Why catching AIPAC spying is good for the Israeli peace movement!

[Classical_Liberal]

The American Israel Political Action Committee is a lobbying group that used to support whatever government was in power in Israel, and used to give money even-handedly inside the US. My perception is that during the past decade AIPAC has increasingly tilted to the Likud in Israel, and to the political Right in the United States. In the 1980s, AIPAC set up the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as a pro-Israeli alternative to the Brookings Institution, which it perceived to be insufficiently supportive of Israel. WINEP has largely followed AIPAC into pro-Likud positions, even though its director, Dennis Ross, is more moderate. He is a figurehead, however, serving to disguise the far right character of most of the position papers produced by long-term WINEP staff and by extremist visitors and "associates" (Daniel Pipes and Martin Kramer are among the latter).

WINEP, being a wing of AIPAC, is enormously influential in Washington. State Department and military personnel are actually detailed there to "learn" about "the Middle East"! They would get a far more balanced "education" about the region in any Israeli university, since most Israeli academics are professionals, whereas WINEP is a "think tank" that hires by ideology

I did some consulting with one US company that had a government contract, and they asked me about WINEP position papers (many of them are just propaganda). When I said I would take them with a grain of salt, the guy said his company had "received direction" to pay a lot of attention to the WINEP material! So Discipline is being imposed even on the private sector.

Note that over 80% of American Jews vote Democrat, that the majority of American Jews opposed the Iraq war (more were against it than in the general population), and that American Jews have been enormously important in securing civil liberties for all Americans. Moreover, Israel has been a faithful ally of the US and deserves our support in ensuring its security. The Likudniks like to pretend that they represent American Jewry, but they do not. And they like to suggest that objecting to their policies is tantamount to anti-Semitism, which is sort of like suggesting that if you don't like Chile's former dictator Pinochet, you are bigotted against Latinos....

http://www.juancole.com/2004_08_01_juancole_archive.html#109368172121878771

[bluestateguy]

1. Shouldn't the Patriot Act kick in: declare AIPAC a terrorist organization

Shut down their offices, close their bank accounts and arrest their top leaders? We did that to a number of sham Muslim charities.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Classical_Liberal]

3. Trolling for terrorists is not illegal.

.

[lottie244]

9. That is my thinking also.

I agree, the peace movement in Israel is helped by this.

[Malva Zebrina]

4. well, whether they do or not represent Jews, they have all the power

and are using it, as the rest of the essay goes on to say. The money goes to influence congresspersons to support the Likud party, which is now the total focus of the AIPAC. Therefore they are, in a sense, running our lives. Our tax money goes to Israel's Likud and supports the barbarism (in my opinion) coming from the only democracy in the ME and whom the people of Israel have duly elected by a great margin last time around. AIPAC is the conduit for the passing of American secrets to Israel.

The one problem I have with this essay is the little mention of any one in Bush's government, like Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith et al, and their connections , Perhaps it was written before this latest involvment.

[Dover]

8. I think Rumsfeld, Cheney, etc. may have just joined causes for mutual

interests.
Let's not forget the enormous stakes that they are playing for....oil
and other resources, as well as a foothold in a quickly developing Eurasia:


...Even before September 11, the US was using economic, political, and military assistance to gain toeholds in the eight former Soviet republics along Russia’s southern rim: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Washington’s goals were, and remain, to tap the region’s sizeable oil and gas resources and to prevent Russia from re-dominating its former territories.

Then along came September 11 and the “war on terrorism” (WOT). These provided Washington the perfect excuse to accelerate its penetration of the region.

Using the WOT as a cover, the US positioned troops or bases in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, and Iraq, with more on the way.

Incidentally, were the WOT really about terrorism, the US State Department would be lavishing praise on Armenia, which is the only—yes, the only—country within a wide radius whose territory, citizens, and government have had no links whatsoever to Al Qaeda.

NEO-CONSERVATIVES

September 11 was also a windfall for the Bush administration’s so-called neo-conservatives, a group of hard-line Jewish Americans that includes the Pentagon’s Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and Abram Shulsky. Their unspoken plan—which is at odds with American interests and values—is for the US to defeat Israel’s enemies.

