Thread: AIPAC

Wasn't sure where to put this. The interview with Brzezenski discuss Iraelis stealing Pali land and apartheid, but also focus on how in the US, you can criticize China, Cuba, Russia, and Bolivia, but if you criticize Israeli you are attacked with outrageous charges:

AIPAC strikes again. And Obama seems to definitely be tilting towards pacifying the Israel Lobby.

Freeman hits 'Israel lobby' on way out

By BEN SMITH | 3/10/09 Ambassador Charles W. Freeman Jr., the appointee to chair Obama’s National Intelligence Council, withdrew his name from consideration.

President Barack Obama's controversial pick for a top intelligence post blasted the "Israel lobby" on his way out the door Tuesday, intensifying a debate on the role Israel's allies played in the latest failed Obama appointment.

Charles W. Freeman Jr.'s abrupt withdrawal from his appointment as chairman of the National Intelligence Council came after he drew fire on a number of fronts - including questions about his financial ties to China and Saudi Arabia.

But the most heated opposition came from supporters of Israel - and Freeman's departure shows Obama's reluctance to signal a change to a U.S. policy in the Middle East that centers on standing beside Israel.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Obama jettisoned aides and backed off statements that appeared to imply a change in the Bush Administration's firm support for hawkish Israeli governments.

As president, Obama dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Middle East last week with a tough message for the Palestinians, saying it was hard for Israel to make peace with people who are hurling rockets into their country.

And the attacks on Freeman, in the end, hinged primarily on the question of Israel, something the Democratic senators who helped break the back of the nomination Tuesday made clear.

"His statements against Israel were way over the top and severely out of step with the administration," said Senator Chuck Schumer in a statement. "I repeatedly urged the White House to reject him, and I am glad they did the right thing."

Hours before the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, expressed his "regret" at Freeman's withdrawal, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) told Blair he was concerned about "statements that [Freeman]'s made that appear either to be inclined to lean against Israel or too much in favor of China."

In particular, Freeman has described "Israeli violence against Palestinians" as a key barrier to Mideast peace, and referred to violence in Tibet last year - widely seen in the United States as a revolt against Chinese occupation - as a "race riot."

Freeman left no doubt about where he places blame in a written statement after his withdrawal.

"The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired, still less to factor in American understanding of trends and events in the Middle East," he wrote.

"The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth."

Link & Entire: Freeman hits 'Israel lobby' on way out - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

Has this one come up yet? Two senior AIPAC lobbyists are on trial for treason in the US- for giving away classified information. They have since resigned from AIPAC- Rosen in particular was very prominent and politically connected in AIPAC. He also played a prominent role in the black propaganda campaign against Charles Freeman, above.

Embattled Aipac Lobbyists Take Divergent Paths

Weissman Dons Keffiyeh, Rosen Maintains Stance on Mideast

Washington - In this city, keffiyehs — the Arab headdresses closely associated with the Palestinian cause — are regular sights at Middle East-related events. But at an event last fall, one keffiyeh in particular drew stares and gasps.

The checkered scarf in question was wrapped around the neck of Keith Weissman, the man once recognized as a top analyst at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerhouse pro-Israel lobby. These days, of course, Weissman is better known as defendant No. 2 in United States v. Rosen and Weissman, a case in which he and another former Aipac analyst, Steve Rosen, have been accused of handing over top-secret American documents to foreign officials and journalists. Both have pleaded not guilty.

The intertwining tales of powerful lobbyists and backroom Washington meetings have brought worldwide attention to the investigation and indictment. But less has been said about the surprising and very different paths taken by the two, as they adjust to life as unemployed, indicted defendants in the midst of a seemingly endless legal battle.

The Rosen-Weissman duo is usually mentioned as an inseparable pair, but, while the men remain close friends, people close to them say that they hold different views on many topics — starting with the hot-button issues on which they used to work. And although neither will speak to the press on advice of legal counsel, numerous conversations with friends and sources paint a vivid picture of their divergent paths post-indictment.

Rosen, the group’s former policy director, continues to take a front-row seat at major foreign policy events and has positioned himself as a continuing presence in the ongoing debates about the Middle East. Weissman, on the other hand, has put a distance between himself and his former identity as a pre-eminent pro-Israel lobbyist.

Weissman has told friends that, free of the constraints posed by his employment by Aipac, he now sees himself as returning to his roots as a peace activist.

Embattled Aipac Lobbyists Take Divergent Paths – Forward.com

I'd like to see the transcripts. I presume they'll be released soon or in the future.

