of permitting/allowing an org. such as AIPAC to exist and flourish would be to encourage every member nation of the UN to have co-equal representations ie. American-Sudan Public Affairs Committe; American-Pakistan Public Affairs Committee; American-Sweden Public Affairs Committee.
Such a system would be “more democratic” and provide the members of the UN to participate on the same level that AIPAC enjoys with the US Congress and the Senate as well as the Executive Offices.
Sarcastically speaking why just limit access to power to AIPAC, Once opened up to other UN members the sky is the limit in getting kilo-bucks contributions.
What is never addressed is the logic, the ethical and moral considerations enouraged and abetted by US citizens and their political reps, to have “foreign” interests impact policies and views suoerceding ” a citizen’s right to a government of the people by the people and for the people OF THE USA” {not the interest of Israel, Italy, Iran, Irak or Belize.
A natural consequence of permitting/allowing an org. such as AIPAC to exist and flourish would be to encourage every member nation of the UN to have co-equal representations ie. American-Sudan Public Affairs Committe; American-Pakistan Public Affairs Committee; American-Sweden Public Affairs Committee.
Such a system would be “more democratic” and provide the members of the UN to participate on the same level that AIPAC enjoys with the US Congress and the Senate as well as the Executive Offices.
Sarcastically speaking why just limit access to power to AIPAC, Once opened up to other UN members the sky is the limit in getting kilo-bucks contributions.
omop,
Here is Clinton’s response to your comment (taken from the link above):
“I reject that our common commitment to Israel’s survival and well-being is not in the best interest of the United States of America. I think you not only have a right to stand up for what you believe in; you have a responsibility as Americans to do so. You are acting in the highest American tradition, exercising a right enshrined in our Constitution,. . ”
So opponents to this position have to show that the US commitment to Israel, its total commitment above all others, is not really in the best interest of Americans. Not a difficult task, it seems to me.
Whatever the UN atomic agency decides on Iran will it impose the same sanctions on Iran as it does on Israel now ?. Thats OK. Nix.
Israel has not signed ??Why not ?.
Do you want Iran to opt out??.Then no sanctions?. Maby the USA would give it the same grants as Israel., Yea.
Be real. This is about Israel controlling the Mid East Oil areas to secure US oil supplies.
Why pretend otherwise. US power decides. qed.
Don Bacon.
Like your observations. At one time Hillary was known in Arkansas as Hillary Rodham Clinton. When hubby Bill was not re-elected Hillary dropped the Rodham and proceeded to be with child thereby guaranteeing Bill’s re-election a couple of year later.
But then a politician’s forte is to convince the voter the he/she is not being fed b/s but rather exotic dessert. As a case point this is a quote from the then Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir, born and raised in Wisconsin, USA “This country (israel) exists as the fulfillment of a promise made by God Himself…It would be ridiculous to ask it to account for its legitimacy”.
At this level of intellectuality one is almost left wanting to believe that the USA too is the fulfillment of a promise made years before.
Mr. Jeremy R. Hammond is a bit like the lady in the cartoon or anecdote with her “Kindly allow me to know best!”
No doubt somebody must be allowed to know best, but even She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed come again in person ought not to be permitted to slip dubious assertions through intellectual customs as if nobody could possibly disagree.
Look at the bootlegged item again: “It is therefore the U.N. resolutions themselves which are illegal, a violation of the very Charter under which they were passed and therefore null and void.”
Now it is a real pity that the constitution-framers for the Parliament of Man™ were unfit to tie Mr. James Madison’s shoelaces. Nevertheless, the incompetent draftmanship is only incompetent draftsmanship, it is not a magic loophole that only Mr. Hammond and his buddies get to exploit. The 1945 botch did not expressly affirm that the Security Council is capable of being in violation of the POM’s own Charter (and/or in violation of so-called “traditional international law” either), but neither did it affirm the contrary. A blank is a blank is a blank.[1]
The fact that there was no mechanism provided for appeal against a Security Council resolution perhaps tacitly suggests that the SC was fancied by the botchers to be legibus solutus, that whatever it might say or do was eo ipso to be imputed unto it as perfect compliance with international neo-law.
