Bestaan van machtige Israel-lobby is mythe

op Sunday, 8 March 09, schreef SJSD

I want you to know that the tennis protesters are a minority in Malmö. There are also a strong Israeli support in the city. But it’s the loud and aggressive left who gets the media attention. There are also some pro-Israel poster around in Malmö with the message “Släpp biljetterna NU” (Put the tickets on sale).

Best Regards
SJSD from Malmö.
http://somjagserdet68.wordpress.com

op Wednesday, 11 March 09, schreef ben

The candidate for a leading US intelligence post has withdrawn his nomination after accusing the country's Israel lobby of plumbing "the depths of dishonour and indecency" to assassinate his character.

Charles "Chas" Freeman, a former US ambassador who is now president of the Middle East Policy Council think-tank, had initially agreed to chair the US National Intelligence Council that produces assessments of security issues.

But on Tuesday he withdrew his nomination following what he called a "barrage of libellous distortions" of his record by the Israel lobby in the US.

"The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired," Freeman said.

"The tactics of the Israel lobby plumb the depths of dishonour and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the wilful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth.

"The aim of this lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favours."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/03/200931113340555177.html

op Wednesday, 11 March 09, schreef Ratna Pelle

Al Jazeera, ja, een lekker neutrale bron, maar niet heus.

A. is deze comment-sectie bedoeld voor reacties van lezers op mijn blog, niet om anti-Israel artikelen eronder te kopiëren. Een dergelijk artikel zal volgende keer dan ook worden verwijderd.
B. ging de discussie hier over Nederland, niet over de VS.
C. volgt hieronder een zinniger commentaar over Freeman dat al op onze nieuwsblog verscheen:

Charles Freeman declines nomination as head of National Intelligence Council
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/charles-freeman-declines-nomination-as.html

Victory is announced sparingly. Charles Freeman, outspoken President of the MEPC Arab lobby, withdrew from consideration as head of the National Intelligence Council after mounting pressure from US congresmen and Senators. This is the terse Reuters announcement:

"U.S. choice for top intelligence analyst withdraws
Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:56pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The candidate for a top U.S. intelligence post withdrew from the running on Tuesday after angering some in Congress with remarks on Israeli "oppression" of Palestinians, and about China.

The office of Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said in a statement that Charles Freeman, who had been picked to head the National Intelligence Council, had asked not to proceed.

Blair had accepted Freeman's decision with regret, the statement said."

The appointment was not the responsibility of Barack Obama. Blair had pushed Freeman as his nominee for the post. The post is not normally reviewed by congress as it is not an ambassadorship or cabinet level appointment. But Freeman's statements favoring repression of dissent as a principle, not only in Tienanmen Square, must've been hard to swallow even for the starkest realists. The fact that he was President of the MEPC Arab lobby and a board member of the American Iranian Council, a lobby for the Iranian interests, should have indicated that he was not exactly beyond suspicion of bias. it is true that many Washingtonians have such ties, but not many of them are chosen to evaluate the United States National Intelligence Estimate, or have such outspoken opinions about Israel. For details of the Freeman issue, and the McCarthyite campain against Freeman critics conducted by M.J. Rosenberg, Professor Walt and others, see Charles Freeman - Barack Obama owes America an explanation:
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/charles-freeman-barack-obama-owes.html

Nonetheless, the absurd appointment to a critical post had aroused only nominal interest. Mainstream media hardly mentioned it at all except in op-eds. The nomination of Freeman became a cause celebre for the more vicious enemies of Israel, none of whom considered whether or not it would be appropriate to have an individual who was obviously biased judging intelligence. The only thing they knew about Freeman is that he is anti-Israel, and that is all that interested them. His backers crowed incessantly about their victory over the "Israel lobby" and smeared anyone who dared to disagree as right wing neocon Zionists. Now they will no doubt portray Freeman as a sort of American Horst Wessel, a victim of the Jewish interests. It is not clear how they can justify the idea that it is somehow in the best interests of the United States to have a pro-Iranian lobbyists judging intelligence about Iranian nuclear development.

Much of the credit for exposing freeman goes to Steve Rosen, squads of alert bloggers and unnamed anonymous others, as well as a bipartisan group of congresspersons who signed a letter asking for an investigation of Freeman. When a group of Senate Republicans voiced similar concerns, it was apparently too much for Freeman, though he did manage to muster the support of 17 ambassadors and former ambassadors.

Ami Isseroff

http://israel-palestijnen.blogspot.com/2009/03/charles-freeman-wijst-nominatie-af-voor.html

op Wednesday, 11 March 09, schreef ben

U.S. official slams Israel 'lobby' after withdrawing from post.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1070041.html