Controlling the Dialogue, Pt. I
The current espionage scandal involving Lawrence Franklin, and possibly to embroil his masters, Doug Feith, et al at DOD, as well as some murky liaisons at AIPAC and who know where else at this point, has gotten my attention. Far from acting contrite, tucking their tail, etc, I expect AIPAC to go on the offensive with denials and accusations of anti-Semitism enough to go around. Israeli officials have already declaimed that they do no spying on their US allies, having learned their lesson with Jonathan Pollard they say.
So much for the first line of deniability. The fallback position, which gets to the crux of much of the mischief (too gentle a word) involving the all-too-cozy relationship between Israeli political and intelligence operatives and US policy makers involves the whole construct of AIPAC. Ostensibly an American Jewish entity, the open channel of connections that really exists with Israel tells the truth.
If anyone cared to verify this for oneself they could. But few seem interested in opening their eyes to these connections that, especially under the neo-cons, not only involve the apparent coordination of strategy and policies, and who knows what intelligence secrets (will this be another defense; hey, we have a “special relationship”). Few really want to stir that hornet’s nest at all because, in the intricate way virtually all politicians are beholden to the Israel lobby, they all have a hand in that pie. Or, vice versa; if you get my point. But its ok, eh, we have a “special relationship”?
Much of my interest involves the mechanisms by which the so-called “special relationship” is manifested, fostered, defended and, I definitely think, psychologically embedded in the American psyche. Aspects of this mechanism include:
- Nurturing World War II guilt (including the US role in not being proactive and welcoming to so many Jews seeking escape from Nazi Germany)
- Obfuscation of the political entity of the state of Israel and the religion of Judaism. This confusion is mirrored in the media which, not surprisingly uses information from AIPAC and similar groups as authoritative sources; often interchanges the words “Jews” and “Israelis”.
- Obfuscation and conflation of the political origin of the entity Zionism with the religion of Judaism
- Promotion of the idea that opposition to policies and actions of the State of Israel is equivalent to anti-Semitism
- Perpetuation of the myth that Israel is weak and vulnerable amidst powerful and aggressive neighbors, whereas Israel has stared its own “preemptive” wars, is the only nuclear power in the region (but refuses to abide by international nuclear protocols) and has, by dint of US Congressional mandate, a “qualitative edge” in military hardware over all its neighbors.
- Perpetuation of the idea that US interests are allied with Israel somehow because it is the only “democracy” in the region, whereas US strategic interests are pragmatically more allied with oil producing nations of the region, with the US/Israel being a thorn in the side of all other mideast relationships
- Unquestioning support of Israeli policies and acts is necessary because the “rest of the world” is against Israel.
So much for the first line of deniability. The fallback position, which gets to the crux of much of the mischief (too gentle a word) involving the all-too-cozy relationship between Israeli political and intelligence operatives and US policy makers involves the whole construct of AIPAC. Ostensibly an American Jewish entity, the open channel of connections that really exists with Israel tells the truth.
If anyone cared to verify this for oneself they could. But few seem interested in opening their eyes to these connections that, especially under the neo-cons, not only involve the apparent coordination of strategy and policies, and who knows what intelligence secrets (will this be another defense; hey, we have a “special relationship”). Few really want to stir that hornet’s nest at all because, in the intricate way virtually all politicians are beholden to the Israel lobby, they all have a hand in that pie. Or, vice versa; if you get my point. But its ok, eh, we have a “special relationship”?
Much of my interest involves the mechanisms by which the so-called “special relationship” is manifested, fostered, defended and, I definitely think, psychologically embedded in the American psyche. Aspects of this mechanism include:
- Nurturing World War II guilt (including the US role in not being proactive and welcoming to so many Jews seeking escape from Nazi Germany)
- Obfuscation of the political entity of the state of Israel and the religion of Judaism. This confusion is mirrored in the media which, not surprisingly uses information from AIPAC and similar groups as authoritative sources; often interchanges the words “Jews” and “Israelis”.
- Obfuscation and conflation of the political origin of the entity Zionism with the religion of Judaism
- Promotion of the idea that opposition to policies and actions of the State of Israel is equivalent to anti-Semitism
- Perpetuation of the myth that Israel is weak and vulnerable amidst powerful and aggressive neighbors, whereas Israel has stared its own “preemptive” wars, is the only nuclear power in the region (but refuses to abide by international nuclear protocols) and has, by dint of US Congressional mandate, a “qualitative edge” in military hardware over all its neighbors.
- Perpetuation of the idea that US interests are allied with Israel somehow because it is the only “democracy” in the region, whereas US strategic interests are pragmatically more allied with oil producing nations of the region, with the US/Israel being a thorn in the side of all other mideast relationships
- Unquestioning support of Israeli policies and acts is necessary because the “rest of the world” is against Israel.
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