[Peace-discuss] Uri Avnery's opinion

[Brussel Morton K.]

…The full meaning of this episode [the canning of Freeman] should not  
escape anyone. It was the first test of strength of the lobby in the  
new Obama era. And in this test, the lobby came out with flying (blue- 
and-white) colors. The administration was publicly humiliated. The  
White House did not even try to hide its abject surrender. It declared  
that the appointment had not been cleared with the president, that  
Obama had no hand in it and did not even know about it. Meaning: of  
course he would have objected to the appointment of any official who  
was not fully acceptable to the lobby. The portrayal of the power of  
the lobby by Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt has been  
fully vindicated.

This has a significance that goes far beyond the already far-reaching  
implications of the affair itself. Many people in Israel who view the  
establishment of the new rightist government with apprehension cite as  
their main fear the danger of a clash with the new Obama  
administration. Such a clash, they believe, could be fatal for  
Israel's security. But the rightists deride such arguments. They  
assert that no American president would ever dare to confront the  
Israeli lobby. The captive congressmen and senators, as well as the  
supporters of the Israeli government in the media and even in the  
White House itself, would sink on sight any American policy opposed by  
even the most extreme right-wing government in Israel. Now the first  
skirmish has taken place, and the president of the United States has  
blinked first. Perhaps one should not rush to conclusions, perhaps  
Obama needs more time to find his bearings, but the signs are ominous  
for any Israeli interested in peace. It may be too early to call this  
episode the Rape of Washington, but it is certainly vastly more  
important than Katsav's sexual escapades. …

 From http://www.antiwar.com/avnery/?articleid=14407

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