[WCUSP] [HumanRights] The Israeli lobby and the endless wars

[yvonne simmons]

> From: "Mazin Qumsiyeh" <qumsi001 at hotmail.com>
> To: Mazin.qumsiyeh at lists.riseup.net
> Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 23:50:56 -0500
> Subject: [HumanRights] The Israeli lobby and the
> endless wars
> 
> (Note: Mailing List Information, including
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> of this message.)
> -------> The Israeli lobby and the endless wars:
Afghanistan,
> Iraq, Lebanon, and 
> upcoming war on Iran
> (some material taken from two earlier shorter
> articles, updated and expanded 
> here)
> by Mazin Qumsiyeh
> http://qumsiyeh.org
> 
> Over 80% of Iraqis want the US to leave Iraq and 60%
> support attacks on US 
> soldiers and mercenaries (aka "contractors"). A
> majority of the US public 
> also want withdrawal (not redeployment and not the
> fake "winning" strategies 
> of politicians who are always behind the curve). 
> Get out of Iraq is what 
> most of the world wants the US to do. Even in
> countries with racist past and 
> bigotted rightwing current leadership (UK, Canada,
> Australia), the people 
> are not in favor of this illegal war.   Even here
> with gatekeepers in the 
> media, polls show Bush with the lowest approval
> ratings ever (in the 
> twenties).  Some call it Bush's war but it is also
> becoming clearer (at 
> least on the internet though not in mainstream
> media) that the war was 
> conceived, planned and managed by a neoconservative
> cabal with strong 
> connections to AIPAC (Israel unregistered lobby in
> Washington) that has 
> taken full control of the US executive branch. 
> AIPAC also holds significant 
> power in Congress (both parties).   The most recent
> flexing of the lobby's 
> muscle has been the exclusion in the ethics and
> lobby reform bills passed by 
> the Senate and Congress of trips paid for by
> lobbyists (from the perks not 
> allowed to congress members and their staff). This
> is significant because 
> most in Congress make more trips to Israel than they
> make to areas within 
> their own districts.
> 
> The inspiration for Israel lobby (both its neocon
> and neoliberal wings) 
> comes from racist elements in Israel characterized
> by use of military force 
> against Arabs and Muslims and who believe the best
> way to maintain economic 
> superiority is military superiority.  Their goal is
> nothing short of 
> subverting the US 100% in service what they perceive
> as Israeli interests 
> (in the long run I personally believe it is harmful
> to Israeli citizens but 
> this is a separate topic). Taxpayers foot the bills
> (so far $450 Billion for 
> Iraq and >1 trillion for Israel).   There is
> overwhelming evidence of an 
> organic links between the war on Palestine and the
> wars on Afghanistan, 
> Iraq, Somalia (recently, ignored by many), and soon
> Iran.  Even North Korea 
> could escape their wrath if it did not supply
> missile technology to those 
> Israel considers enemies (Iran, Syria).
> 
> The dismissal of the conclusion of the Iraq Study
> Group that Iraq cannot be 
> "fixed" (their imperial language) without dealing
> with the core issue of 
> Israel/Palestine was important.  But they did not
> explain why that is.  The 
> virulent attacks on Jimmy Carter for his book
> "Palestine: Peace or 
> apartheid" should give many hints.  So are the
> virulent attacks on anyone 
> who is not willing to tow the Zionist line 100%
> (General Zinni, many ex and 
> present Senators and Congressman).  This is
> especially visible in the media 
> which includes very influential people whose
> allegiances fall outside of 
> their jobs or their US citizenship.  Wolf Blitzer
> who is chief anchor at CNN 
> used to work for the Israeli lobby directly.  Also
> most Congress people have 
> their foreign policy staffs as Zionists (these are
> the people the peace 
> movement will meet with on Monday as part of UFPJ's
> lobby days).  This 
> applies to Democrats and Republicans alike. Morris
> Amitay, a former head of 
> AIPAC stated: "There are a lot of guys at the
> working level up here on 
> Capitol Hill who happen to be Jewish, who are
> willing . . . to look at 
> certain issues in terms of their Jewishness . . .
> These are all guys who are 
> in a position to make the decisions in these areas
> for those senators . . . 
