"US punched Bibi, Barak in the face" YNET

"Dempsey was painfully clear. He basically said that Israel should not disregard the opinions of its top security officials, stop the constant chatter on Iran and refrain from any acts that may have an adverse effect on the global economy. The general also meant to tell Israel that it mustn't believe that Netanyahu has any control over the US because he has friends in the Republican Party. Dempsey laid down the facts: Israel is not America, it does not possess the same capabilities, and if Netanyahu and Barak continue wreaking havoc – Israel won’t have America either. It will take a while before we will be able to gauge the depth of the current crisis between Israel and the US (and between Netanyahu and Obama). Washington made a strategic decision to show Israel who is the mentor and who is the protégé. The US hit Israel's most sensitive nerve: The pride in its military power. But it appears that the US had no other choice. After weeks of belligerent headlines, President Obama had enough of Netanyahu's inclination to play with fire. We should start getting used to it." YNET  

-------------------------------

I think that the writers description of Dempsey's "Irish descent and character" are equivelnt to other such references that could be made to Jews, Blacks, etc. This is entirely inapropriate.

I suppose the reaction in the Israeli/AIPAC/Republican world will be to intensify their campaign of undermining General Dempsey in the press and among the creatures of the Washington/New York underworld. 

Was this a statement of great import as YNET thinks?  I certainly hope so.  pl 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4269041,00.html

Comments

[William R, Cumming]

Okay is there any history since 1948 of how eligble Jewish voters voted in USA Presdential elections?

Several weeks ago the ECONMIST newspaper had a 12 page study of the present status of Jews worldwide!

Was there any reaction in the
Arab states to the mass emigration of Russian Jews to Israel since the fall of the Berlin Wall?

[Will]

an italian economist found that 20% of the people owned 80% of the Italian wealth. then he found it true in other countries. In this country, it is 3% own 97% of the wealth and thus the electoral campaign finances, witness Adelson.

in previous posts, i have set out how a modest IQ spread in the average has tremendous consequences on the exceptional shoulders. One of every four Americans with an IQ over 140, where the intellectual rubber hits the road, is a Jewish American- witness 3 supremes, 13 Senators, chairman of the FED. Not knocking them- the U.S. has to assert its own interests in the middle east, especially after the three trillion dollar Irak war that we were nuclear blackmailed into. The Israeli nuke blackmail threat has to be removed as a matter of national security.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
by a Jewish American
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Trillion_Dollar_War
http://lagriffedulion.f2s.com/dialogue.htm

[eakens]

The chairman of the FED? We'd be better off with the stock picking monkey as far as I'm concerned.

[Marcus]

Don't think most people would associate Irish Americans as below average intelligence. The comment is probably in reference to perceived antisemitism displayed by Joe Kennedy prior to WWII and or a perceived tendency toward quick temper.

[Matthew]

Col: Compare Churchill to de Valera. Which one was the stoney-eyed realist and tea-totaler?

America is very fortunate to have General Dempsey advising the President.

[Fred]

The mass emigration from Russia to Israel began after Israel betrayed the US by giving the USSR the information stolen by Jonathan Pollard. Those immigrants and descendants are approximately 25% of Israel's current population.

[Larry Kart]

Colonel -- I'd go easy on the "Irish descent" umbrage. All it means here, caricature though it may be, is really tough, direct, and no-nonsense firm. If that's how Dempsey was in this encounter, more power to him, but his audience and the writer of this article are entitled not to like it, if only because Dempsey's stance and message thwarts their wishes.

[turcopolier]

LK

Perhaps I spent too much time in the UK where Irish jokes are a standard form of English expression. pl

[veh]

I think what galls them the most is the fact that this Irishman can tell difference between what is "shite" from what is "shi'ite"

[David Habakkuk]

I would second that. Actually, the tone of the article strikes me as quite bizarre. A certain flavour of a 'poor little rich kid' who has got used to thinking he can roll around drunk all the time, and has been pulled up by a tough, no nonsense (and perhaps Irish) policeman.

The writer does not seem quite clear in his own mind whether Dempsey's remarks represent an intolerable interference with Israeli prerogatives, or a necessary reality check.

[David Habakkuk]

Actually in recent years relations between (southern) Irish and English have got much better. In my social circles -- which are limited, but quite diverse -- anti-Irish feeling is conspicuous by its absence.

Anti-Scottish feeling is another matter. Quite a few people of my acquaintance would be very happy to see England declare Scotland independent.

Both the Queen's Jubilee, and the Olympics, have been very consciously used to reinforce 'British' identity. How powerful and long-lasting the impact is, we will see.

