Giraldi on Zuckerman

 "Well, Mort Zuckerman is certainly entitled to his own opinion and I suppose he can use the magazine he owns to spread Israeli hasbara, but the notion that Israel is some kind of strategic asset for the United States is nonsense, a complete fabrication. Most recently, Chas Freeman has pointed out that Israel is useless for the projection of American power. The US has numerous bases in Arab countries but is not allowed to use any military base in Israel. Washington’s own carrier groups and other forces in place all over the Middle East, including the Red Sea, have capabilities that far exceed those of the Israel Defense Forces. Israel has never been a strategic asset or any asset at all, always a liability. Even the stockpiles of US equipment in Israel are a typical bit of bonus support for Tel Aviv from Congress, placed there for the Israelis to use “in emergencies” while making it appear that they are for American forces. The supplies are, in fact, regularly looted by the Israelis, leaving largely unusable or picked over equipment for US forces if it should ever be needed."  Giraldi

http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2010/05/26/the-strategic-ally-myth/

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

Agree with this post.

[William P. Fitzgerald III]

Pat Lang,

I also concur with Giraldi on the, well-propogated, myth of Israel being our ally. The post was nicely situated with "Scarecrows" by Richard Sale. I've always thought that the first filter one should apply when listening to arguments and statements is the question, "Is that fact or opinion?".

WPFIII

[Castellio]

I just heard an interesting and very relevant interview with Prof. Wawro from the University of North Texas. He is, and I think this is pertinent, the "Major General Olinto Mark Barsanti Chair in Military History And Director of the Military History Center".

The interview, starting part way in, is at http://www.radio4all.net/files/jblankfort@earthlink.net/1752-1-totw052610.mp3

Perhaps everyone knows about him and his book – “Quicksand: America’s Pursuit of Power in the Middle East" – but it was new to me.

[Cynthia]

According David Brooks (see link below), Israel managed to dodge the global financial meltdown. This doesn’t make much sense to me given that Israel is viewed as one of our closest allies, second only to Great Britain.

Now I do understand that war profiteers from both Israel and the US continue to make enormous profits even as the economy remains in the ditch, simply because Congress and the White House have decided that Islamic terrorism is such a huge threat to our national security that they’ve made the defense industry, unlike the health care industry, exempt from being deficit neutral, thus propping up the war economy with billions and billions of taxpayer dollars. But I don’t understand how Israeli banks didn’t get killed in the derivatives market like the US and British banks did. So I was wondering if someone here could help me make sense of this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/opinion/12brooks.html

[DaveGood]

Dear Cynthia,

Speaking as a UK citizen I would like to point out the following facts.

The UK, up until 5 years ago was still paying off our monetary debt to you for weapons we needed to fight off the Nazi's in world war 2, meanwhile we have used our own forces and our own treasure to stand and fight alongside you in many wars from Korea to Afghanistan.

Meanwhile Israel has collected massive amounts of Weapons donated by American taxpayers for free, "Loans" that will never be repaid, and are always "forgiven" and subsidies to the tune of Billions a year, and in return for what?

It is clear to us in the UK that we are not your "closest ally". We are a useful tool, nothing more,

DaveGood

[J]

Cynthia,

Israel has stolen U.S. funds to bolster their economy. Madoff's stolen Billions are parked in Israeli banks. The U.S. DOJ appears fearful to go after the Israeli government and banking system for fear they will then move those stolen Madoff funds off the radar screen. Other nation's who have had their wealth stolen, those funds and wealth wound up parked in Israel.

When you think of the Israeli government, think of a state-sponsored crime cartel.

[Cynthia]

From what I've read, though I can't recall exactly where, there's a standing order in place from the White House for our military to shoot down any foreign aircraft that flies over Iraqi airspace while we are still maintaining combat troops in Iraq. If this is true, then this may explain why Obama is backing out of his plans to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq -- especially considering how unpopular this war is.

