Watching with a mixture of resignation and disgust — Resignation: “Oh, no, not again. They tried it in Vietnam, before that Korea, afterwards Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Ukraine. They never learn. They failed at both regime change and ‘democracy’ promotion.” Disgust: “Probably their most shameful performance on the world stage — A partner in genocide. Bringing all their trillions of dollars’ worth of munitions to aid and abet a madman committing unspeakable acts of terror on an innocent population.”
But you know all that, don’t you? As a card carrying American, the unholy triumvirate plus one of Biden, Blinken, Sullivan and Nuland —all unelected save one— has made you an involuntary partner in these murderous goings on. Not that it hasn’t happened before with an unhinged occupant in the White House. No, not Donald Trump whom the democrats love to paint with that unhinged brush, not Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan likely candidates but the jury is still out on them. Even LBJ doesn’t make the cut. But Richard Nixon does. It was called the ‘secret’ bombing of Cambodia. Nixon, whose irrational behavior stunned his staff— “all of us were worried about this man’s (Nixon’s) stability… [quoted in The Price of Power by Seymour Hersch], believed that somehow American troops laying waste to Cambodia would win the war in Vietnam. Makes perfect sense if you are an American leader in 1970 or curiously enough in 2023. Republican (Nixon) or Democrat (Biden) the urge to incinerate the world’s nations is bipartisan. One of the few things that is.
But that was then, this is now. Israel is no Vietnam. But like all American presidents/war criminals both before and after him Richard Nixon was an unquestioning supporter of Israel in the Joe Biden mold. “We are for Israel because Israel in our view is the only state in the Mideast which is pro-freedom…[We are] the kind of friend that Israel needs and will continue to need particularly when the going gets tough.” Nixon might have said it in 1970 or Biden in 2023. Most likely guess is Biden because it’s the kind of drivel that spews from his mouth directly from his addled brain (but then it’s not so much his dementia but a lifetime of sharing a bed with Israel). But in this case It was actually a Nixon memo to his partner in crime the departed but little mourned Henry Kissinger.
Refreshing to know that on this issue, American foreign policy has remained firmly consistent. And Israel knows it. Here’s how they responded to Nixon’s egging them on in 1970. “Our military operations are the most encouraging breath of fresh air the American administration has enjoyed recently. A man would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to sense how much the administration favors our military operations…” [future Prime Minister Rabin, then Ambassador to the U.S.]. How prescient of him to define the U.S. groveling relationship to Israel which has remained static for the past half century. Here’s how the latest American war criminal president, Joe Biden, put it: ““Israel has the right to defend itself. We must make sure they have what they need to protect their people today and always.” When he wasn’t espousing the gospel according to Israel, he was delivering comments reminiscent of Madeleine Albright’s efforts to deny U.S. responsibility for the starvation deaths of one half million Iraqi children —”We think it’s worth it.” “I’m sure innocents have been killed and it’s the price of waging a war” [Biden 10/25/2023]
Not that Biden stands alone. Although he occupies the number one spot among the top ten politicians who take the most money from lobbies shilling for Israel, accumulating $4.3 million over a lifetime of running interference for Israel, 8 of the top 10 beneficiaries of Israel lobby largesse are democrats. The golden rule of political “success” in the U.S: Follow the money. For openers there’s Chuck Schumer (D) (number 4 among the top 10 politicians in Israel’s pocket), a recipient of $1.7 million of Israel blood money, who earned his stash by maintaining that the mythical rise in anti-semitism in the U.S. is a far more serious situation than Israel’s genocide of a whole ethnic group: “Today, too many Americans are exploiting arguments against Israel and leaping toward a virulent antisemitism. The normalization and intensifying of this rise in hate is the danger many Jewish people fear most.”
Perhaps the best example of the stranglehold Israeli money has on politicians, even those self-described as progressive, is number 8 on the list, Dick Durbin (D), who has been showered with over $1 million dollars of Israel lobby money. He is a case study in the power of the Israel bribe machine. Back in 1982 running for a House seat against a popular Republican incumbent who was a proponent of the Palestinian people (also an early opponent of the Vietnam war), he didn’t stand a chance before the Israel lobby bankrolled him to victory. Earning his filthy lucre over seven house terms and five in the Senate, Durbin has called for immediate and copious military aid to Israel and co-signed a Senate resolution affirming Israel’s “right to self-defense.”
Although 61% of the American public, including 76% of democrats, 57% of Independents and 49% of Republicans support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, only 4% of what are supposed to be the peoples’ representatives in Congress support even a temporary halt to Israel’s murderous attack or favor UN resolutions to end the violence.
Why the disparity? What happened to those noble sentiments about the importance of voting in a democracy so that those whom the voters elect will express their concerns and do their bidding. Sentimental hogwash meant to pacify the masses but when it comes serious business like keeping their jobs, lobby money and lots of it is the ticket to longevity. Newbies to Congress learn quickly that their survival depends on “voting the right way” when it comes to Israel. Take Chuck Schumer whose five terms in the Senate bear witness to his fealty to Israel’s interests. Israel’s capture of the U.S. legislative branch of government is manifest In the money that changed hands during the 2022 Congressional elections: “Pro–Israel lobbyist groups and individuals contributed nearly $31 million to American congressional candidates during last year’s election cycle.” [Open Secrets].
Of course, this money isn’t free. It comes with lots of conditions, the prime one being “having Israel’s back,” which includes backing the Zionist scheme of greater Israel, blocking a two-state solution and criminalizing BDS movements by force of law in the U.S. Politicians who refuse to bend a knee to Israel’s demands often find themselves facing an opponent who will.
And what do the American people get in return from Israel? Its overwhelming gratitude for U.S. generosity or something else? Here’s Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2001— “…America is very easy to influence…they won’t get in our way…[If] …they say something so what?”
What does the U.S. lose? “Unfettered support for Israel and the lobby consistently puts the United States at odds with international human rights organizations and the vast majority of nations over Israel’s war crimes and blatant violations of international law [Walter Hixson, historian]
Is it worth it?
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