Is there a connection between the Likud party and the neocon war in Iraq?

[Nikki Stone 1]

A friend directed me to a Wayne Madsen article that implies an illegal connection between the neocons, their war in Iraq and the Likud party.

I don't know whether I buy it or not. I wonder if anyone has more specific information.

[zmdem]

1. How about a link to the article ?

Hard to comment otherwise.

As to the war being illegal, seems to me it was authorized by congress and prosecuted by the president, pretty much as the constitution requires.

Whether or not it was the right thing to do is, of course, a different matter.

[madrchsod]

2. i`d say do alot of research

and form your own opinion. specific info is out there but it`s the linkage that is the problem,you could make a case for or against. i think there is a linkage between seemingly random events..

[Classical_Liberal]

3. You bet!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=124&topic_id=69483#69811

Read post 35.

Richard Perle wrote "A Clean Break" that as the official foriegn policy of Netenyahu, then Prime Minister and head of the Likud Party. He was his foriegn policy advisor.

[necso]

4. There are ties

between any number of the neos and far right elements in Israel. Whether money is involved or not I do not know. I suspect that it is.

Since a number of prominent neos are Jewish, it is often considered anti-Semitic to discuss their connections to Israel and what part that played in the decision to go to war.

But not only the Jewish neos are closely tied to Israel, there are many others whose relationship to Israel bears closer examination. For example, there are many "Christians" who think that Israel must be restored to some state (with the full lands of the Jewish state at, or near, its peak, and the temple rebuilt, etc. ) before their god can come again. There are also other neos who just see Israeli interests as pretty much being our own, although why is beyond me.

Nonetheless, there is some more or less sordid relationship between Israel, in the form of her far right, and our own far right, the neos.

To what extent this relationship played a role in the decision to go to war will never be known, probably because they can't afford to let it and will make every effort to keep it from coming to light.

Personally, I believe that this relationship played a significant role, and had the invasion been seen to be contrary to Israeli interests (or the interests of the Israeli far right), it would never have happened.

Of course this might make me some kind of monster, in overly PC eyes, to say this.

And the sad thing is, Israel will probably be a lot worse off when this is all over. It is probably worse off even now. But then again, since the neos are but children, playing carelessly and heedlessly with the tools of men, what can you expect but disaster?

And with American politics being what it is, how hard is anybody ever going to look at this?.

[Veggie Meathead]

5. Although I do not have any specific information, I have always believed

that Bush's mentor on the runup to and the actual war on Iraq was none other than Sharon himself.There are several indicators of this. The first, of course, was the involvement of Perle who was heavily involved in the Israeli elections as a campaign advisor.There are other players on the Likud side notably Feith although I do not know what his exact role was.

When we consider some of the actions Bush has taken prior to 9/11 and after, one can see a pattern emerging that is strikingly similar to what Israel has done over the years with regard to international laws and institutions.The assertion that US troopsand officials will not be bound by any International Crminal Court proceedings is one of them.The second is the wilful violations of the Geneva conventions.
And third, and most importantly, is the wanton destruction of the UN charter.These are the most obvious ones and you can probably dig up more if you research this more thoroughly than I have.

But, of special importance to me and probably to others at DU should be the tortures of prisoners and especially the children at Abu Ghraib.General Karpinski, the Warden at Abu Ghraib , has noted the presence of several Israeli 'interrogators' at that infamous prison.
I can only surmise what they were doing there.Given the intimate knowledge Israelis have of Arab culture, many of the torture procedures, I am sure, have been developed by the Israelis with their characteristic thoroughness.The use of dogs,the use of fecal matter,the sodomization of children in the presence of parents, the rape of women in the presence of their husbands are all part of the torture procedures that have been used by the Israelis over four decades against the Palestinians.I am sure that the Israelis's fluency in Arabic was also put to good use during the so called interrogations.

All of these things would not have been possible without the specila bond shared by Sharon and Bush.I recall that before he announced his candidacy for the presidency, in one of his rare ventures out of the US Bush visited Sharon at the instigation of Wolfowitz.The bonds forged by these two has produced the framework of American policy in the Middle East.The aim of Israel is to eliminate any possibility of the Palestinians forming a State.The aim of the Us is to send a message to the Arabs that either they obey the US or their main resource, oil, will be taken over and they will be put down by armed force.The confluence of these interests is what we see in the Iraq war.

Sorry for this long dissertation.