Sunday, August 29, 2004
Why this (non)story is stupid
1. Israel, not America, is the expert on Iran - both from an intelligence analysis perspective and from an "assets-on-the-ground" perspective. There is something fishy/irresponsible about the way the words "spy" and "intelligence" are being thrown around.
2. Obviously the timing, the anti-Bush/anti-Rumsfeld/anti-"Neo-Con"(what a bogus term anyway!) sentiment in the media, State Department and CIA would lead to a desire at this time to smear those who are, as W put it today "making history". It seems the left has torn a page or two about dirty tricks ethics from Watergate.
3. If, as the story goes, the information passed (through AIPAC?!?! gimme a break-we'll get to that in a minute...) was about American policy discussions, there would have been no need for all this cloak-and-dagger, since America and Israel obviously through "official channels" - military attaches, bilateral meetings etc. discuss this stuff intimately all the time.
Continue reading "Why this (non)story is stupid"
THE FINE ART OF A SET-UP - ENGINEERING & DENIAL, by Emanuel A. Winston
THIS JUST IN ON AUGUST 27TH: An accusation has been floated, presumably by the U.S. State Department, to the effect that information on Iran’s nuclear capability has been "subversively" passed on to Israel through AIPAC, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. You will find the timing and purpose of this leak quite interesting. When the pro-Arab State Department leaks accusations against Israel, you have to look beyond the mere hostile dirty tricks of this Arabist institution. So, let’s look deeper, little by little.
At this time the Saudis have launched an expensive PR campaign to take away the image of the Saudis being ‘deep pockets’ for Terror, including Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. They would like us to forget that 15 of the 19 hijacking suicide bombers on 9/11 were Saudis. (The other 4 were Egyptian).
Continue reading " THE FINE ART OF A SET-UP - ENGINEERING & DENIAL, by Emanuel A. Winston"
Israeli Responses to the FBI’s Espionage
Investigation Leak – A Compendium, JCPA
MK Danny Yatom (Labor), who served as head of the Mossad in the 1990s, disclosed on Israel Radio that there are rigid rules against any Israeli espionage activity on U.S. soil, particularly since the 1985 Pollard affair. Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee which oversees the Israeli intelligence services, said he was confident that Israel had not abandoned this more than twenty-year-old decision not to spy on the U.S.
Following a similar accusation in the late 1990s, CIA Director George Tenet found the charges baseless and wrote Israel a letter of apology. Continue reading "Israeli Responses to the FBI’s Espionage"
Who is Douglas Feith
A Dangerous Appointment: Profile of Douglas Feith, Undersecretary of Defense under Bush
By Dr. James J. Zogby is President of Arab American Institute.2001
Summary
For Feith, Arab objections to Zionism were at the core of the conflict. Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories would not solve the conflict, only Arab acceptance of and submission to Israel would end it.
Summarizing his recommendations to the Carter Administration, Feith suggested in a 1979 article that they, "
(1) abandon the view that Judea-Samaria is the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict, (2) acknowledge that the crux is really the Arab refusal to accept a Jewish state in Palestine,
(3) renounce quarreling over Israel’s rights in Judea-Samaria, which encourages Arab inflexibility and damages valuable U.S.-Israeli ties,
(4) confine itself to the role of mediator, rather than party, to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and thus
(5) inform Damascus, Amman, the Palestinian Arabs, and Riyadh that if they want an alteration in Jerusalem’s policies they had best start negotiating with Jerusalem, as Sadat has done, and quit relying on Washington to ‘deliver’ the Israelis
The spy diversion
I am posting this piece with much hesitation. From the outset, I had little doubt, that the Larry Franklin issue had little to do with espionage and everything to do with (i) the US election; (ii) the Saudi PR campaign to whitewash themselves for 15-19 (15 of the 19 9-11 criminals being Saudi) by a diversionary tactic; (iii) the joy in some quarters anytime Israel can be maligned; (iv) the press need for news during the summer months; (v) internal battles among US government agencies. All this, at a time when Iran threatens Israel and the US in terms most explicit.
For this reason, I didn't wish to get into this issue at all. However, since I witnessed posts quoting al-Ha'aretz (why not quote Aratrash directly?), I decided to alert IsraPundit readers to a version from friendly quarters, namely, JCPA. Their brief provides a capsule summary with everything one needs to know to respond to the enemy at this time.
Another friendly source of info on the Franklin issue is Honest Reporting.
Not good for the Jews!
This piece appeared in Haaretz but was sent via email from Current Viewpoint. This piece does not apper as yet at their site (http://www.currentviewpoint.com/)
If the case of a "mole" in the U.S. Department of Defense turns out to be true, it would be the most grievous blow to the American Jewish community in years. As depicted Friday evening on the CBS television network, the story managed to touch all the most sensitive aspects of the status of Jews in America and Israel's role in the machinery of American foreign policy considerations.Continue reading "Not good for the Jews!"It breathes new life into the assertion that Israeli and not American interests led to the war in Iraq. It revives the old charge that Israel is not an ally but a treacherous country, and the old saw that American Jews have a "divided loyalty" problem in their preference for Israeli over American interests.