My guess is, though it's nothing more than a guess, that Obama is afraid that if we were to withdraw from Iraq, Israel is more likely to make the decision to fly over Iraq and bomb Iran. So it seems to me that Obama wants us to maintain a military presence in Iraq in order to minimalize his chances of having to make the split-second, and potentially deadly, decision to either go against a standing order and not let our forces shoot down an Israeli jet or not go against a standing order and let our forces shoot down an Israeli jet. In other words, our military presence in Iraq is acting as a buffer to prevent Israel from bombing Iran.

[Tyler]

Cynthia,

I believe its because Isreal is the center for the international criminal economy. Its where they send their money to get cleaned, from what I understand.

[walrus]

Cynthia:

"But I don’t understand how Israeli banks didn’t get killed in the derivatives market like the US and British banks did. So I was wondering if someone here could help me make sense of this."

Trying to make sense of it will get you branded as Anti - Semitic very quickly.

There are considerable networks of acquaintances in financial markets who work together as can be easily determined by reading about the naked short selling games played by hedge funds in "The story of Dendreon Inc." at www.deepcapture.com.

It would be absurd not to think that such networks exist throughout Wall Street. To go further and attempt to make any connection will undoubtedly be highly unwelcome and land you with the Anti Semite tag.

[KHarbaugh]

Off topic:

Colonel, I am surprised you have not commented on the 2010-05-25 NYT article
“U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Actions in Mideast”.
Any thoughts you care to share?

[Patrick Lang]

Dave Good

You are quite right. We should forget this sentimental nonsense. I prefer the French anyway. What took you so long to pay off the debt? The Finns paid off their WW1 debt to us much more quickly. I asked one of my uncles why he was in the Black Watch in WW1. He had no real answer. pl

[Patrick Lang]

From Richard Sale

"Regarding Mr. Giraldi's protest over the fatuous "Israel is America's indispsenable ally in the Middle East" drivel, it may help to reemember that before the June 1982 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, which killed seven (I believe) top CIA Middle East analysts, Israel had sources informing it that a truck bomb was being constructed but decided not to warn the United States, an Israeli intel official saying at the time, "It is not our job to protect Americans." The source of this was a former Mossad officer but many former US intel people agreed with this. I know that there were two such trucks used in the attack but don't know or remember which one Israel uncovered, but the import is the same.

This does not mean that Israel is or was wicked. It simply means that it has national interest in no way related to ours. Israel has always put its self interest as its paramount law of action in foreign affairs,"

[Patrick Lang]

All

I don't really have a problem with Israeli self-interest. That is the game of nations. The difficulty is that the Israel First folks think that this should not matter to us. pl

[Patrick Lang]

KHarbaugh

It is a non-story. pl

[Grimgrin]

Dave Good: England will never abandon the idea of the special relationship, for much the same reason that Canada will never get over it's inferiority/superiority complex towards the US. To do so would require both nations to reassess their particular national myths about their role in the world. The myths serve roughly the same purpose in both cases, to allow two relatively minor nations to pretend they're more important to the world stage than they really are, and to let them avoid facing a historic decline in influence and changing role in the world.

[J]

Cynthia,

Here is an article by an Israeli about Israel's human bestiality behavior:

http://www.redress.cc/palestine/gatzmon20100528

Gaza humanitarian flotilla versus Israel’s evil navy
By Gilad Atzmon

[Castellio]

I'm not sure where Grimgrin's animus is coming from, but maybe it's not the "historic decline in influence" which should be important to a people, but rather the present quality of life. Just a whacky thought.

http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html#Anchor-The-49575

The top UK city for liveability is, apparently, London in 39th place. Only three American cities rank higher: Boston, San Francisco and Honolulu (rated 37th, 32nd, 31st respectively) and above all those are five Canadian cities: Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver, (rated 26th, 21st, 16th, 14th and 4th respectively).

And, to emphasize the point that current historical influence may be a curse rather than a blessing, the top three (3,2,1) are Geneva, Zurich and Vienna.

[William R. Cumming]

To the United States of N. America and Britain! Of course Quebec should be set free so we have some place decent to eat and play.