Harman denies interceding in espionage case

Reports: Dem agreed to seek favorable treatment for AIPAC lobbyists


April 21, 2009

WASHINGTON - A former member of the House Intelligence Committee on Monday denied interceding in an investigation into two pro-Israel lobbyists now facing a trial on espionage charges.

California Democrat Rep. Jane Harman's office said she "never contacted the Justice Department about its prosecution of present or former AIPAC employees, and the Justice Department never informed her that she was or is the subject of or involved in an investigation."

Congressional Quarterly, and then The New York Times, reported Monday that the National Security Agency intercepted phone calls between Harman and a supporter of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Link & Entire: Harman denies interceding in spy case - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com

The US government is to drop espionage charges against two officials of America's most powerful pro-Israel lobby group accused of spying for the Jewish state because court rulings had made the case unwinnable and the trial would disclose classified information.

The two accused, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, worked for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which drives fundraising for some US members of Congress. They were accused of providing defence secrets to the chief political officer at the Israeli embassy in Washington, Naor Gilon, about US policy toward Iran and al-Qaida in league with a former Pentagon analyst who has since been jailed for 12 years.

Dana Boente, who was prosecuting the case in Virginia, said that the case was dropped because pre-trial court rulings had complicated the government's case by requiring a higher level of proof of intent to spy. The court said the prosecution would have to prove not only that the accused pair had passed classified information but that they intended to harm the US in doing so.


The case has been further complicated by a scandal revealed last month by a political publication, Congressional Quarterly, around a member of Congress, Jane Harman, who was secretly taped telling an Israeli agent that she would pressure the justice department to reduce spying charges against the two former Aipac officials.

In return, the Israeli agent offered to get a wealthy donor who helps funds election campaigns for Nancy Pelosi, the then-minority leader in the House of Representatives, to pressure Pelosi to appoint Harman to a senior position on the congressional intelligence committee.

US government to drop espionage charges against Aipac officials | World news | guardian.co.uk

Excellent news for any Spook caught red-handed.
"Well yeh, so I passed top secret information, but actually it wasn't with the intent of spying."
Case dismissed, Mohammed. Have a cigar.

Comforting also to see that Jane Harman, Democratic Representative for southwest Los Angeles, has the interests of her beloved USA first and foremost. Especially as she's on the House Intelligence Committee.

Something definitely smells fishy in a faraway land.

^ Reminds me of the article by Marsheimer and Walt [sic] that was shelved.

Interesting, how things work.

Here is Traficant interviewing with Hannity. Although Hannity is a buffoon IMO, he is in the media and he denies the influence of AIPAC in Congress.

My honest question is, why does Hannity deny this?

Here's a video on AIPAC.

Apparently (from what I've been told - you be the judge) this video claims AIPAC is losing some influence.

Perhaps this is because people are starting to wake up and realize AIPAC's influence.

You be the judge.

Comment and opinions?

Hillary is....being told to say this. I don't get it. Wait a minute. I think I do get it. Nothing new here:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk to reporters Saturday in Jerusalem.
View related photos
Dan Balilty / AP

JERUSALEM - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that Israel is making "unprecedented" concessions on West Bank settlement construction — a position clearly at odds with the prevailing Palestinian view.

Palestinian leaders have said they will not return to peace talks with Israel unless it halts all settlement building on lands they claim for a future state, and they believe Israel has blatantly defied a U.S. demand for a settlement freeze.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, Clinton said Israel is putting significant limits on settlement activity.

Link & Entire: Clinton: Israeli concessions 'unprecedented' - Israel-Palestinians- msnbc.com

Originally Posted by attaboy

The Euros didn't protect their Jewish citizens other than the Italians. 80% of Italian Jews survived Hitler's reign. Mussolini wouldn't ship them north despite Hitler's insistence. Funny, a country full of Catholics who didn't turn the Jews over.

I think in the case of Jewish people it was decided enough is enough. They know how people feel about them and to what degree people are willing to go. Jews are insuring it never happens again. Is anyone suggesting their right to lobby their politicians should be restricted?

What are the Euros doing about Africa? They're the ones who carved it up, creating arbitrary boundaries, ignoring the established ethnic boundaries and ignoring histories of inter-tribal violence.

Agree with KID.