A major Jewish figure said Saturday he felt positively relieved when he learned that Larry Franklin, the suspect in the case, is not actuallyJewish. [? I thought he had was a reservisit in IDF] At least the charge that Jews in key positions are not sufficiently loyal won't stand up in this case.
I Spy --- it's Iran Contra 2 - the story they didn't want you to see
On Friday evening, CBS News reported that the FBI is investigating a suspected mole in the Department of Defense who allegedly passed to Israel, via a pro-Israeli lobbying organization, classified American intelligence about Iran. The focus of the investigation, according to U.S. government officials, is Larry Franklin, a veteran Defense Intelligence Agency Iran analyst now working in the office of the Pentagon's number three civilian official, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith.
Continue reading "I Spy --- it's Iran Contra 2 - the story they didn't want you to see"
Of Interest
Israeli Soldiers Held for Alleged Murder
Future of Israel army reservists in question
Report: Suspected Pentagon mole visited Israel
Kerry: Unwavering Support of Israel
Bombs & Weapons Uncovered in Bethlehem
Who shot Nabil Amr?
There May Not Be Charges At All" --spy "case."
Link between Hamas, al-Qaida feared
A marathon run from Ethiopia to Israel to Athens
French official: Attacks on Jews tripled since start of year
I spy? continued
Be sure to see this good link on the story about a "spy" for Israel, sent in as comment by an alert reader of Israpundit:
Israel's supreme court - "judicial imperialism"
Updated re-post: see update at article's end.
On Friday, August 20, JPost ran a piece on Israel's anti-terror fence, entitled, "A-G: Cabinet should approve each new fence section". Way down, in the fifth paragraph, was hidden this bomb:
The High Court of Justice on Thursday ordered the state to address the advisory opinion of the ICJ against the construction of the security fence on Palestinian landAnd still further down, in Paragraphs 9-10, readers are informed that:
During Thursday's hearing, the High Court issued show-cause orders instructing the government to explain why it had chosen the specific route in Shukba, Budrus, and A-Ram.Continue reading " Israel's supreme court - "judicial imperialism" "
It also issued a show-cause order ordering the state to explain why it wanted to construct a six-meter-high concrete wall along a section of road between the Kalandiya and A-Ram checkpoints as part of the barrier in the Jerusalem area.
Recommended reading
1. More about boycotting the Bawdy Shop - at Boycott Watch. And while we're on the boycott issue, check out this article on how those who boycott Israel cut off their nose to spite their disgusting face. What is the reverse of L'Chaim? Also, in connection with the Bawdy Shop, see e-mail sent by David Frankenthal: to read, click this link.
2. Rex Murphy - a well-respected Canadian commentator - lauds the US in response to a silly comment by a certaub MP called Parrish; from the Globe and Mail (believe it or not!)
Continue reading "Recommended reading"
The latest episode in the US caving in to terrorists' threats
AP reports today [28 Aug 2004] under the headline, "Powell Cancels Athens Visit Amid Protests":
Secretary of State Colin Powell canceled his trip to Greece at the last minute partly because of concern his presence - expected to be met with anti-war protests - might have disrupted the closing ceremony at the Olympics, State Department officials said Saturday.If history is any guide at all, then we will all pay for Powell being a weak-kneed bleeding heart.
...
On Friday, a department spokesman, Adam Ereli, said officials were aware of protest plans. "We are committed to visiting our Greek friends and sharing in this very important occasion," he said.
...
"It is an enormous victory of the anti-war movement that managed to cancel the visit of the arch-killer Powell," protest organizer Yiannis Sifahakis told The Associated Press.Communist Party member Aristotelis Gontikas said Powell's decision was a victory for those opposed to U.S. policies and was not targeted at Americans.
"I believe that the reaction of the Greek people still counts. It is not by chance that Greeks measure in polls as the most anti-American," Gontikas told the AP.
Continue reading " The latest episode in the US caving in to terrorists' threats"
DIVIDING THE NATION, by Emanuel A. Winston
The Prime Minister of Israel could not have done a better job of hacking apart the Jewish nation of Israel if he were a schohet cutting up chickens. While Sharon was busy dismembering the nation, Shimon Peres is ‘humorously’ calling for a unity government.
So, if these two collaborating confederate do merge, they will have neatly divided the nation into numerous splinter groups.
Continue reading " DIVIDING THE NATION, by Emanuel A. Winston "
Saturday, August 28, 2004
I spy, you spy--more
A bit more added to this hot and developing story via Josh Marshall
I haven't yet been able to comment on the breaking news last night that the FBI is investigating whether an employee at the OSD, Larry Franklin, passed classified US government information to Israel. That is because my colleagues and I have a piece coming out on the subject which will, hopefully, be appearing later today in The Washington Monthly. A few thoughts though about this story.Continue reading "I spy, you spy--more"
Why the security barrier will fail
From Steven Plaut, the following commentary.