Neo-conservatives were behind President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, and have now pushed Iran and Syria into the White House’s gun sights. But whether for the WOT, oil and gas, the containment of Russia, or Israel, the fact is that the US is driving harder than ever into the Middle East, Caucasus, and Central Asia....cont'd

http://www.hairenik.com/armenianweekly/march_2004/politics001.html

[Eloriel]

5. Fabulous column

But then he's usually quite fabulous. This one is extra so, IMO.

[realFedUp]

6. Bill Moyers should have Juan Cole on NOW

he'd be an interesting interview.

[Joanne98]

7. That's a really good point

The paper, "The Rebuilding of Zionism" launches an attack on Labor Jews. They're moving the whole thing to the right. It's the leadership. Right-wingers hate democracy. It's no different in the Jewish community. The average Jewish citizens aren't in control of this anymore than we are. I think they're probably divided too. The neo-cons are a THREAT to everybody especially Jews. We need to stand up to fascists all over the world and in every country no matter what religion or ethnicity. Anti-semitic charges are a distraction and I grow increasely suspect of people who use them.

[Classical_Liberal]

10. kick

:kick:

[Vladimir]

11. The biggest problem with the bullshit anti-semitic charges

being bandied around is that its gonna end up like the boy who cried wolf when the real anti-semites swing into action again... and I do not doubt that they will. Because if someone spend all their time calling me an anti-semite when I try to criticise their government's opression of the Palestinians, I am much less likely to listen to calls of 'anti-semite!' towards others too. Its not right but I am afraid that's how its gonna end up...

[Julien Sorel]

12. I wish people would stop promulgating the notion that Likud

is some evil, breakaway entity that controls Israel against the will of the Israeli people, who would do right if only they could. The fact is that Israel's foreign policy, and by that I mean policy regarding the Palestinians, has been the same whether it was Labor/Mapai or Likud at the helm. Labor had pretty much a monopoly on power there for three decades. It was during this time that Israel's current policies and ambitions were formed and instituted, and a Labor government, were one to somehow magically assume control now, would probably do nothing different than Likud is doing. Perhaps they'd move the wall a little here or a little there, but that's about it.

Sharon and Likud are known entities. No one in Israel needed to be told what they were about or what they would do when they elected, then re-elected them to power. They aren't some dictatorial entity that sprung up and seized control of Israel, and when people pretend otherwise, it allows for the fiction: "Israel will do right, once Sharon is gone." Israel is a democracy, in many ways more democratic than we are. If they wanted Sharon gone, he would be gone; if they wanted the government to pursue a different policy with regards to the Palestinians, it would happen; if they didn't want the current state of affairs, they have had plenty of opportunities over the years to change them.

[Classical_Liberal]

13. I don't see where the article made this claim

. I know they are popular, but by reducing their influence in the US, it will cause pressure on Israeli society so they might want to ditch Likud. After Bush threatened them Israel with aid, the Israelis ditched the likudniks, in favor of Rabin. I am fully aware that the Israeli zietgist is to grab half the west bank if they can. Putting Aipac on the spot may indicate to Israelis this isn't feasable.

The article does say that neocon/likudniks in America don't represent most American Jews which is the truth.

[Julien Sorel]

14. It's implied throughout the article,

by focusing on Likud instead of Israel. Whenever Likud or Sharon is blamed for the actions of Israel, the implication is that Israel itself is innocent, it is Sharon, or Likud, that is guilty. But as I pointed out in my other post, Likud is the party Israelis have chosen to lead them and make, and execute, policy.

[Classical_Liberal]

15. I do believe that Likud manipulates Israeli fear much like they did

to Americans in the Iraq war. They take advantage of ignorance in both countries.

[Julien Sorel]

16. And I think the average Israeli is politically

more sophisticated than the average American.

And then there is the little problem of those thirty years before Likud came to power, when Menachem Begin (Sharon's political forbear in some ways) was considered something of a nutcase, yet Israeli policy was identical to what it is now.

[Classical_Liberal]

18. I wouldn't count on sophistication at all

for years the typical Israeli was taught that their was no Palestinian people in their classrooms.

[shraby]

17. Do they have Diebold machines to vote on?