You need to get your Historic facts right Attaboy

The rescue allowed the vast majority of Denmark's Jewish population to avoid capture by the Nazis and is considered to be one of the largest actions of collective resistance to repression in the countries occupied by Nazi Germany. As a result of the rescue and Danish intercession on behalf of the 5% of Danish Jews who were deported to Theresienstadt transit camp in Bohemia, over 99% of Denmark's Jewish population survived the Holocaust.

Link- Rescue of the Danish Jews - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another article, by a former Congressman:

It’s All AIPAC of Lies

By Jim Traficant

American Israel Public Affairs Committee—AIPAC. The single most powerful lobby in the world. So powerful that Washington politicians
carefully weigh each and every vote they cast based on the approval of this lobby.

Yes, a foreign lobby has that much clout, power and control over American leaders and thus, the American people. AIPAC has become so overpowering that they have risen above government investigations and mainstream media scrutiny. So powerful that the following statement was NEVER reported in America’s newspapers, magazines, or electronic media:

Every time we do something you tell me that America will do this and America will do that. I want to tell you something very clear; don’t worry
about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.

You may think that maybe that statement was made by an overzealous Jewish American—or—an Israeli comedian—or—an Israeli talk show host. Maybe. Just maybe! No, that was no comment made at an Israeli barbershop or an Israeli wedding—no maybes about it! That comment was made by the then Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. Yes, the prime minister of Israel! The head of state—Israel’s leader.

Think about it.You may not have even heard this statement or read about it were it not for AFP. In fact, this may be the very first time you’ve come to learn of this statement—December 2009.

The power of AIPAC is so evident that the mainstream media of the USA hid it from your eyes and ears. Yes, you should be upset—really mad—because that statement was made October 3, 2001—more than 8 years ago. Eight years ago you didn’t even know that a foreign leader announced, on an Israeli radio show no less, that “We, the Jewish people, control America.”

And it didn’t stop there—consider the far-reaching ramifications of the remainder of that statement: “And the Americans know it.”

What Americans? Do you know it? Do your neighbors know it? Who are these Americans who know it?

Lets get to the point. Every politician in Washington D.C. knows it and has never uttered a word about it, NEVER even a whisper.

I opened up a can of worms in my September appearance on the Greta Van Susteren show, Fox TV Network. I said: “Israel has a stranglehold on America. Their lobby AIPAC has pushed and manipulated America into wars of little or no interest to our national security. . . . Our sons and daughters are being shipped home in body bags. These wars have now bankrupted America and no one—no one—has even whispered a warning from our nation’s capital.” I further stated: “Our one-sided foreign policy in
the Mideast favoring Israel on every issue has turned the Arab world against us and has exported to America the terrorism, violence and danger resulting from these misguided policies.”

I was called a “kook”—demeaned by the mainstream media—labeled an anti-Semite—on and on. The reason is quite clear. No one can even question Israel without being targeted, without retaliation.

“We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans; know it.” (Ariel Sharon, Oct. 3, 2001.) I’m no anti-Semite—and Israel knows it. Israel also knows that I vehemently oppose any person, entity or
government that attempts to control, manipulate, influence or gerrymander our great nation. Truth is, Israel has done just that.

When a foreign leader such as Ariel Sharon can make such a statement, and get away with it without media or government scrutiny, it speaks to the awesome power that Israel wields over America’s commerce, the American press and the American government.

Transparency? The new buzzword! Who’s kidding whom? American politicians dare not even whisper their concerns about Israel.

It has come to pass. Yes, American kids are being shipped home in body bags to grieving parents who have lost their jobs and pensions due to these “Israeli wars.”

That’s right, “ISRAELI WARS.”Wars of expansion for Israel, at the expense and pain of the people of the USA. “BEAM ME UP!”

Our first president, George Washington, warned:

“Beware of permanent alliances.” George Washington is rolling over in his grave. GW could never have imagined an America being controlled
and manipulated by another government.

If Sharon’s statement had been made by any other foreign leader, it would have been headlines in every newspaper in America. It would have been the hot subject of every American talk show, radio and TV. But not Israel. No talk show host, whether conservative or liberal will ever question Israel. If they do, they will lose their show. Beware, American politicians, or you, too, will become a target.

Link: It’s All AIPAC of Lies 203

Some students stand up to the Israeli propaganda maching in the USA.

Originally Posted by larvidchr

Originally Posted by attaboy

The Euros didn't protect their Jewish citizens other than the Italians. 80% of Italian Jews survived Hitler's reign. Mussolini wouldn't ship them north despite Hitler's insistence. Funny, a country full of Catholics who didn't turn the Jews over.