There is one major issue related to the "Security Wall" that is being totally ignored by the media and by Israelis. Sure, the weaknesses associated with the idea of the "Security Wall"
have already been well expounded. The Wall is too easy to climb over,
dig under, swim around, or blow holes in. Even worse, there is nothing stopping the Palestinians from shooting mortars, rockets, and missiles over it. The Wall is much too close to the "Green Line", and signals Israel's willingness to capitulate and return to its 1949 "Auschwitz
Borders". The Wall should in fact be a set of security cages, caging in
the large Palestinian towns while leaving the rest of the West Bank and Gaza as free range in which Jews live and move freely.
Continue reading "Why the security barrier will fail"
Spotlight fails to focus on Palestine hunger strike
Another article on the Arab prisoner hunger strike. This one is from InternationalHeraldTribune
Several thousand Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails were on their 13th day of a hunger strike on Friday, but the Israeli government has provided few concessions and there has been relatively little interest from the outside world.Continue reading "Spotlight fails to focus on Palestine hunger strike"Even Palestinians have had their attention diverted by internal political struggles; a Palestinian heartthrob singer in the finals of an Arab-world popularity contest called Super Star; the fight in Iraq over Najaf; and even by the Olympics, admits Issa Qaraqe, director of the Palestinian Prisoners Association, speaking here in a storefront tent covered with the photographs of the city's prisoners and detainees.
As women in head scarves chatted, holding framed pictures of their husbands and sons who they say are on hunger strike, Qaraqe argued that the issue of the prisoners and their strike was "the central issue of Palestinian society, taking priority over everything else."
Terrorist shelters in American universities.
This is, most probably, one case among many: How Al-Arian was sheltered in the University of South Florida. It is told by Bill West in frontpagemag.com
A CENTRIST PARTY, A WISER COURSE
By BRUCE S. TICKER
The emergence of a third - or is it a fourth? - major political party in Israel may be the only realistic course to crack the impasse blocking even a limited resolution to the conflict with the Palestinians.
Likud is on a path to self-destruction, Labor has lost its ideological anchor and Shinui never stood for anything outside its original reason for being. Shinui only recently obtained a foothold in political power and Labor and Likud have been the two most prominent parties for many years.
Proof of the ruling party's irreconcilable divisions surfaced twice in the last four months when a majority of Likudniks voted against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's initiatives to withdraw settlers and troops from all of Gaza and four West Bank settlements.
Continue reading "A CENTRIST PARTY, A WISER COURSE"
FBI Probes Pentagon Spy Case
By now this story is spread throughout the media. I am posting this site because it contains a few items about the story and many interesting comments, with some additional URLs connected to this breaking and important news item, for which see: agonist.org
Note: In my view, the focus in many of the comments and in articles about these charges of spying is upon the "spy," but the more serious implications are contained in this quote: "At the heart of the investigation are two people who work at The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington.
The FBI investigation, headed up by Dave Szady, has involved wiretaps, undercover surveillance and photography that CBS News was told document the passing of classified information from the mole, to the men at AIPAC, and on to the Israelis" If these charges prove to be true, friends of Israel and Jews in general can expect a good deal of bad PR.
Israel plans 530 new settler homes in West Bank, sources say
This article from an Arab paper seems to confirm the fact that the US easing of "restrictions" upon Israel's settlement building will encourage further building. The article is appears in arabicnews
Israel plans to build more than 530 new settler homes in the West Bank and signalled it would accept growth in Jewish enclaves in the occupied territory, Israeli political sources said on Monday.They said the construction would be mostly in settlements close to Jerusalem and would be in full swing before the end of the year.
Israel has allowed the construction of more than 300 new homes in the West Bank settlements near Jerusalem, an official said Monday amid Palestinian anger over a change of policy by the United States on settlement building....more
Of Interest
Contrary to general perception in Israel and the United States, the French are neither wimps nor weasels when it comes to fighting Islamic extremism.... JPost
The number of anti-Semitic attacks in France has more than doubled over the past year, with most of them committed for vague reasons rather than ideology, France's interior minister said in an interview published Friday....haaretz
The FBI is investigating whether an analyst for the Pentagon's No. 3 official acted as a spy for Israel, giving the Jewish state classified materials about secret White House deliberations on Iran, two federal law enforcement officials said Friday...trivalleyherald
Continue reading "Of Interest"
FBI Suspects Israel Has Mole in Pentagon
They blame Israel for everything else, why not this obviously fabricated tale? Maybe they should spend some time looking for Arab moles in the Pentagon and they'll hit the jackpot!
If the FBI would have solid evidence, the "mole" would have been arrested before this story leaked!
Look no further than the FBI to see what's really going on...
Isn't this just amazing timing - right before the elections!!!
AIPAC has issued a statement saying that the allegations are false and baseless.
Also read: FBI's Arab Translators Celebrated 9/11
FBI: Jews need not apply for Arabic linguist jobs
FBI invites Muslim scholars to preach to agents
Shortage of Arabic linguists in Army called 'desperate'
FBI swamped by backlog of untranslated Arabic
