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 The US Role
 
The impact of the US-Israel alliance on propsects for peace, US foreign policy, and the integrity of your government.
 
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Israel's New Weapons:
July 2006: Doctors in Gaza are reporting horrific injuries from unidentified Israeli weapons. Numerous reports of Israel using white phosphorus, depleted uranium, and poison gas in Lebanon. More..
 
   
     
Palestine Diaries
courtesy The Electronic Intifada

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EI: Human Rights
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The Israel Lobby
By John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, London Review of Books, March 23, 2006

Click to enlarge
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (left), escorts Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon into the Pentagon at the conclusion of a full honor arrival ceremony for Sharon at the Pentagon, 19 March 2001. (Photo: Do/R. D. Ward)

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides.

Instead, the thrust of US policy in the region derives almost entirely from domestic politics, and especially the activities of the ‘Israel Lobby’. Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US interests and those of the other country – in this case, Israel – are essentially identical.

Click to enlarge
Bush Restrains Sharon (Arabia.com)

Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing that given to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct economic and military assistance since 1976, and is the largest recipient in total since World War Two, to the tune of well over $140 billion (in 2004 dollars). Israel receives about $3 billion in direct assistance each year, roughly one-fifth of the foreign aid budget, and worth about $500 a year for every Israeli. This largesse is especially striking since Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to that of South Korea or Spain. more..

'Lebanon's Prime Minister described the Israeli attacks as a criminal operation.' - Palestine Chronicle> 
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Netanyahu to visit Egypt’s Sharm Ash-Sheikh on Monday
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to head to Sharm Ash-Sheikh on Monday where he will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. This will be Netanyahu’s first international visit since... more.. e-mail
US aid to Israel to continue despite crisis
YNetNews
10 May 2009 - American administration asks Congress to approve security aid to Jewish state as part of 2010 budget. ’This is an expression of the ongoing US commitment to Israel’s security,’ says outgoing Ambassador Meridor... more.. e-mail
ANALYSIS / Netanyahu is beginning to look worried
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - This week, for the first time since he took office, Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu has been looking worried. People who have spoken with him found him short-tempered, almost testy. The problems piling up on his desk... more.. e-mail
Mousa: Netanyahu’s peace conditions unacceptable
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Amr Mousa, the Arab League Secretary General, has lashed out at Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s conditions for peace during an AIPAC speech, describing them as "unacceptable... more.. e-mail
Israel prevents Palestinian official from travelling to South Africa
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel blocked a top Palestinian official from travelling to South Africa on Thursday where he intended to join celebrations for the election of African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma’s election... more.. e-mail
Blair promotes peace process in Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Quartet Envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday to promote his view that the peace process may be renewed soon. Blair reiterated remarks he... more.. e-mail
Netanyahu to meet Mubarak in Egypt on Monday
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel’s right wing new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Egypt on Monday in his first trip abroad in his current term as head of government. Netanyahu will hold talks with... more.. e-mail
Israel says security vital to peace
Al Jazeera
5 May 2009 - Government wants peace but will not compromise security, PM tells US Israeli lobby... more.. e-mail
Steve Bell on pro-Israeli group’s bid to halt policy shift
The Guardian
6 May 2009 - Aipac urges Congress members to sign letter to Barack Obama calling for Israel to set pace of negotiations with Palestinians... more.. e-mail
Mousa: Netanyahu’s peace conditions unacceptable
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Amr Mousa, the Arab League Secretary General, has lashed out at Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s conditions for peace during an AIPAC speech, describing them as "unacceptable... more.. e-mail
Deputy FM: Annapolis conference caused damage
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews 4/2/2009
Day after Lieberman said Israel not obligated by Annapolis conference, Danny Ayalon tells Washington Times Netanyahu government supports two-state solution; Saban Center: Tensions between Obama administration, new Israeli regime are already brewing - WASHINGTON - Amid the uproar over Foreign Minister Avigdor... more.. e-mail
Deputy FM: Annapolis conference caused damage
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews 4/2/2009
Day after Lieberman said Israel not obligated by Annapolis conference, Danny Ayalon tells Washington Times Netanyahu government supports two-state solution; Saban Center: Tensions between Obama administration, new Israeli regime are already brewing - WASHINGTON - Amid the uproar over Foreign Minister Avigdor... more.. e-mail
Deputy FM: Annapolis conference caused damage
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews 4/2/2009
Day after Lieberman said Israel not obligated by Annapolis conference, Danny Ayalon tells Washington Times Netanyahu government supports two-state solution; Saban Center: Tensions between Obama administration, new Israeli regime are already brewing - WASHINGTON - Amid the uproar over Foreign Minister Avigdor... more.. e-mail
Lieberman discards Annapolis declaration
The Daily Star, Daily Star 4/2/2009
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s new foreign minister angered Palestinians and raised the prospect of tensions with Washington by saying Wednesday that Israel was not bound by a deal to start negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state. On his first... more.. e-mail
More US Role News Archives...
   
  Latest News
 
Lawmakers Call on Shell to Disclose Iran Investments
AIPAC - Legislation and Policy - Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Dan Burton (R-IN) on June 30 sent a letter to the chief financial officer of Royal Dutch Shell urging him to fully disclose his company's investments in Iran. The letter notes that Congress is presently...

U.S., Israel Sign Agreement on Loan Guarantees
AIPAC - Legislation and Policy - The United States and Israel on June 30 signed an agreement re-approving U.S. loan guarantees to the Jewish state, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. In 2002, in response to an Israeli recession triggered by a global downturn and the Palestinian...

