Archive for November 2011
Hebrew-tweeting U.S. ambassador: ‘We simply have no better partner than Israel’
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When asked by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s Ron Kampeas about the U.S. strategic interest in maintaining the relationship with Israel, America’s “Hebrew-tweeting U.S. ambassador” Dan Shapiro replied:
“We simply have no better partner than Israel, no partner with whom we have such overwhelming common interests as well as common values. So when we’re looking at the challenges of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and building an international coalition that would put the squeeze on Iran so that it does not happen; when we look at dealing with uncertainty and change in the Arab world; when we look at the threat posed by terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas and others and more radical groups, you’re drawn toward the partners you can count on.”
Presumably, Ambassadors Matthew Gould and Jon Allen would say something similar about British and Canadian strategic interests.
Blankfort & Giraldi: Who is Pushing for War on Iran?
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Jeff Blankfort and Philip Giraldi discuss efforts by pro-Israel forces, e.g., neocons, to promote an attack on Iran, how it resembles the build-up for the Iraq war; on the latest IAEA report; on the AIPAC-controlled U.S. Congress limiting presidential action on Palestine and Iran, how it intimidates legislators; on the chances of Israel attacking Iran with Congress’s support; on the impact of 2012 election campaigning; on the arrest of an Iranian-American for supposedly planning the assassination of the Saudi ambassador; how and why U.S. intelligence and the Pentagon block efforts to attack Iran; on the Hezbollah arrest of CIA informants and how the group is not threat to the U.S.
Matthew Gould: Britain’s ‘Fair and Balanced’ Man in Tel Aviv
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On July 22, 2010, Matthew Gould, Britain’s then-Ambassador designate to Israel, was the guest speaker at an event sponsored by the Leeds Zionist Federation and the North East branch of the British Israel Chamber of Commerce:
Ambassador Gould spoke to over 60 local business people at a breakfast where he said that Israel was well placed to be an economic powerhouse in the Middle East. As the first Jewish Ambassador to Israel he felt he had an important role to play. He said that the Foreign Office was not full of arabists as is often perceived and he was looking forward to spending his four years in Israel. After a full day meeting various business groups in the city he addressed over 150 supporters of the LZF, both Jewish and non Jewish on his hopes and aspirations on taking up his new posting. This was also the first meeting of the Leeds Hasbarah centre, a joint venture between the LZF and the resident community Shaliach, Gilad Amit. The talk was followed by a lengthy Q & A. The overall impression was that here was a British Ambassador whom we felt will be fair and balanced in his deliberations although it was made clear that the Ambassador’s job in Israel primarily to serve British interests. A collection was made after the meeting toward a project for young people from Leeds to visit Poland and also in support of sending packages to Lonely Soldiers in the IDF.
The Folly of Sanctions
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By Rep. Ron Paul
Antiwar.com
November 30, 2011
Many people have the misconception that sanctions are an effective means to encourage a change of behavior in another country without war. However, sanctions and blockades are not only acts of war according to international law, they are most often the first step toward a real war, starting with a bombing campaign. Sanctions were the first step in our wars against Iraq and Libya, and now more sanctions planned against Syria and Iran are leading down the same destructive path.
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Syrian Opposition ‘Martyrs’ Filmed Rising from the Dead
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The Israel Lobby and the Creation of an American Dictatorship
In much of the limited coverage of the dangerous provision buried in the annual defense appropriations bill that would give the President the power to use the military to intern anyone — including American citizens — indefinitely, and hold them without charges or trial, anywhere in the world, including on American soil, there has been little, if any, discussion of the most likely source of the dictatorial legislation introduced by Senators Levin and McCain.
According to a November 2010 WRMEA report, Carl Levin was the No.1 career recipient of pro-Israel PAC funds with $728,737. By contrast, buying John McCain’s loyalty — to Israel — has been a bargain at a paltry $207,000.
Almost every piece of police state legislation introduced since 9/11 — from the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and introduction of the USA Patriot Act to the ongoing efforts to censor the Internet — was introduced by AIPAC’s minions in Congress. Isn’t it time for all freedom-loving Americans to identify clearly the source of the onslaught on their increasingly diminishing liberty?
US and Pakistan enter the danger zone
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By M K Bhadrakumar
Asia Times Online
November 29, 2011
The air strike by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at the Pakistani military post at Salala in the Mohmand Agency on the Afghan-Pakistan border Friday night is destined to become a milestone in the chronicle of the Afghan war.
Within hours of the incident, Pakistan’s relations with the US began nose-diving and it continues to plunge. NATO breached the ”red line”.
What is absolutely stunning about the statement issued by Pakistan’s Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DDC), which met Saturday at Islamabad under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani is that it did not bother to call for an inquiry by the US or NATO into the air strike that resulted in the death of 28 Pakistani soldiers.
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