> You can get an awful lot done just at the staff
> level."
> 
> The exceptions among our lawmakers are treated as
> outisders and/or actually 
> described as loonies (Senator Byrd, Congressman
> Kucinich).  All key 
> positions in Congress that are directly relevant to
> foreign policy (e.g. 
> house appropriations) are now held by those who
> follow the AIPAC line.  As 
> far as marginalization in the media, how many times
> have you seen Kucinich 
> named in the media (by both left and right pundits)
> as "from another 
> planet", "looney", "extreme", "fringe" etc.  The
> people I talk about as gate 
> keepers believe Israel must continue to dominate and
> oppress Palestinians 
> and deny their internationally recognized rights
> including the right of 
> refugees to return to their homes and lands. These
> gate keepers positioned 
> themselves in left and right circles, in US
> Democratic and Republican 
> parties (they also tried to take over the smaller
> Green Party just to be 
> safe but they failed as the Greens decided to stick
> with human rights), in 
> the media (Fox, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, newspapers,
> newsmagazines, etc), and even 
> as members of the steering committees and
> coordinating committees of both 
> pro-war and pro-peace groups and coalitions. The
> right-wing nuts on talk 
> radio are allowed to bash anybody and everybody
> (including allies like 
> Britain and France) EXCEPT Israel; they also
> routinely denigrate and make 
> fun of all ethnic minorities in this country
> (blacks, Muslims, Arabs, 
> Asians, Latinos etc) but one minority is off limit.
> 
> So let us do a little research on this lobby and
> cite some resources.  Here 
> we divide this into three sections:
> 
> a) Articles that describe the lobby and its
> influence (perhaps not "lock") 
> on US foreign policy, and
> 
> b) A list of situations where other elite interests
> (oil, weapons 
> manufacturers) collided with the Israel lobby and
> the latter won.  There are 
> of course other situations where the lobby lost,
> especially early in its 
> career (e.g. 1956 with Eisenhauer and the Suez
> crisis).
> 
> c) General comments about the lobby's influence and
> its interests.
> 
> First a relevant quote from Nehemia Stessler writing
> in Haaretz, May 12, 
> 1989: "Israel’s dependence on the United States is
> far greater than 
> suggested by the sum of $3 billion. Israel’s
> physical existence depends on 
> the Americans in both military and political terms.
> Without the US, we would 
> not be equipped with the latest fighter planes and
> other advanced weapons. 
> Without the American veto, we would have long since
> been expelled from every 
> international organization, not to speak of the UN,
> which would have imposed 
> sanctions on us that would have totally paralyzed
> Israel’s international 
> trade, since we cannot exist without importing raw
> material"
> 
> A)  ARTICLES ON THE LOBBY AND ITS INFLUENCE
> 
> Howard Friedman, President of AIPAC, titled his
> letter of July 30, 2006 to 
> friends and supporters of AIPAC "Look what you've
> done".  He explained: 
> "Israel is fighting a pivotal war for its life...the
> expected chorus of 
> international condemnation of Israel's actions.
> ..only ONE nation in the 
> world came out and flatly declared: Let Israel
> finish the job.. That nation 
> is the United States of America--and the reason it
> had such a clear, 
> unambiguous view of the situation is YOU and the
> rest of America
> Jewry....How do we do it? ... decades of long hard
> work which never ends." 
> Ari Berman in The Nation stated that "The
> congressional reaction to 
> Hezbollah's attack on Israel and Israel's
> retaliatory bombing of Lebanon 
> provide the latest example of why AIPAC's lock on US
> foreign policy in the 
> Middle East must be examined." (July 31, 2006 
> http://www.alternet.org/story/39679 ).  But the
> lobby is not merely 
> interested in states that border it.  If you track
> what they lobbied for, 
> you will find an amazing assortment.  In the 1970s,
> this lobby and its 
> offshoots played a key role in pushing for support
> of right wing dictators 
> in Latin America (including Pinochet).  In the 1980s
> it was to support 
> Apartheid in South Africa (the Anti-Defamation
> league was caught spying on 
> anti-Apartheid activists in the Arab and Muslim
> communities (see 
> http://www.counterpunch.org/adlspying2.html). In the
> same decade, there was 
> the Iran-Contra scandal which Israel facilitated by
> being the go between 
> delivering weapons to Iran for money which then went
> partly to the Contras 
> (key Zionist figures in this were pardoned including
> Elliot Abrams, a key 
> neocon in the Bush 43 administration).
