The
Men From JINSA and CSP
By Jason Vest, The Nation, September
2, 2002
Almost thirty years ago, a prominent
group of neoconservative hawks found
an effective vehicle for advocating
their views via the Committee on the
Present Danger, a group that fervently
believed the United States was a hair
away from being militarily surpassed
by the Soviet Union, and whose raison
d'ętre was strident advocacy of bigger
military budgets, near-fanatical opposition
to any form of arms control and zealous
championing of a Likudnik Israel.
Considered a marginal group in its
nascent days during the Carter Administration,
with the election of Ronald Reagan
in 1980 CPD went from the margins
to the center of power.
Turkey,
Israel and the US
By Jason Vest, The Nation, September
2, 2002
In a 1996 Institute for Advanced Strategic
and Political Studies paper prepared
for Binyamin Netanyahu, the authors---including
Richard Perle and Douglas Feith, now
the respective chair of the Defense
Policy Board and Undersecretary of
Defense for Policy---advised Israel
to "shape its strategic environment
by weakening, containing and even
rolling back Syria," and "focus on
removing Saddam Hussein from power
in Iraq--an important Israeli strategic
objective in its own right." It's
all heady stuff, but perhaps the most
interesting parts of references to
realizing the "new strategy for securing
the realm" by "working closely with"
or working "in cooperation" with Turkey.
Dear
Moshe: Oh, How I Hate to Write
By Raff Ellis, Palestine Chronicle,
September 5, 2002
"Is this an appeal to the old biblical
claim to all the territory that was
mentioned in the bible? Frankly, I
don't understand this because there
is no dispute: These lands don't belong
to you!.."
(from YellowTimes.org) – [A
previous article that was critical
of Israel provoked many responses,
the majority of which were favorable.
A few, however, wished to engage me
in a debate about the fundamental
issues of what has become known as
the Middle East conflict. While mildly
surprised at the vehemence of some
of the letters, the authors of which
were obviously foaming at the mouth
while typing, spouting vile names
and wishing me great personal harm,
I tried to answer each one. A reply
from a persistent Israeli, who raised
many points that are commonly used
to justify his government's actions,
has provoked a debate, a portion of
which is encapsulated below. Since
the points are so pervasive and prevalent,
I've decided to share my response
in an open letter.]
The
Enemy of American Democracy is Within
By Neve Gordon, Media Monitors Network,
September 7, 2002
I am against the war, the (perpetual)
war on terrorism as well as the war
against Iraq. I am against empire,
the control of nearly 40 percent of
the world's resources secured by the
deployment of air, naval, and ground
forces in over 800 bases across the
globe. And I am against deception;
the claim that United States foreign
policy is aimed at ensuring freedom,
justice and democracy around the world,
when in fact its overseas agenda is
driven by corporate greed, power and
domination.
Playing
skittles with Saddam
By Brian Whitaker, Independent Media
Centre Palestine, September 3, 2002
The gameplan among Washington's hawks
has long been to reshape the Middle
East along US-Israeli lines: In a
televised speech last week, President
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt predicted devastating
consequences for the Middle East if
Iraq is attacked. "We fear a state
of disorder and chaos may prevail
in the region," he said. Mr Mubarak
is an old-fashioned kind of Arab leader
and, in the brave new post-September-11
world, he doesn't quite get the point.
What on earth did he expect the Pentagon's
hawks to do when they heard his words
of warning? Throw up their hands in
dismay? - "Gee, thanks, Hosni. We
never thought of that. Better call
the whole thing off right away."
Palestinian
Rights in the Document Shredder: The
Nusseibeh-Ayalon Agreement
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada,
September 7, 2002
The fact that the details of a proposed
Israeli-Palestinian final peace agreement
reached by PLO Jerusalem representative
Sari Nusseibeh, and Ami Ayalon, former
head of the Israeli "Shin Bet" secret
police were published in Haaretz without
a reporter's byline, suggests that
the document is indeed the work of
the two authors themselves ("The Nusseibeh-Ayalon
Agreement: Final Draft Cover Letter,"
September 3, 2002). The contents once
again reveal the shocking alacrity
with which some Palestinians are willing
to abandon the most fundamental Palestinian
rights, adopting hook, line and sinker
Israeli arguments that realizing these
rights is impractical while at the
same time virtually all of Israel's
goals are achieved.