I think in the case of Jewish people it was decided enough is enough. They know how people feel about them and to what degree people are willing to go. Jews are insuring it never happens again. Is anyone suggesting their right to lobby their politicians should be restricted?

What are the Euros doing about Africa? They're the ones who carved it up, creating arbitrary boundaries, ignoring the established ethnic boundaries and ignoring histories of inter-tribal violence.

Agree with KID.

You need to get your Historic facts right Attaboy

The rescue allowed the vast majority of Denmark's Jewish population to avoid capture by the Nazis and is considered to be one of the largest actions of collective resistance to repression in the countries occupied by Nazi Germany. As a result of the rescue and Danish intercession on behalf of the 5% of Danish Jews who were deported to Theresienstadt transit camp in Bohemia, over 99% of Denmark's Jewish population survived the Holocaust.

Link- Rescue of the Danish Jews - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A gross oversight on my part. How could I forget. My apologies. Sometimes I get a bit preoccupied with the criticism of Catholics, but there really is no excuse for my omission.

i look forward to a world without the murderous israeli state and its apartheid style system.

A report on the USS Libery survivors. I'll put it under AIPAC thread.

This is what we know of. Think of all of the indirect costs.

Economist tallies swelling cost of Israel to US

By David R. FrancisStaff writer of The Christian Science Monitor / December 9, 2002

Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person.

This is an estimate by Thomas Stauffer, a consulting economist in Washington. For decades, his analyses of the Middle East scene have made him a frequent thorn in the side of the Israel lobby.

For the first time in many years, Mr. Stauffer has tallied the total cost to the US of its backing of Israel in its drawn-out, violent dispute with the Palestinians. So far, he figures, the bill adds up to more than twice the cost of the Vietnam War.

And now Israel wants more. In a meeting at the White House late last month, Israeli officials made a pitch for $4 billion in additional military aid to defray the rising costs of dealing with the intifada and suicide bombings. They also asked for more than $8 billion in loan guarantees to help the country's recession-bound economy.

Considering Israel's deep economic troubles, Stauffer doubts the Israel bonds covered by the loan guarantees will ever be repaid. The bonds are likely to be structured so they don't pay interest until they reach maturity. If Stauffer is right, the US would end up paying both principal and interest, perhaps 10 years out.

Israel's request could be part of a supplemental spending bill that's likely to be passed early next year, perhaps wrapped in with the cost of a war with Iraq.

Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid. It is already due to get $2.04 billion in military assistance and $720 million in economic aid in fiscal 2003. It has been getting $3 billion a year for years.

Adjusting the official aid to 2001 dollars in purchasing power, Israel has been given $240 billion since 1973, Stauffer reckons. In addition, the US has given Egypt $117 billion and Jordan $22 billion in foreign aid in return for signing peace treaties with Israel.

"Consequently, politically, if not administratively, those outlays are part of the total package of support for Israel," argues Stauffer in a lecture on the total costs of US Middle East policy, commissioned by the US Army War College, for a recent conference at the University of Maine.

These foreign-aid costs are well known. Many Americans would probably say it is money well spent to support a beleagured democracy of some strategic interest. But Stauffer wonders if Americans are aware of the full bill for supporting Israel since some costs, if not hidden, are little known.

One huge cost is not secret. It is the higher cost of oil and other economic damage to the US after Israel-Arab wars.

In 1973, for instance, Arab nations attacked Israel in an attempt to win back territories Israel had conquered in the 1967 war. President Nixon resupplied Israel with US arms, triggering the Arab oil embargo against the US.

That shortfall in oil deliveries kicked off a deep recession. The US lost $420 billion (in 2001 dollars) of output as a result, Stauffer calculates. And a boost in oil prices cost another $450 billion.

Afraid that Arab nations might use their oil clout again, the US set up a Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That has since cost, conservatively, $134 billion, Stauffer reckons.

Other US help includes:

• US Jewish charities and organizations have remitted grants or bought Israel bonds worth $50 billion to $60 billion. Though private in origin, the money is "a net drain" on the United States economy, says Stauffer.

• The US has already guaranteed $10 billion in commercial loans to Israel, and $600 million in "housing loans." (See editor's note below.) Stauffer expects the US Treasury to cover these.

• The US has given $2.5 billion to support Israel's Lavi fighter and Arrow missile projects.

• Israel buys discounted, serviceable "excess" US military equipment. Stauffer says these discounts amount to "several billion dollars" over recent years.