> About the recent resolution in Congress to support
> Israel and condemn 
> Hezbollah and Hamas (passed 410 to 8):  "They the
> Congress were given a 
> resolution by AIPAC, They didn't prepare one."
> former Carter Administration 
> National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who
> addressed the House 
> Democratic Caucus on July 19, 2006.
> 
> But let focus on today and the genesis of the
> current US policy in the West 
> Asia (aka h=the colonial term of the Middle East). 
> Henry Siegman, former 
> head of the American Jewish Congress and a Middle
> East expert at the Council 
> on Foreign Relations stated: "The Bush
> Administration is bad enough in 
> tolerating measures they would not accept anywhere
> else but Israel, But the 
> Congress, if anything, is urging the Administration
> on and criticizing them 
> even at their most accommodating. When it comes to
> the Israeli-Arab 
> conflict, the terms of debate are so influenced by
> organized Jewish groups 
> like AIPAC that to be critical of Israel is to deny
> oneself the ability to 
> succeed in American politics."
> 
> Washington Post (not a radical newspaper!) wrote an
> article "Pro-Israel 
> Lobby Has Strong Voice: AIPAC Is Embroiled in
> Investigation of Pentagon 
> Leaks" 9/5/04 partly saying:  "In 2002, two
> Democrats in Congress with 
> records of voting against Israel's interests --
> Reps. Earl Hilliard of 
> Alabama and Cynthia McKinney of Georgia.. faced
> primary opponents who 
> received substantial support from Jewish donors. A
> majority of AIPAC board 
> members gave either to McKinney's challenger or
> Hilliard's or both. Hilliard 
> and McKinney lost. Bill Banks, McKinney's campaign
> manger, charged that 
> AIPAC had made her the "No. 1 candidate to try to
> remove from office." AIPAC 
> denied the accusation."
> In 1997, Fortune magazine asked members of Congress
> and their staffs to list 
> the most powerful lobbies in Washington. AIPAC was
> ranked second behind the 
> American Association of Retired People, but ahead of
> the AFL-CIO and the 
> National Rifle Association. A National Journal study
> in March 2005 reached a 
> similar conclusion, placing AIPAC in second place
> (tied with AARP).
> 
> And a name that needs no introduction, Dick Armey,
> September 2002:
> "My No. 1 priority in foreign policy is to protect
> Israel."
> 
> Think tanks that shape US policy are decidedly with
> the Lobby or even 
> established as offshoots of the lobby: Washington
> Institute on Near East 
> Affairs, the American Enterprise Institute, the
> Brookings Institution, the 
> Center for Security Policy, the Foreign Policy
> Research Institute, the 
> Heritage Foundation, the Hudson Institute, the
> Institute for Foreign Policy 
> Analysis, the Jewish Institute for National Security
> Affairs. "The 
> incestuous nature of the proliferating boards and
> think tanks, whose 
> membership lists are more or less identical and
> totally interchangeable, is 
> frighteningly insidious. Several scholars at the
> American Enterprise 
> Institute, including former Reagan UN ambassador and
> long-time supporter of 
> the Israeli right wing, Jeane Kirkpatrick, make
> their pro-Israel views known 
> vocally from the sidelines and occupy positions on
> other boards.
> 
> Probably the most important organization, in terms
> of its influence on Bush 
> administration policy formulation, is the Jewish
> Institute for National 
> Security Affairs (JINSA). Formed after the 1973
> Arab-Israeli war, 
> specifically to bring Israel's security concerns to
> the attention of U.S. 
> policymakers and concentrating also on broad defense
> issues, the extremely 
> hawkish, right-wing JINSA has always had a
> high-powered board able to place 
> its members inside conservative U.S.