‘Tacit’ is not good enough for some of us, however. In addition to generally making Mr. Madison roll over in his grave and puzzling amateur pedants like me, in this particular case ‘tacit’ gives Mr. Hammond (and the Iranian delegation) everything that they would most prefer to do without.
All the same, I betcha about ninety percent [2] of the good folks who don’t simply dismiss Parliament-of-Man-ism as a dumb or hateful idea, take for granted that the Security Council cannot err. (Err about the neo-law of nations, that is: clearly the Security Council can be induced to make mistakes about matters of fact, as witness Neocomrade General C. Powell’s dog-and-pony show leadin’ up to the March 2003 aggression. Even M. de Rome himself has that kind of problem, infallibilitywise.)
Ergo, Mr. Jeremy R. Hammond is trying to sneak something by here. He should not be allowed to get away with it.
Happy days.
____
[1] On the poetry front there is not only Miss Stein but Mr. Larkin:
“It will be worth it, if in the end I manage
To blank out whatever it is that is doing the damage.
Then there will be nothing I know.
My mind will fold into itself, like fields, like snow.”
(( “The Winter Palace,” Collected Poems, London:1988, p.211 ))
[2] Probably it will be better to spell out that opinion poll results about what the Charter ought to mean (but does not actually say) are quite as worthless as J. R. Hammond’s private revelations on the same subject.
I mention the conjectural percentage of infallibilisti only at the margin, noticing that an intellectual smuggler who filled in the Charter blank in the opposite sense from Hammond’s would have a much easier time of it professionally. As things stand, even a few persons who never thought of this jolly point of neo-jurisprudence in their lives might be startled to be informed out of the blue that “U.N. resolutions themselves … are illegal.”
Of course if Mr. Hammond’s original intent had been confined to startling people out of their dogmatic slumbers, that would be fine. But it is pretty obvious that he cares about particular outcomes as well, is it not?
JHM,
We all care about the outcomes, do we not? And in doing so, we ought to consider the specific facts of the situation before us, should we not?
Don,
There is one other thing that should be highlighted and not forgotten here in regards to US/Israel relations.
In additions to US billions of Aides to Israel for long time obviously this money coming from tax payers (your money) the important thing here all the donations by US citizens and agencies to State of Israel is Tax debatable!!
donations by US citizens and agencies to State of Israel is Tax debatable!!
http://aipac.org/26.htm
Because it is a lobby, contributions to AIPAC are not tax deductible.
They may not be tax deductible, but think of the ROI (return on investment)!
While contributions to AIPAC directly may or may not be tax deductible, contributions to many other Israeli “charities” which support illegal settlements and otherwise undermine US interests are.
Seems to me that those wishing to take the war mongering Israel lobby down a few pegs should point out AGAIN and AGAIN that those responsible for the financial crisis that has wiped out millions of jobs and those who put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s are in many cases the same people.
Seems to me that those wishing to take the war mongering Israel lobby down a few pegs should point out AGAIN and AGAIN that those responsible for the financial crisis that has wiped out millions of jobs and those who put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s are in many cases the same people.
By all means, please do!!
What kind of people are those, “Crimson Ghost?”
This is about Israel controlling the Mid East Oil areas to secure US oil supplies.
Haven’t you heard John Stack? Obama ran on a campaign of freeing the US of its dependence on foreign oil.
Also, you probably weren’t aware, but Israel recently announced the discovery of commercially significant gas reserves that will allow Israel to become (clean) energy independent with the possibility of exporting what’s left over.
vadim
It is quite clear that Crimmson Ghost is referring to the political/financial/ indeological establishement which has, for the past three decades become increasingly obsessed with a reheated liberalism in economics and a neo-imperialist politics.
In domestic policy terms this has led to the use of bubbles to postpone the social and political reckoning. In foreign policy it has been exemplified by collaboration with authoritarian regimes, particularly in the middle east where no popular democracy could countenance any toleration of Isrrasel’s ruthless ethnic cleansing policies in Palestine.