[srv]

People seem to have assumed the F-22’s deployed to the UAE as a threat to Iran.

Maybe there are other options.

[turcopolier]

DH and LK

OK. I have withdrawn the accusation. I am not convinced, but on the basis of your counsel I withdraw it. pl

[Larry Kart]

I understand, but the caricature in this case seemed to me to be entirely or basically positive (it's not as though they said that Dempsey, being of Irish descent, behaved like he was three sheets to the wind). Also perhaps, this phrase appeared in the article because of the familiar Israeli self-caricature (and/or actual belief) that THEY are always the inherently, tough, direct, no nonsense figures in such encounters, while U.S. figures in particular are softies who can be pushed around. In other words, the implication is that Bibi (and the aspect of Israeli thinking that he seems to exemplify) got some of his/its own medicine.

[Medicine Man]

It's interesting how Pres. Obama outsources his tough love tasks to Dempsey. Is he relying on the military establishment as a hedge against foreign provocations?

[Babak Makkinejad]

Probably an effort to try to indicate how intimate the author is with US social scene; likely read one too many Tom Clancy novels.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Israelis do not like America - they think America is decadent.

They like Germany.

[Larry Kart]

Sorry to waste your time here, but on further thought I think your original objection was entirely justified. To imply that Dempsey's "calculated" remarks were connected to his Irish descent snd character was stupid, ugly, and probably connected to some very bad habits in the thinking of some Israelis. As a friend pointed out, what if the article had continued: "...as should the stern message conveyed by Panetta, the Secretary of Defense of Italian descent and character"?

[turcopolier]

David Habakkuk

I admit that there were precious few Oxbridge people among those I dealt with. i am a quarter irish and have a typically irish Christian name. When people learned my name they often found the opportunity to tell me Irish jokes the point of which was always the primitive nature of the Irish. i suppose that my puritan ancestors from East Anglia felt the same way. pl

[turcopolier]

LK

"...of Irish descent and character." that is rather clear in its meaning. i am reminded of the drunken Irish doctor in the 30s version of "Stagecoach."

I suppose the expected response is, "have ye ever picked up yer teeth with broken fingers?" pl

[Fred]

General Dempsey is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not some Irish American off the street. Haaretz at least has the relevant quote:

“General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was also present at the briefing, said that militarily, his assessment hasn't changed. "And I want to make clear, I'm not privy to their planning," he said.

"So what I'm telling you is based on what I know of their capabilities. And I may not know about all of their capabilities. But I think that it's a fair characterization to say that they could delay but not destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities," Dempsey said. “

I think your take on the YNET authors attitude is correct.

[fanto]

this is a very astute observation from a person of non-european extraction as I surmise you are, I agree - I thought so for a long time before you mentioned it.

[Walrus]

Recent research by my Son in Dublin and Edinborough suggests that the Scots and the Irish don't reciprocate.

[Will]

the Irish, as all of us today, are a mix of many strands. At one time, there was the Irish Ascendancy, the Anglo-Irish, the greatest of whom was Arthur Wellesley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley,_1st_Duke_of_Wellington

it goes way beyond the Irish: part of the Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon, Danish, Norman, mix that gave rise to the English race. Cornwall and Wales & Scotland are as Gaelic as the Irish Republic. Without the Welsh archers, the greatest English battles of the middle ages could not have been won.

Many strings to unravel. St. Patrick was a Briton who carried Christianity to Ireland. The ancient latin name for Ireland was Scotia and by extension to Scotland where the same race lived and had the same language. Some of the greatest British scientists have been Scots or Irish. James Clerk Maxwell, William Rowan Hamilton.

[Abu Sinan]

Sir,

Dont under estimate latent anti-Irish feeling among the English, educated or not. I worked for the DoD at RAF Mildenhall from 1998-2001. I spent a lot of time in Ireland and my MoD co-workers were well aware of it.

I heard the snide remarks and at one point an anonymous "tip" was made to the British authorities because of my travels to Ireland. I ended up walking into work one day to find two "Special Branch" (read British FBI) agents there waiting to speak to me about my visits to Ireland. This led to a two hour interview between myself and these agents. I dont think they took the allegations seriously. One question was phrased "have you ever met a member of the IRA" to which I responded "I might have, but it's not like people introduce themselves as the leader of the local "ASU".

We ended up agreeing that certain people needed to be lined up against the wall and shot, although I think our lists of those eligible would have been different. The claims that anti Irish feeling is not an issue in England anymore are similar to claims that racism is dead in the USA. We have a black president right?