> administrations. Cheney, Bolton, and 
> Feith were members until they entered the Bush
> administration. Several lower 
> level JINSA functionaries are now working in the
> Defense
> Department. Perle is still a member, as are
> Kirkpatrick, former CIA director 
> and leading Iraq-war hawk James Woolsey, and
> old-time rabid pro-Israel types 
> like Eugene Rostow and Michael Ledeen. Both JINSA
> and Gaffney's Center for 
> Security Policy are heavily underwritten by Irving
> Moskowitz, a right-wing 
> American Zionist, California business magnate (his
> money comes from bingo 
> parlors), and JINSA board member, who has lavishly
> financed the 
> establishment of several religious settlements in
> Arab East Jerusalem."
> 
> Previous CIA analysts Kathleen and Bill Christison
> write on the Israeli 
> lobby
> http://www.counterpunch.org/christison09062004.html
> 
> Total Taxpayer Cost per Israeli: $23,240 (no other
> country comes even
> close). "Other recipients get their money in
> quarterly installments, but 
> Israel receives its entire appropriation at the
> beginning of each fiscal 
> year and can thus earn interest on it. Most
> recipients of aid given for 
> military purposes are required to spend all of it in
> the US, but Israel is 
> allowed to use roughly 25 per cent of its allocation
> to subsidize its own 
> defense industry. It is the only recipient that does
> not have to account for 
> how the aid is spent, which makes it virtually
> impossible to prevent the 
> money from being used for purposes the US opposes,
> such as building 
> settlements on the West Bank. Moreover, the US has
> provided Israel with 
> nearly $3 billion to develop weapons systems, and
> has given it access to 
> such top-drawer weaponry as Blackhawk helicopters
> and F-16 jets. Finally, 
> the US gives Israel access to intelligence it denies
> to its NATO allies and 
> has turned a blind eye to Israel’s acquisition of
> nuclear weapons."
> 
> Mearsheimer and Walt, London Review of Books,
> 3/23/06 explain how the US 
> policy in the Middle East is shaped by the lobby
> even against other elite 
> interests http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html
> 
> Philip Zelikow, member of the president’s Foreign
> Intelligence Advisory 
> Board, the executive director of the 9/11
> Commission, and a counsellor to
> Condoleezza Rice stated clearly at the University of
> Virginia in September 
> 2002 that Iraq was not a threat to the US but the
> ‘unstated threat’ was a
> ‘threat against Israel’ adding that the government
> "doesn’t want to lean too 
> hard on it rhetorically, because it is not a popular
> sell."
> 
> "Chomsky cites Stephen Zunes approvingly to the
> effect that 'there are far 
> more powerful interests that have a stake in what
> happens in the Persian 
> Gulf region than does AIPAC.' The practical
> implication of this statement is 
> that it is wrong for anti-imperialists activists to
> pay too much attention 
> to the Israel lobby. It’s a waste of resources and a
> diversion from the real 
> target -- U.S. imperialism. The problem is that
> Zunes and Chomsky are again 
> confusing their own leftist framework with the right
> wing framework they 
> oppose. It is wrong to focus on identity as such,
> including the 
> national/ethnic identity of Jews/Israelis who are
> key figures in the 
> imperialist machinery. It is wrong to see the world
> as fundamentally a clash 
> of tribal identities. But it is not wrong to
> strategically focus on the 
> Israel Lobby. The “Israel Lobby” shouldn’t be an
> alternative framework that 
> competes with 'U.S. imperialism' as an explanation
> to world events. The 
> Israel Lobby should rather be a shorthand
> designation for a segment of the 
> elites that fully participates in making U.S.
> imperialism happen. To insist 
> on ignoring the Lobby is to help it maintain a 'safe
> zone' for U.S. 
> imperialism to hide behind. This is indeed one of
> the many useful services 
> the Lobby provides for the larger Washington power
> system. The Israel Lobby 
> is today a major purveyor of racist and pro-war
> propaganda, which is 
> shielded from public criticism by its association
> with Israel and the sword 
> of fighting anti-Semitism. To ignore it is to create
> a safe zone for racism 
> and war at the heart of the U.S. public sphere."