Netanyahu: U.S.-Israel Bond is Unbreakable
AIPAC - Today's Briefing - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking on Wednesday during a Fourth of July celebration at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said the bond between the United States and Israel was unbreakable, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. "We have...

AIPAC Offices Closed for Independence Day
AIPAC - Today's Briefing - AIPAC offices will be closed on July 3 in observance of America's 233rd Independence Day. Regular Web site updates will resume on Monday, July 6. In the meantime, check out the Issues page for concise analysis, feature coverage and links...

NY Divests $86.2M from Companies Linked to Iran, Sudan
AIPAC - Today's Briefing - New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Tuesday that his state is withdrawing $86.2 million in state retirement fund investments from nine companies doing business with Iran and Sudan, Bloomberg reported. "These companies failed to meet even the minimum requirements of...

Treasury Announces New Sanctions on N. Korea, Iran
AIPAC - Today's Briefing - The United States announced a series of new sanctions Tuesday on North Korean and Iranian entities said to be aiding Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, ABC News reported. The Treasury Department targeted Hong Kong Electronics, based on Iran's Kish Island,...

H.R.1288
Current Legislation - ADC - 'To halt Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism, to secure full Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist incidents, to halt the issuance of visas to citizens of...

H.R.1913
Current Legislation - ADC - 'To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes. '

S.416
Current Legislation - ADC - 'A bill to limit the use of cluster munitions. '

S.909
Current Legislation - ADC - 'A bill to provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes. '

H.R.1467
Current Legislation - ADC - 'To extend certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 for 10 years. '

Too Much Truth in Advertising at the WaPo?
FAIR - The business department at the Washington Post has gotten into trouble in what may be a case of too much truth in advertising. As reported by Politico ( 7/2/09 ), the Post circulated a flyer offering--for the low, low cost of $25,000--an "...

Big Media 'Lenses...Ground With Ideology, Nationalism'
FAIR - Noticing that "the New York Times used three square inches of newsprint on Tuesday to dispatch two U.S. Army soldiers under the headline ' Names of the Dead ,'" Norman Solomon ( Common Dreams , 7/1/09 ) points out how apparently "there wasn't enough room...

Climate Bill Damned but Military Budget Untouchable
FAIR - Reacting to media noise over the economic costs of the Waxman-Markey environmental bill currently before the U.S. Congress, Dean Baker ( ZNet , 7/1/09 ) looks to the damages of a different annual spending bill, this one perpetually unexamined in corporate news: Global...

Fox: New 9/11 Needed for U.S. to Become Violent Enough
FAIR - The folks at Fox News , so quick to denounce dissent as unpatriotic during the George W. Bush era, have now moved from generally hoping for the failure of the Obama government to wishing another September 11 upon a country too...

NPR's Single-Payer-Free Healthcare Reportage
FAIR - Critiquing some more of National Public Radio 's healthcare reportage, blogger Mytwords ( NPR Check , 6/29/09 ) highlights Julie Rovner of Morning Edition " reporting this morning for the private health insurance lobby": "The healthcare cost debate pretty much comes down to this: '...

Strategic Dialogue: Bashir Indictment
Foreign Policy in Focus - Will the indictment of Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir lead to greater peace and justice or undermine those elusive goals? Meghan Stewart and Hussein Yusuf provide contrasting views.

Indicting Bashir Is Wrong
Foreign Policy in Focus - The International Criminal Court failed to take into consideration politics inside Sudan and in the region when making its faulty indictment.

Indicting Bashir is Right
Foreign Policy in Focus - The indictment of the Sudanese president is a strategic opportunity to bring peace to the country.

'Forward' piece touches on dual loyalty as motivator for Iraq war
Mondoweiss - The best line in Nathan Guttman's piece in the Forward about the Justice Department's effort to prove that a pro-Israel spy ring was operating inside the Pentagon, AIPAC and the Israeli Embassy came from Steve Rosen, the former AIPAC lobbyist...

Brokaw says Israelis can learn from Buchenwald about 'their treatment of Palestinians'
Mondoweiss - The conversation is obviously changing in the U.S. But I missed this one. It happened at Buchenwald a month ago, Brokaw asked Obama the question. My assiduous coreligionists at CAMERA got it. They're now trying to give Brokaw a spanking,...

Bibi's endgame? A castrated Palestinian state
Mondoweiss - The other day Ira Glunts did a fine post here saying that Israel has little interest in the peace process, and that Netanyahu is just playing intransigent foot-dragging tricks with Obama over a semi-fake issue, freezing settlements. I asked Glunts: "...

'All Things Considered' was a miracle baby in 1990. And now? (I'm not giving away the punchline in the headline)
Mondoweiss - Very good piece by Glenn Greenwald on NPR's refusal to use the word "torture" to describe the interrogation techniques adopted by the Bush administration, and on the refusal of an NPR ombudsman to answer Greenwald's questions. (I'd be afeered of...

Larry Franklin says Justice Department was gunnin for Feith
Mondoweiss - Hardworking Nathan Guttman gets the first interview with Hawaiian-beshirted Larry Franklin , the former Defense department analyst who was the only man to go down in the investigation of AIPAC lobbyists Rosen and Weissman: His superiors at the time were both...

Set Up a Meeting with Your Member of Congress in August
US Campaign to End the Occupation - The 8th Annual National Organizers' Conference will be held during the weekend of September 12th - 13th, 2009 in Chicago, IL. See a list of helpful and necessary information for you to plan and book your flights!

 

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