AIPAC Undermining America and Israel’s Best Interests

[Flabbergasted]

by Randy Shaw‚ Mar. 21‚ 2007

The current issue of J., the Jewish news weekly of Northern California, has an illuminating article on the misguided agenda of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The article describes AIPAC’s “consensus issue” as Iran’s alleged nuclear threat, and states how Dick Cheney and others won applause by linking the Iraq war to combating the “menace that is posed by the Iranian regime.” But AIPAC members appear to have forgotten that the chief enemy of Iran was Saddam Hussein, who the U.S. overthrew to install an pro-Iranian Iraqi government. And Iran’s other chief opponent in the region was the Taliban of Afghanistan, also overthrown by the Bush Administration. With half the US Senate and more than half of the House attending AIPAC’s dinner, you would think that someone would have offered the group a recent history lesson.

While progressives frequently criticize AIPAC, nobody has accused the group of being politically naïve. But that’s the only conclusion that can be reached after many of the group’s members gave huge applause to the Bush Administration warmongers who linked the Iraq war and “surge” to the struggle to contain Iran.

Bush’s role in eliminating Iran’s enemies is undisputed, but the media has failed to connect the Iraq war to White House claims that the Iranian “threat” is escalating. Nor have many politicians. For example, longtime Iraq war backer Hilary Clinton announced last week that American should keep troops permanently in Iraq, precisely because of this alleged threat from Iran.

But the media may finally be catching on. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote a scathing column on March 20 describing how the Iraq war has empowered Iran. In “Iran’s Operative in the White House,” Kristof wondered if Dick Cheney is “an Iranian mole,” given how much his agenda has helped Iran.

http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/AIPAC_Undermining_America_and_Israel_s_Best_Interests_4321.html

[xkenx]

1. PASS THIS ON TO YOUR JEWISH FRIENDS

I have been hearing much about how much George Bush supports Israel, as if any U.S. President/Administration since Israel's formation in 1948 didn't fully support her as a pro-western democracy through foreign aid, military sales, unwavering diplomatic support in the U.N. and elsewhere. Yes, Bush's support is real, but not many people realize the foundation for his apparently extra-strong support. It is his and his Fundamentalist Christian supporters'/base's belief that Israel must be maintained intact for the second coming of Christ (the Armageddon/Rapture literalist interpretation of the Bible). Problem is that this interpretation has Jews playing their part in this scenario, in which some Jews accept Christ, the rest perish. In my opinion, it is immaterial whether other people believe that these events could come to pass; Bush and his Christian Fundamentalist base believe it and behave accordingly.

In my opinion again, Bush's misguided policies vis-a-vis Iraq and his failure to address peace attempts elsewhere in the Middle East or North Korea, or to go after the real terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Hizbollah, and the like, have made their neighborhood a MORE dangerous place for Israel. For example, where was the strong effort to help Lebanon control Hizbollah in southern Lebanon? Answer, our time, effort, resources, were busy taking out a (yes, bad guy) dictator who ran a secular country whom Osama would destroy if he could because Saddam was not a "True Believer," who no longer had WMDs, and who was nowhere near even having ingredients to begin a nuclear program. In the 1990s, after the Gulf war, and upon the wreckage of Saddam's army and equipment and the dismantling of Saddam's WMDs, the Israeli intelligence services downgraded the Iraqi threat from #2 or 3(after only Syria and/or Iran) to #7. That's how much they were worried about Saddam. As for Democracy throughout the Middle East, democratic elections installed Hamas in Palestine, and democratic elections have the Lebanon that we see.

Meanwhile George Bush in America violates his oath of office which requires that he uphold the laws of the country and protect and defend the Constitution. Facism rears its head in America. Jews should be worried about THAT.
Ken

First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."
Martin Niemoller
(Martin Niemoller was a church leader in Germany and a supporter of Hitler's brand of nationalism. Unfortunately, Hitler got around to being displeased by Niemoller's church, and Niemoller wound up in a concentration camp for a number of years.)

[Flabbergasted]

2. Good insight...

I recommend you edit the post with paragraphs.

[mmonk]

3. Don't forget the ATC

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Turkish_Council
They are influential as well concerning alot of this. This thread will probably be moved shortly to the Israel/Palestine forum but I don't think it belongs there.

[IndianaGreen]

4. The fault lies not in AIPAC, but on the politicians that pander to it, Republicans and Democrats

While AIPAC did their share of selling the war in Iraq, and are doing their share of selling a new war in Iran, it is the politicians that pander to AIPAC's masters in Israel's rightwing that bear most of the blame.

Twice I bestowed the Pander Bear Award, with a picture of a Vermont Teddy Bear dressed as a cheerleader, to a certain Senator currently running for President. Those messages are in the DU archives.