> Gabriel Ash, 
> http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Apr06/Ash20.htm
> 
> “What happened to all those nice plans? Israel’s
> governments mobilized the 
> collective power of US Jewry - which dominates
> Congress and the media to a 
> large degree — against them. Faced by this vigorous
> opposition, all the 
> presidents; great and small, football players and
> movie stars — folded, one 
> after another.” Israeli journalist and peace
> activist Uri Avnery
> 
> B) EXAMPLES OF SKIRMISHES BETWEEN THE LOBBY AND
> OTHER ELITES IN WHICH THE
> FORMER WON
> 
> - 1930's: Career British diplomats issued a
> government backed white paper 
> suggesting tying Jewish immigration to Palestine to
> Palestinian economic 
> interests, not just the Yishuv capacity.  Weissman
> and other British 
> Zionists mobilized their forces en masse and the
> effort succeeded in 
> reversing this policy quickly (well discussed in Tom
> Segev’s excellent book 
> on this period).
> 
> -1940-1945: When there was strong sentiment in the
> US to help European Jews 
> fleeing Nazi Germany, the Zionist lobby both in
> Britain and the US lobbied 
> to limit Jewish immigration to the west and keep the
> door open only for one 
> destination: Palestine (see Naeim Giladi’s book “Ben
> Gurion Scandals” and 
> Lenni Brenner’s “51 Documents: History of the
> Nazi-Zionist collaboration).
> 
> - 1948: When the State Department, the Pentagon, and
> all major career 
> diplomats in the US stood against support for the
> establishment of Israel, 
> President Truman explained his decision to his
> cabinet (privately) very 
> clearly as relating to the lobby and voting adding
> that “I have no Arab 
> constituency” (Truman papers and many history
> books).  The US went on to 
> twist the arms of other countries to support
> partition and the imposing of a 
> Jewish state on Palestine.
> 
> - Early 1960s the Lobby seemed to be losing its
> ability to influence 
> President Kennedy on his push to get Israel to not
> develop nuclear weapons.  
> He insisted on opening up their facilities to
> inspection.  This issue died 
> when JFK was assasinated and the assasin himself
> assasinated by a shadowy 
> figure with ties to Israel (who later mysteriously
> died before his trial).
> 
> - June 1967: Israeli forces attacked the USS Liberty
> in international 
> waters.  Naval demands of an investigation were
> immediately attacked by the 
> lobby in Congress.  Senior Navy officers (and all
> survivors of the attack) 
> were angry, but could do nothing in the face of a
> concerted media silencing 
> campaign.   Even in 2003 when new evidence emerged,
> little was reported on 
> it (see http://www.ussliberty.org/)
> 
> - 1980's: Israel uses US technology and financing to
> develop its own arms 
> export industry competing with US arms exporters but
> also giving advanced
> technologies to US competitors.  Many US arms
> industry leaders are unhappy, 
> and some even complain openly, and Israeli-made
> "Python II" missiles now arm 
> Chinese warplanes and in one instance threatened US
> planes. (see 
>
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/p-krane.html).
> 
> - May 1987: The Reagan administration notified
> Congress of its intention to 
> sell 1600 Maverick anti-tank missiles to Saudi
> Arabia.  According to the NY 
> Times: "Within half an hour, lobbyists from the
> American Israel Public 
> Affairs Committee, the only group registered to
> lobby Congress on 
> legislation affecting Israel, were on the telephone
> to lawmakers about the 
> proposal. Over the next 13 days, the committee
> mobilized its nationwide 
> network of supporters with a series of memorandums
> and telephone calls 
> urging them to lobby Congress. Though it is unclear
> whether the committee, 
> known as AIPAC, can take all the credit, more than
> 260 members of Congress 
> co-sponsored resolutions to block the sale,
> prompting President Reagan to 
> withdraw it."
> http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/pg-nyt2.html
> 
> - Early 1991: Israel asked the US for $10 billion in
> loan guarantees to 
> settle Russian Jews. George HW Bush told Shamir that
> Israel could have the 
> guarantees if it freezes settlement building and
> promises that no Russian 
> Jews would be settled in the occupied areas. Shamir
> simply called the lobby 
> leaders to help.  Mobilization was so swift and
> powerful that Bush received 
> a barrage of media questions in a Press conference
> in 1991.. Bush uttered 
> his famous line “I am only this little guy in the
> white house 
. there are 
> these thousands on Capital Hill
” and then folded. 
