De Pro-Israel Lobby 26

'The Israeli lobby and the endless wars: Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and
upcoming war on Iran
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.'