Pitch defiles: the inter relationship between US government and dictatorial death squad regimes has led to the corruption of Washington so that it has become very much akin, culturally, to the Egypts, Jordans, UAEmirates, Saudi Arabias and Israels with which it deals so casually and sympathetically.
The US military has become infected (much to the disgust of traditionalists) by the IDF’s doctrines. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and Bagram all employ techniques developed in Israel’s dirty wars and the Jordanian/Egyptian experience in dealing with those begging to differ politically. Itb is said that The Pentagon is about to supply illustrations for those who prefer pictures (and it being Friday evening…)
And that is only the beginning: the treatment of the Russian people in the 1990s taught Wall St a lot about extracting blood from what appeared to be stones.
… at any rate what Crimson Ghost was NOT saying was that any particular ethnic, religious or cultural grouping is responsible. My guess is that he shares my view which is that the Capitalist class is responsible and that it ought to be relieved of further responsibility, while there is still the odd corner of the China Shop intact. As for the system’s ideologues and apologists, they too must be brought to account.
JES: In what part of Palestine has Israel discovered natural gas?
Here a lot to say about…
This is about Israel controlling the Mid East Oil areas to secure US oil supplies.
The above statement should be the opposite:
“To secure US oil supplies Israel State was planted in Mid East” although ME richness of oil , it not the only things to care there are more things to count in addition to its oil as such.
Haven’t you heard John Stack? Obama ran on a campaign of freeing the US of its dependence on foreign oil.
This is ongoing saga JES if you follow these endless and meaningless words we keep hearing them from time to time.
“ after the first oil crisis in 1973-74, Americans had followed through on vows to acheive energy independence through conservation, alternative sources, and application of technology a la the Mnahattan Project. This was what we said we would do, and OPEC could go drink their oil. And we were well on our way under Jimmy Carter. Then Reagan got elected, conservation was trashed, and we sold our souls to the oil industry and OPEC.
February 11—United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger unveils the Project Independence plan to make U.S. energy independent.
You may not need to be reminded of your Jew follow H. Kissinger when he said during 1973 oil embargo report saying:
“I or we will let Arab drinks their oil!! So now we are in 2009…… So the dreams going on.”
Btw, reported recently H. Kissinger went in urgent visit to meet Saudi king Faisal at that time and when he met with him he tried to make jock with him saying please king I cam to ask to full my airplane, the king who was in bad mode due to US support of Israeli during 1973 war replay to him then can you let me to pray in Al_aqssa Massaged Kissinger?
Later the king was assassinated what claimed be one of the family members who are sick in his mind….
Israel recently announced the discovery of commercially significant gas reserves that will allow Israel to become (clean) energy independent with the possibility of exporting what’s left over.
Which land that the discovery on JES?
Is it occupied land, the Israeli land before 1984 war or new land after 1967 war or 1973?
It’s important to tell us here where the discovery, if it’s on occupied land is Israeli right to loot them?
Bevin asks:
JES: In what part of Palestine has Israel discovered natural gas?
It’s on the part that the Arabs allocated to the Jews!!
Salah,
You are so full of irrational and all-consuming hate. I am truly sorry for you.
JES,
Hummm, again the “Cat” fall on its four legs!!!!
JES, this is very clear a run-out of the answer to t6he questions paused to you here. You done here before, you did run-out when requested by many even the owner of this blog you conditioned your answers for her.
So you either be honest here, facing the discussion not nut picking otherwise shut up..
Btw, we still waiting your clear answers about the location of land that the Gas discovery you promised to be exporting from Israel, do not run out and come forward man.
Throwing words on me by doing this in fact you as much mirroring yourself.
The articles/ statements I mentioned were facts, said by your very “intelligent” guys nothing made-up by me, its all there a history.
If you have any corrections or objections put it forward here to enrich the subject instead of accusations thrown on me for passing what said and what done in regards to the subject.
