Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

SACRED COW: Bush's Religion Collides with American Interests (see note below)

“Obviously Iran is involved…” – Secretary Condoleezza Rice on “This Week.”

Today on “This Week,” Secretary Rice said it is “grotesque” to say that the war in Iraq
has made the situation in the Middle East worse. Well, excuse me if I find it
grotesque that our Secretary of State is so ignorant of the facts on the ground.
By the way, why isn't she in the Middle East right now? I guess Olmert's “back
off” was just too much for Condi to take. Oh, wait a minute, that's right,
we have no credibility as an honest broker since Bush.

If we are a friend of democracy, where are we where Lebanon
is concerned?

I guess we need to remind Bush and Rice that elections put the Muslim Brotherhood in power in Egypt; elections put Hamas in power in the Palestinian territories; and elections put Hezbollah in power in Lebanon. What, we're now going to say that we don't like the outcome so we're not going to deal with the people in power? Make up your minds, people. Democracy doesn't give you what you want; it serves up the people's will.

Why is Rice talking about Syria and Iran at all?

Are we forgetting the Gaza
beach explosion?

Why are conservatives ratcheting up a dangerous situation without the facts?
Senator Warner has it right: Israel's extraordinary reaction is going to hurt
our efforts in Iraq, which could have real impact throughout the region.

… “think through very carefully how Israel's extraordinary reaction could affect our operations in Iraq and our joint diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue. “This is a very critical time for the US in the Middle East, and the Israeli actions will certainly have an impact beyond Lebanon and Gaza,” Warner warned. US Senator Urges Restraint

I've asked it again and again, why is Israel ignoring the war in Iraq?

More importantly, why isn't President Bush keeping U.S. interests above all
else? Why is Israel more important than our own interests? His tepid response
to Israel is unbecoming an American commander in chief. We've got troops in
Iraq trying to hold that country together. Get a spine, Mr. President. Check
the flag, sir.

Now, let's turn to the unmentionable, something not talked about in public: the Israeli lobby.
As we do, it's important to remember that the Israeli lobby faction must be kept separate
from the Jewish people themselves. It is my contention that the powerful lobby
interests of AIPAC and others are not only harming Israel, but destroying U.S.
credibility around the world, as it foments terrorism. Bush's inability to stay
an honest broker has made Israel's position more not less dangerous. Some would
call it a Catch-22. I believe it's tantamount to American national suicide. But let me be even more frank. Bush's inability to maneuver this reality is due to his religious beliefs. He is obviously incapable of keeping his personal faith separate from his presidential responsibilities.

The conservative foreign policy strategy towards Israel is dangerous for the
U.S. Two professors remind us how far we've gone to put Israel's interest above
our own, which hurts everyone, with the terrorists benefiting above all.

All David Ben-Gurion wanted was 15 minutes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's time. Israel's founding father, one of the indomitable political leaders of the 20th century, came to Washington in December 1941 yearning to present the case for a Jewish state directly to the American president. He took a two-room suite at the old Ambassador Hotel at 14th and K for $1,000 a month and cooled his heels for 10 weeks, writing letters and reports and making passes at Miriam Cohen, his attractive American secretary. But Ben-Gurion didn't get the meeting. Not then, not ever. Not even a pair of presidential cuff links. … … On Capitol Hill the Israel lobby commands large majorities in both the House and Senate. Polls show strong public support for Israel — a connection that has grown even deeper after the September 11 attacks. The popular equation goes like this: Israelis equal good guys, Arabs equal terrorists. Working the Hill these days, says Josh Block, spokesman for the premier Israeli lobbying group known as AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, “is like pushing at an open door.” Not everyone believes this is a good thing. In March two distinguished political scientists — Stephen Walt from Harvard and John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago — published a 42-page, heavily footnoted essay arguing that the Bush administration's support for Israel and its related effort to spread democracy throughout the Middle East have “inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized U.S. security.” The professors claim that our intimate partnership with Israel is both dangerous and unprecedented. “Other special interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest,” they argue. They go on to say that the war in Iraq “was due in large part to the Lobby's influence,” and that the same combine is “using all of the strategies in its playbook” to pressure the administration into being aggressive and belligerent with Iran. The bottom line: “Israel's enemies get weakened or overthrown, Israel gets a free hand with the Palestinians, and the United States does most of the fighting, dying, rebuilding and paying.” A sweet deal for Israel, in other words, but a very bad one for America. … A Beautiful Friendship? In search of the truth about the Israel lobby's influence on Washington

Read the whole article, which is causing blood pressure spikes across Washington.

Conservatives are endangering American interests, while also making Israel
more vulnerable. Taking sides is costing us dearly. It's not doing much for
Israel either.

As for Iraq, George Will said it perfectly today. Moqtada al-Sadr isn't going
to sit by while the Lebanese people suffer. Get it? Unfortunately, Israel does
not, or if she does, doesn't care.

TM NOTE (7.17.06): Images provoke strong reactions. The American president should honor all faiths, but not any one faith in particular through his office, though personally is quite another matter. When images like the one above are blasted across the world it sends an image of bias, which weakens the U.S. role as honest broker. This is not only dangerous for Israel, but for the United States and peace itself. This image is not only appropriate, because it incites strong reaction when coupled with this post, but proves my point through the reaction it has inspired.

UPDATE (7.17.06, 2:06 p.m.): Here's another view, opposing the Washington Post article yesterday, on how the Jewish lobby not only helps Israel, but the peace process as well. It's authored by Daniel Levy, an adviser in the Israeli prime minister’s office, a member of the official Israeli negotiating team at the Oslo B and Taba talks, and the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative: Is It Good for the Jews? The recent controversy over the Israel lobby has focused on how it distorts U.S. foreign policy. Forgotten is whether it helps Israel (and the peace process).