[J]

Colonel,

I have to respectfully disagree with your notion 'I don't really have a problem with Israeli self-interest. That is the game of nations. . I do have a problem when they do it at U.S. expense that results in the deaths of U.S. Military and Intelligence personnel (USS Liberty, Beiruit Barracks Bombing, Israeli spy Pollard espionage that resulted in deaths of personnel working for the U.S. inside the former Soviet Union). I do have a problem with the Israelis. A game of nations is not what Israel is doing, what Israel is doing is called back-stabbing. And I do have a problem with that as well.

[jr786]

Prof. Landis posted the transcript of the Charlie Rose interview of Bashir Assad:

http://israelpalestineblogs.com/

Rose's prosecutorial questions could have been written by Aipac.

The most successful effort of the Zionists has been to frame/filter everything from their pov and objectives. Thus Assad/Syria/Arabs have no existence to Rose other than their position towards Iran and Israel; read Assad's answers closely. Arabs/Muslims always start out convicted, only the sentence is in doubt.

As more light is shone on Israel, as more Americans start to realize this Emperor is naked, we now get treated to Hasbera 2.0 - the myth of Jewish left 'conscience' over the crimes committed by Israel: "See, we feel bad, honest, really."

Arabs and Muslims, as usual, are silent bit players at best. And until Americans recognize the crimes committed with their tax dollars against ordinary Palestinians the dialogue will continue to be framed as Good Israel/Sometimes bad Israel.

Until the victim is afforded visibility and dignity nothing will change.

[J]

Welcome to the world's largest prison camp - Gaza.

Israel the jailer determines what goods go in and what goods stay out of what amounts to be the world's largest prison camp .

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9xMQeXMiJB1691P4ttjJBiib6UwD9FVPS5G1

Israel's Gaza blockade baffles residents

[J]

Phil,

Remember what you said back in 07 regarding The 'monster'?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-giraldi/the-violent-radicalizatio_b_74091.html

It appears that it has re-awakened:

Brennan and crew's latest BS:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/27/homegrown.terror/

Which appears to be nothing more than the what was thought as dead - Rep. Harman's bill of 07 ill fame:
The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act

Brennan and crew need to be pink-slipped for misusing and abusing minor events (pantyboomboomer, times square lightbulb fizzle, etc.) as the premise for their latest BS.

Colonel,

IMO I sure as heck don't want Brennan anywhere near a DNI posit, especially in light of his latest BS.

Backgrounder Rep. Harman's Monster:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1955

[Grimgrin]

(On Preview: This is fairly substantially off topic.)

Castellio: I probably could have phrased that better. I'm Canadian and very happy with that fact and half my family is English.

The fact remains however that Canada is, by population, a small nation, with relatively limited influence in the rest of the world. It just seems like we try to persuade ourselves this is not the case, and I worry since misunderstanding your own capabilities and position like that that can have disastrous effects if it takes root.

Look at the UK and the Iraq war. The UK has blown at least 6 billion pounds, and the credibility of the government on a foreign adventure that was basically only justified by this notion of a 'special relationship'.

I just want two countries that are important to me and the people I love to approach the world with clear eyes, hopefully to avoid dangerous and stupid blunders.

Plus, when discussing the foreign policy of another nation I think it's a good idea to examine your own assumptions and your own nations national myths. It would be unseemly of me to blast how uncritical the US media is about Israel, when the largest private media company in Canada had an official policy of censoring any criticism of Israel (This may change now that they've gone bankrupt and are being sold off) and as a result share much of the same official mythology.

William: No. Everyone has enough problems without pooling all of the Anglosphere's problems together, and creating more by the magic of political alchemy. Besides which, the prospect of a sudden addition of at least 26 ultra liberal Canadian senators, and more from the UK would probably be enough to scupper the deal on the American side.

[walrus]

Grimgrin, please don't forget the other A in ABCA - Australia.

Four countries divided by a common language to paraphrase Churchill.

[Castellio]

Grimgrin... no argument with your recent thoughts.

As to Canada, the balance of power having gone from Quebec to Alberta (with Ontario support) is hardly a net gain on the foreign policy front.