• Israel uses roughly 40 percent of its $1.8 billion per year in military aid, ostensibly earmarked for purchase of US weapons, to buy Israeli-made hardware. It also has won the right to require the Defense Department or US defense contractors to buy Israeli-made equipment or subsystems, paying 50 to 60 cents on every defense dollar the US gives to Israel.

US help, financial and technical, has enabled Israel to become a major weapons supplier. Weapons make up almost half of Israel's manufactured exports. US defense contractors often resent the buy-Israel requirements and the extra competition subsidized by US taxpayers.

• US policy and trade sanctions reduce US exports to the Middle East about $5 billion a year, costing 70,000 or so American jobs, Stauffer estimates. Not requiring Israel to use its US aid to buy American goods, as is usual in foreign aid, costs another 125,000 jobs.

• Israel has blocked some major US arms sales, such as F-15 fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s. That cost $40 billion over 10 years, says Stauffer.

Stauffer's list will be controversial. He's been assisted in this research by a number of mostly retired military or diplomatic officials who do not go public for fear of being labeled anti-Semitic if they criticize America's policies toward Israel.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the amount of housing loans guaranteed by the US.

Economist tallies swelling cost of Israel to US / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com
[/.quote]

It's about time. This has always been the case. AIPAC represents Israel and Israeli interests.

US Department of Justice Asked to Regulate AIPAC as a Foreign Agent of the Israeli Government
Wednesday, March 17, 2010


WASHINGTON, March 17, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----The US Department of Justice has been formally asked to begin regulating the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the foreign agent of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A 392 page legal filing presented by a four person IRmep delegation in a two hour meeting with top officials of the Internal Security Section substantiated the following case for AIPAC's immediate registration:

AIPAC is a spinoff of an organization already ordered by the DOJ to register as an Israeli foreign agent. In November of 1962 the American Zionist Council was ordered by the Attorney General to begin filing disclosures as an Israeli foreign agent under the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act. http://www.irmep.org/1962Order.pdf Six weeks later, former AZC employees incorporated the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, DC, taking over the AZC's lobbying activities. http://www.irmep.org/AIPAC.pdf AIPAC did not register as a foreign agent.

AIPAC's founder Isaiah L. Kenen was the chief information officer for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New York and for a time duly registered in that role. http://www.irmep.org/Kenen.pdf The Justice Department ordered Kenen to personally re-register after he formally left the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to head up private lobbying and publicity for the Israeli government at the nonprofit American Zionist Council. Kenen never complied with the order. http://www.irmep.org/order.pdf

Espionage related FBI investigations in 1984 and 2005 reveal AIPAC's ongoing stealth foreign agency activities. Declassified FBI files released on the Internet last week reveal that in 1984 AIPAC and the Israeli Ministry of Economics were investigated for jointly obtaining and circulating classified US economic data to obtain favorable trade benefits for Israel. FBI Investigates AIPAC-Israel Embassy In 2005 Pentagon Colonel Lawrence Franklin pled guilty and two AIPAC employees were indicted for obtaining and circulating classified US national defense information to Israeli government officials allegedly in the interest of fomenting US action against Iran.

AIPAC's executive committee consists of the original member organizations of the AZC in addition to newer members. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the umbrella group of AIPAC's executive committee, is housed in the same New York office as the World Zionist Organization - American Section, a registered foreign agent that is heavily involved in illegal settlement expansion according to Israeli prosecutor Thalia Sasson.

According to Grant F. Smith, director of IRmep, the case for reregulating AIPAC as a foreign agent immediately is compelling. "AIPAC was designed to supplant the American Zionist Council as the arm of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United States after the DOJ ordered the AZC to register as a foreign agent. As such, Americans should have full public access to biannual FARA registrations detailing AIPAC's publicity campaigns, lobbying expenditures, funding flows, activities of its offices in Israel and internal consultations with its foreign principals - particularly over such controversial issues as illegal settlements and US foreign aid."

Concerned organizations and individuals who wish to supplement the Department of Justice filing or participate in future negotiations with law enforcement officials should contact the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc. at info[at]IRmep.org or 202-342-7325. IRmep is a private nonprofit that studies how warranted law enforcement and civil action can improve U.S. Middle East policy.

SOURCE Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/dep...li-government/
__________________

A report on AIPAC.

Note McCain false statement.

AIPAC spying for Israel.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

That and the culture of raising kids to aspire to become sucicide bombers.

You appear to be Conservative. Please explain how sending $154 billion dollars to a foreign country for weaponry is fiscally conservative.