[Peace-discuss] WHAT accounts for the US' mindless support for Israel???

Wed Jan 21 23:09:41 CST 2009

Enlightening. Thanks, folks.
 --Jenifer

--- On Wed, 1/21/09, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at uiuc.edu> wrote:

From: C. G. Estabrook <galliher at uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] WHAT accounts for the US' mindless support for Israel???
To: kmedina at illinois.edu
Cc: "peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 9:06 PM

I think it's important to realize that the USG's support for Israel
isn't mindless at all.  It's perfectly in keeping with the long-standing
US policy in the Middle East, which -- because of its energy resources -- is the
most important region of the world for US foreign policy.

"Since WWI, when the world began to move onto an oil-based economy, the
Middle East has become central in world affairs, for the very obvious reason
that it has, by far the largest and the most accessible petroleum resources --
primarily in Saudi Arabia, secondarily in Iraq, and thirdly in the Gulf
Emirates, and elsewhere. As the State Department described it during the Second
World War, when the US was taking over, 'It's a stupendous source of
strategic power and the greatest material prize in world history.' In the
1950s President Eisenhower called it 'strategically the most important part
of the world.'"

It's become even more important to the US as economic rivals arose in the
world -- Europe and northeast Asia.  The US doesn't need Mideast energy for
its own purposes, but control of it gives the USG a strangle-hold over these
competing economies.

The greatest threat to US control has been what the State Department calls
"domestic radicalism" -- the unconscionable demand of the people of
the region to control their own resources.

In the post-WWII period of decolonization, this threat was borne by (secular)
Arab nationalism, led by Nasser of Egypt.  The defeat of this threat by Israel
in 1967 solidified the adoption by the US of Israel as its chief client (and by
far the largest recipient of US foreign aid, particularly military).  It became
the bulwark against threats to "our" oil -- the "local cop on the
beat," in the words of the Nixon-Kissinger administration.

It's recently become fashionable to ignore the long-term geopolitical
reasons that make the US Israel's patron, and to suggest that it's all
matter of lobbying, of bribing congress with campaign contributions, or of
malign and occult influence by the Israeli government over successive US
administrations. At its worst (as in the case of the recently-departed head of
the CIA, George Tenet) -- and not just on the Right -- this view becomes a sort
of higher anti-semitism, the notion that crimes that the US has committed in SW
Asia are the Jews' fault.

As Noam Chomsky argues, "The thesis ... is that the lobbies have
overwhelming influence, and the so-called 'national interest' is harmed
by what they do. If that were the case, it would be, I would think, a very
hopeful conclusion. It would mean that U.S. policy could easily be reversed. It
would simply be necessary to explain to the major centers of power, like the
energy corporations, high-tech industry and arms producers and so on, just
explain to them that their interests are being harmed by this small lobby that
screams anti-semitism and funds congressmen, and so on. Surely those
institutions can utterly overwhelm the lobby in political influence, in finance,
and so on, so that ought to reverse the policy."

But it doesn't happen, and the reason is that USG support for Israel
isn't mindless at all; it's an important part of fundamental US
geopolitical strategy, notably its control of the Mideast energy.  --CGE

Karen Medina wrote:
> Jenifer Cartwright asked > WHAT accounts for the US' mindless
support for Israel???
> 
> The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is America's
Pro-Israel
>  Lobby. 100,000-members. Money beyond belief.
> 
> Of the two recent resolutions "recognizing Israel's right to
defend itself
> against attacks from Gaza": * Senate Resolution 10 passed by
unanimous
> consent in the Senate. * House Resolution 34 passed the House by a vote of
> 390 to 5. Rep. Nancy Pelosi was the sponsor and there were 116
co-sponsors.
> Those 5 voting AGAINST the resolution were: Dennis Kucinich, Gwen Moore,
Nick
> Rahall, Maxine Waters, and Ronald Paul.
> 
> You really must look at the numerous statements of "American Leaders
Speak Out in Support of Israel's Right to Self-Defense" updated January
15, 2009.
http://www.aipac.org/Publications/SourceMaterialsCongressionalAction/Congre
ssIsraelGazaSelfDefense.pdf
> 
> Is it the U.S.'s fear of Iran that gives this group (AIPAC) so much
power?
> 
> Hey, have you seen the video of Obama at AIPAC's policy conference????
Scary
> but worth watching.
http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/2841_12684.asp He mentions
> the nebulous "shared interests, shared values."
> 
> AIPAC claims as their major achievements: * Passing more than a dozen
bills
> and resolutions condemning and imposing tough sanctions on Iran during the
> past 15 years. * Securing critical security assistance to Israel each year
to
> ensure that Israel remains capable of facing increased threats. * Passing
> legislation requiring the administration to evaluate all future military
sales to Arab states in the context of the need to maintain Israel's
> qualitative military edge over potential adversaries. * Reinforcing the
key
> principles America should stand by as it works to help Israel achieve
peace
> in letters to the president signed by 268 House members and 78 senators. *
> Passing multiple resolutions affirming congressional support for
Israel's
> right to self-defense in the face of terrorism by the terrorist groups
Hamas
> and Hizballah. * Strongly urging the administration to take its decision
to
> designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a
terrorist
> group and weapons proliferator through an amendment supported by 76
senators
> and key legislation passed in the House of Representatives. *
Strengthening
> U.S.-Israel energy cooperation by passing legislation that establishes a
> grant program that funds joint projects between U.S. and Israeli entities
in
> the field of alternative energy. * Strengthening U.S.-Israel homeland
> security cooperation by passing landmark legislation creating an office
> within the Department of Homeland Security to support joint research and
> development projects between the United States and key allies such as
Israel.
>  * Prohibiting U.S. aid and contacts with a Hamas-led PA until its leaders
recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and ratify previous
> Israeli- Palestinian peace agreements. * Ratifying an agreement that led
to
> the Israeli medical service Magen David Adom's admission to the
International
> Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IRC). * Passing the Syrian
> Accountability Act, which allows the president to sanction Syria for its
> continued involvement in Lebanon and support of terrorism.
> 
> ---- Original message ----
>> Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:50:52 -0800 (PST) From: Jenifer Cartwright
>> <jencart13 at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: Message
From
>> Senator Durbin -- P S To: peace-discuss
<peace-discuss at anti-war.net>,
>> "Brussel Morton K."
> <mkbrussel at comcast.net>
>> Naive question on my part, but WHAT accounts for the US' mindless
support
>> for Israel??? Jews are about 3% of the US population, and almost all
of the
>> ones I know agree w/ me about the situation in the ME.
>>  --Jenifer

_______________________________________________
Peace-discuss mailing list
Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace-discuss/attachments/20090121/617273e4/attachment-0001.htm