Behind the AIPAC Probe, Neocons Seen Battling Rivals

[seemslikeadream]

By Jefferson Morley
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 7, 2004; 10:30 AM

A high-level Washington power struggle over U.S. policy toward Iran is driving the espionage investigation of the powerful American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to international online observers.

On one side of the conflict are neoconservative officials in the Pentagon who favor bold U.S. action to bring down Iran's theocratic government. On the other side, some see intelligence officials who view the neocons as too close to Israel.

Americans, distracted by two political conventions, the Olympics and summer vacations, probably missed the news that the governments of Israel and Iran spent the summer trading threats to attack each other.

Iran, the most populous country in the Middle East, has been secretly seeking to develop nuclear weapons, according to international weapons inspectors, a charge Tehran denies. Israel, which has maintained an official stance of nuclear ambiguity, is long suspected of possessing a nuclear arsenal but has never accepted weapons inspections. It is, by all accounts, determined to prevent the emergence of another nuclear power in the Middle East. In 1982, Israeli jets destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor to prevent Saddam Hussein from developing nuclear weapons. Israeli officials have threatened to do the same in Iran.
more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2149-2004Sep7.html

[burythehatchet]

1. In my mind I can see the massive war that is being waged

by these factions. I think it could be a great thing if the neoCONS that exist in the permanent, non-elected government, are exposed. These are the people who have ridden roughshod over the career beaurocrats and driven away some very talented and committed people.

[acmavm]

2. Not only have the neo-cons got to be driven out of Washington, they

have to be exposed for the corrupt lying murderous thugs they are and prevented from ever coming close to power ever again. They need to be held responsible for the 1000 dead Americans, the thousands of Iraqi dead, the bankruptcy of this country. And bush* needs to be tarred and feathered with the same brush.

[KoKo]

3. They and this administration need to be accountable for their actions

for decades. And, that includes Baker/Kissinger/NeoConMen/Corporations who hired them and won favors and everyone of these folks who go back to Nixon/Reagan/Dirty Tricks/Iran Contra and the US selling of WMD(Chem and Biological) to destabilize parts or the world.

This all must be rooted out and they should be tried for crimes against their country. Treason/War Profiteering/Inciting War/Violation of the Geneva Conventions and Crimes Against Humanity.

I'm not holding my breath on this happening, though ...:-(

[allemand]

4. There is more to that scandal than just bureaucratic infighting

In fact, that seems to be the line of defense of the neocons: deny the spying, blame it all on bureaucratic turf wars. Josh Marshall had some good comments about that, referring to an earlier article in the NYT:

"Whenever the neocons come under investigative scrutiny their defense is always that the investigations are a put-up by their bureaucratic enemies. And this piece seems almost entirely devoted to their unsubstantiated claims of the same.

Bureaucratic infighting happens of course. But these investigations are far more frequently the result of their recklessness, indifference to procedure and simple bad-acts.

On a deeper level, the defense is related to a mindset we often see in their analysis of intelligence. Just as they tend to discount the idea of disinterested intelligence analysis -- i.e., analysis that is not simply a cover for ideologically-driven opinion -- they are similarly unable or unwilling to see investigations such as these as anything other than a manifestation of ideological turf wars inside the executive branch."

More:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_09_05.php#003435

[jumpstart33]

5. Look out for some staged incident blamed on Iran to draw the US into

a conflict with Iran. I wouldn't be surprised if Israel went on and "pre-emptively" bombed someplace in Iran if things start to look bad for their neocon surrogates in the US Congress and this administration.