Look to your indefensible hatful comments usually against others who were talking about the behaviours of your loving state…
Finally I don’t need your sorry felling, you should feel sorry and ashamed for many crimes with the people who killed on their land in Palestine every day and every hour for the last 60 years by your state JES.
JES, you ought to take a good, honest look in the mirror.
Sorry, I’d write more, but the cook wants me to help him peel potatoes.
Salah, it’s apparent that the answer I gave to bevin went over your head. The natural gas deposits were discovered in the sea!!
(And by the way Salah, just so we’re straight, the “owner” of this blog has simply ignored many, many of my questions, so I am just not answering hers!)
Shirin,
Glad to hear that you, a “white woman”, is comingling with the Arab staff.
JES…
Be honest answer don’t play the game of the Cat and the Rat.
It’s on the part that the Arabs allocated to the Jews!!
Now in the sea huh….
What is it that you don’t understand about that. They reserves were discovered a few months ago on rigs off the coast of Israel. You don’t like that? Too bad.
JES, if you had a clue what you are blathering about it might be possible to take you seriously.
Salah, show JES some compassion! He has nothing left but to play the cat and the rat game.
Of course, the gas reserves off the coast of Gaza are now off the coast of Israel – how convenient.
Of course, the gas reserves off the coast of Gaza are now off the coast of Israel – how convenient.
Of course that would have been convenient had Israel ever made any claim over those reserves, but it didn’t. I believe that those reserves are being developed by BP on behalf of the Palestinians.
The reserves that Israel has discovered are off the coast of Haifa and off the coast of Hadera, and they are are being developed by Noble.
Israel has “never made any claim” over the West Bank, either, and yet seems to have been swallowing it bit by bit since 1967. How very odd, no?
Boy Shirin, it took you almost two and a half hours to figure out how to get out of that one without embarassing yourself too much!
Israel has discovered are off the coast of Haifa
A..Haha…., ……
Remind us JES, is it Haifa was in the past before 1948 war a destination point for a very long oil pipeline from the East?
Let give it some gausses…. Jordanians as usual the kingdom leads by “Star Trek” actor Abdullah start working on pipelines as early as 2003 laying pipelines toward her border to Iraq….
So now let connecting the dots here ……. our “Hasbara” JES claiming his loving state of Israel sooon will export Gas may be Oil!!……as fare as normal discovery of oil first and foremost the oil discovery hardly will cover normal needs of such countries then when they starting pumping and developing the discovery will start saying there are expectations to export if …..The only exceptions that huge oil filed in Iraq or Saudi….
Then this will guess what connecting the dots with the story on 2003 here
JES, can I guess for you the second story that will comes from Hasbara like you?
The next story will be the finding of the bases of the King Suleiman temple …… sure will be a big story as far as the bricks as old as 2500–4000 years according to scientific testing and geologist discovery.
But stop here ….. I can tell you ask Iraqis who wittiness those long looting lines of trucks early days of invasions carrying bricks from oldest historical site were the Jews was exiled from Babylon, sure those trucks was gone to the West not to the East crossed Jordan borders, guess where those trucks gone or ended ….Gods knows and your Hasbara ilk…
There is a proverb in Arabic “in fact Iraqi proverb” telling someone trying to lie but he did worse.
“راد يكحله عماها”
Ask your Iraqi friends those you are daily in contact with them will tell you what that is means JES….
I feel sorry for you JES your story dots fallen apart……….
JES,
Thanks for alerting me to Noble Energy’s role in developing the gas field off Haifa.
Will sell my shares on Monday.
Have already sold my Veolia shares due to its work on a light rail project on occupied land around Jerusalem
BDS. BDS. BDS.
Just adding this to the story of the temple ….after wasting 60 years it turned falls…
Boy, JES, you seem to think that I have nothing better to do than constantly think about what is on this blog, or even that I have nothing better to do here than sit constantly on the internet! I am, in fact, always very busy with my coterie of servants, as you should know. They are very demanding, after all.
PS JES, there is a note of desperation in your comments these last few months that was not there before. I wonder what happened.