> Israel got its $10 
> billion and went on to increase the number of
> colonists/settlers in the
> occupied Palestinian areas from less than 200,000 in
> 1991 to over 450,000 in 
> 2000. This was the main reason for the collapse of
> the peace process and 
> increased resentment and anger in the world.
> 
> - 1992-1998: President Clinton brought to high
> office people who were 
> previously employed by the various Israeli lobby
> groups. Dennis Ross, who 
> worked for WIMEP and was then appointed as US Envoy
> to the Middle East, and 
> then returned to work for WINEP (see
>
http://www.activistsreader.com/articles%20folder/thinktankwatch-winep2.html).
> 
> - Martin Indyk worked for AIPAC and to my knowledge
> is the only lobbyist for 
> a foreign country ever appointed ambassador to that
> same foreign country.   
> These folks and many others made clear their
> interest in merging US policy 
> and Israeli policy.  Thus it was not surprising that
> Clinton issued 
> assurances saying that if the Camp David meetings
> failed no one will be 
> faulted.  But even as negotiations continued in
> Taba, Ross, Clinton, and 
> Indyk blamed Arafat.   The Clinton administration,
> under the influence of 
> these lobbyists, continued to support an aggressive
> policy in Iraq and tried 
> valiantly to thwart the International community and
> many leaders of US 
> businesses (including multinational companies) who
> pushed for ending the 
> sanctions that were killing 6000 children every
> month.
> 
> - September 2001, Bush urged Israel to show
> restraint in its crackdown on 
> the Palestinians, and pressed Sharon to allow Shimon
> Peres to meet with 
> Arafat (he also said publicly that he supported the
> creation of a 
> Palestinian state). Sharon accused Bush of trying
> ‘to appease the Arabs at 
> our expense’ and stated ‘we will not be
> Czechoslovakia’. Bush was reportedly 
> furious at being compared to Chamberlain, and the
> White House press 
> secretary called Sharon’s remarks ‘unacceptable’.
> The Lobby kicked into high 
> gear.  89 Senators wrote a letter to Bush.  Bush
> backed down.  The New York 
> Times stated that the letter ‘stemmed’ from a
> meeting two weeks before 
> between ‘leaders of the American Jewish community
> and key senators’ with the 
> involvement of AIPAC.
> 
> - April 2002. Israel's push into the West Bank
> embarrases Bush and he asked 
> its government to halt the incursion and withdraw
> from Palestinian cities. 
> He repeated this twice.  Even Condaleeza Rice (then
> National Security 
> Adviser) emphasized "Withdraw now means withdraw
> now".  The Lobby swung into 
> action. Tom DeLay, Dick Armey, and Trent Lott told
> Bush to back off.  On 
> April 11, White House press secretary said that Bush
> believed Sharon to be a 
> "man of peace".  No more was heard about
> withdrawals.
> 
> - March 2005: In a snub to the White House, AIPAC
> managed to get a bill 
> severely restricting aid to the Palestinians and
> even denying the usual
> clause for a presidential waiver for national
> security 
> ttp://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/p-nir.html
> 
> - April 2005. After initially complaining about
> Israel's plans to increase 
> settlement activities to surround Jerusalem (Maale
> Adumim area) in violation 
> of the US drafted "road map", the Bush
> administration backed down in the 
> face of the lobby;
>
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/p-softenbush.html
> 
> C) GENERAL COMMENTS
> 
> There is a myth that weapons and oil industries
> support Israel.  The fact is 
> that most of the time Israeli/Zionist interests and
> those interests of 
> weapons/oil companies are completely divergent See 
> http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/
> 
> There are many implications and ramifications of
> understanding the power and 
> influence of the the lobby.  What if Nehemia
> Stessler is correct as cited 
> above that without US support Israel would not be
> able to continue its 
> policies (which are now so clear in their impact on
> native Palestinians and 
> Lebanes)? What if indeed there are many instances
> (as cited above) that 
> Zionist special interests win against other special
> interests (oil and 
> military)? What if fortune Magazine and CIA and
> other analysts are correct 
> about the power of this lobby in America? What if
> this lobby can be defeated 
> (as was shown in some cases)?  What if it can't? How
> does this relate to the 
> war on Iraq (pushed for by neocon Zionists)?  How
> does one resolve the fact 
> that Israel is now directly competing with US
> Weapons manufacturers in 
> exporting high tech weapons even as most of this was
> made possible by US 
> transfer of military technology and money to Israel?
>  How does one reconcile 
> the facts that Congress and the White House
> frequently interfere to protect 
> Israel from repercussions of its violations of US
> and international laws 
> regarding proliferation, arms export, use of arms
> against civilians etc?
> 
> The hypocrisy in US foreign policy is now visible to
> most people around the 
> world and even here in the US with a self-censoring
> media it is hard to 
> avoid it.  Take this simple fact that Israel has
> WMD, has violated 65 UN 
> Security Council Resolutions and was shielded from
> 35 others by a US Veto 
> (because of the strong lobby), discriminates against
> people based on 
> religion and the US supports it.   Iraq violated
> very few UN SC resolutions 
> by invading Kuwait and the US bombed Iraq to a
> pre-industrial age 
> (destroying water purification, sewage, electrical,
> transportation and other 
> critical facilities), subjected it to sanctions
> (even after the withdrawal 
> from Kuwait) that killed over 1 million civilians,
> and then bombed and 
> occupied Iraq intending to build 14 permanent
> military basis in Iraq and 
> installing a new regime!! Is it any wonder that
> people ask why we have such 
> hypocrisy and question the given answers formulated
> in Tel Aviv.  After all, 
> Iraq will continue to be a magnet of resistance
> fighters pouring in from 
> other Arab and Islamic countries as long as Israel
> is supported in its 
> continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians (i.e. As
> long as this hypocrisy 
> is evident).
> 
> In fact many argue that without the lobby, there
> would not be support for 
> Israeli colonization nor for an illegal and
> illegitimate war on Iraq or the 
> upcoming manufactured conflict with Iran and
> certainly not from companies 
> that are suffering because of this close
> relationship.  Israel in fact is 
> now directly competing with US Weapons manufacturers
> in exporting high tech 
> weapons (most of it made possible by US transfer of
> military technology and 
> money to Israel).  Congress and the White House
> frequently have had to 
> interfere to protect Israel from any repercussions
> by its violations of US 
> and international laws regarding proliferation, arms
> export, use of arms 
> against civilians etc.
> 
> There were rare times when the lobby was not as
> powerful in pushing the myth 
> of equivalency of US and Israeli interests.   In
> 1956 President Eisenhower 
> listened to career diplomats and US elites, and
> pressed for Israeli 
> withdrawal from the Gaza and Sinai despite rumblings
> from Congress (itself 
> influenced by the lobby). But any such minor
> resistance vanished after 1967 
> when the lobby pushed the idea that US weapons in
> Israeli hands are keeping 
> the Soviets/Communism out of the Middle East (a lie
> because communism could 
> never get a hold in Arab society).  Now do not
> misunderstand anything I 
> said.  It is misleading to say that Israel rules US
> foreign policy.  But it 
> would be even more misleading to ignore the central
> role of this lobby in 
> shaping US foreign policy in the Middle East and in
> building support by 
> various means.  Nor would it be fair to ignore the
> PR aimed at exaggerating 
> the “strategic use” argument to outright
> misinformation about threats and 
> responses to promoting a particular and false view
> of Christianity 
> (“Christian Zionism”).  For those of us interested
> in freedom and equality 
> (i.e. human rights), it is simply not correct to try
> to ignore history and 
> facts and accept the language of our oppressor.  It
> is playing into both 
> Zionist and Imperial hands by accepting their claim
> that the reason for 
> support of Israel (and for the war on Iraq) is a
> “strategic relationship” 
> directed to serving only US elite interests (oil,
> military, and other 
> corporate interests).
> 
> Many within the lobby are also finally seeing the
> light and leaving that 
> destructive work.  Thousands of Jews are now openly
> speaking about the 
> destructive power of the lobby and Carter's book is
> in the top ten sellers.  
> The ground is shifting as Jews, Christians, Muslims,
> and others who believe 
> in human rights and do not support racist Zionism
> join hands not only to 
> point out the elephant in the room but also to take
> the old elephant out of 
> the room and to an overdue retirement. Let us hope
> they/we succeed before 
> much more damage happens to US economy, US
> interests, and to people in 
> Western Asia.
> 
>
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