Sure Salah. Whatever you say. That’s absolutely right. We’re looting everything that Iraq has to offer. (As if we needed it.)
PS JES, there is a note of desperation in your comments these last few months that was not there before. I wonder what happened.
It’s all in your mind, Shirin.
WMS,
I’m sure that Noble Energy will be utterly devastated!
(As if we needed it.)
Sure JES……..Check the oldest Torah in your museum (I gauss) from where looted?
Your Rabbis hunting for it years and decade to get from Iraqi Museum JES.
Apologies for mistaken link to the story
This the right one.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20090118094731zzzz.nb/topstory.html
Salah, if you don’t mind my asking: What is the connection between that last two stories you posted?
Not in MY mind, JES, it is in yours.
Boy, JES, you seem to think that I have nothing better to do than constantly think about what is on this blog, or even that I have nothing better to do here than sit constantly on the internet!
Personally I kind of had that impression.
Results 1 – 10 of about 1,670 from justworldnews.org for Shirin. (0.11 seconds)
We have a winner! Shirin, you post to this blog more than any other regular contributor, by a factor of 3! Because your views are at least 3 times as important as ours.
JES, you really ARE coming unhinged. The connection between the two stories is obvious.
Those Torah manuscripts are part of Iraq’s history. The question is whether they belong to Iraq, to Iraqi Jews, or to both (I suggest option number three). Under no circumstances to they belong to the U.S., the U.S. military has no business putting its filthy blood-stained hands on them, and they certainly do not belong to the State of Israel.
ES, you really ARE coming unhinged. The connection between the two stories is obvious.
erm – what exactly does the secret plot to steal Iraq’s Torah have to do with the Essenes’ authorship of the Dead Sea Scrolls?
I’m sure there’s some nutty theory tying it all together… do tell Shirin!!! Are the freemasons involved?
Believe me, Vadim, my servants here keep me very, very busy. I barely have time to sneak off to the internet cafe for a few minutes before they send their children to fetch me back. It’s a huge burden, but I bear it willingly.
Those Torah manuscripts are part of Iraq’s history. …the U.S. military has no business putting its filthy blood-stained hands on them, and they certainly do not belong to the State of Israel.
‘Airmen celebrate arrival of Jewish Torah and ark’
Shirin, are you claiming that the Jewish Torah and ark recently dedicated at Joint Base Balad is in fact the missing ancient Torah described in Salah’s other unsourced link? The one that was supposedly shipped to Israel?
Things I learned from Shirin tonight:
1.) offshore Haifa = offshore Gaza (hey- it’s all the same water!)
2.) Jews in the US military use stolen Babylonian era religious artifacts in their daily rituals
3.) The Essenes are part of it all, and the connection is obvious, and people who don’t get it are unhinged.
I think the servants may have put something funny in Shirin’s food.
I think the servants may have put something funny in Shirin’s food.
I couldn’t have put it any better, Vadim. I’m still laughing.
Let give it some gausses…. Jordanians as usual the kingdom leads by “Star Trek” actor Abdullah start working on pipelines as early as 2003 .Check the oldest Torah in your museum (I gauss) from where looted? [SIC]
يمكن لأي شخص استخدام تلقائي مترجم. وبطبيعة الحال ، الكثير من الوقت ستكون النتيجة هراء. وهذا هو السبب في تلقائية المترجم لا بديل حقيقي من الطلاقة اللغوية ، والتي لا يمكن أن يتحقق إلا من خلال الوقت والدراسة.
صلاح نعم ، أنا لا أتكلم العربية. هذا النص آليا وربما ولدت مشوهة. تلقائي المترجم لا يكفي أن يكون مفهوما في العربية أو الانجليزية. تلقائي مترجم أيضا غير قادر على فهم الصحف الانجليزية ، أو لمحاربة اللغة الانجليزية الحجج.
WMS,
BTW, I assume that you are using an Apple computer to access the Internet?
Gosh, Vadim, I’m really, really sorry it took me two days to respond to you, but I have been too busy to go online. I am even more sorry for you that you have nothing better to do or say than pretend to run comment stats.