It's a dilemma, alright. Maybe we should steal a play out of the GWB/Neocon "How to End a Preemptive War" handbook, by taunting ISIL fighters to "Bring It On", then hanging out the old "Mission Accomplished" banner. I'm sure those guys are just a bunch of "dead enders" anyway.
Whether it's sins of omission or sins of commission (remember Judith Miller?), we're talking here about propaganda. And when it comes to Israel, the NYT is very good at it.
"Upskirting" is a perfectly normal and legal behavior, just ask Senate Intelligence Select Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein. Voyeurism in the national interest, she will tell you, can be a good thing, especially when carried out by our patriotic friends over at the NSA.
Rogue upskirting by rowdy CIA thugs, however, may be a 'hole 'nuther matter. This time the undies in focus will not be yours and mine but those of Ms. Feinstein and her committee colleagues.
With Saudi and Israeli self-interests focused like lasers on the destruction of Iran--and anyone allied with them--what do you think the chances are of the U.S. giving further aid to al-Maliki? We lost that war once. What are we going to do, lose it again?
Feinstein is what she is because she has now remained self-centered and politically untouchable for decades. She's out of reach and out of touch, a vile and corrupt offspring of vast political corruption.
There can be only one "justification" for Israel's behavior, including its permanent occupation and taking of Palestinian lands. Zionism.
Neither Israel nor the United States have yet admitted that Zionism is but another form of apartheid, but it is. And, like all previous apartheid constructs, this one will not stand for long.
The majority of people around the globe simply do not believe God gave Jews, or anyone else, a proprietary homeland—or, for that matter, any other special consideration or accommodation. Most believe we, in the eyes of God, are all equals, all one.
In the meantime, as self-proclaimed “true believers” and constant aggressors, Israel and the U.S. become increasingly reviled. It's a risky and self-destructive path that we are on. The sooner we realize it and fix it, the better for everyone.
"Approve (our) attack on Iran & to Exempt (us)from Sequester”--Israel
Israel (a nuclear armed nation of barely 7 million people) attempts to take 300 million hostages: the U.S. Congress, the U.S.Military and the already beleaguered U.S. Tax Payers
It seems there are approximately 536 elected officials in Washington who didn't really mean it when they swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Since the attorney general and all federal judges, including supreme court justices, are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of those officials, the question of whether or not any of them decide to uphold the constitution becomes moot. And that, my fellow Americans, is where things are.
Citizens United was truly a watershed moment in history. Whatever the intentions of the U.S. Supreme Court, five justices managed to end democracy as we previously knew it.
Unfortunately, we have baby's EVERYWHERE in Washington D.C., with more coming in 2012. The question we have to ask ourselves is: "Who's passing out all these hammers?
Diskin and Dagan exhibit the intelligence and courage that will be broadly needed inside both Israel and the United States in order for Israel to have a future.
It took a big lie to sell the Iraq war, and it's going to take another big lie--now in process--to sell an attack on Iran. In both cases, David Frum has been front and center.
"There is a distinct, if little discussed, downside to being a superpower and acting as the self-appointed global policeman with a multitude of targets."
Our motivation for "being global policeman" is, of course, to facilitate our nation's insatiable lust for global empire--a dubious goal for which the majority are apt to pay a very steep price for a very long time.
"That these developments can be commented on in Western media without Khamenei’s speech being mentioned or it being noted that he strongly opposes nukes is baffling."
Baffling, perhaps, but understandable and predictable given the level of pro-Israel influence over the Western press. Israel is far from a finished product, and its not a passive actor in the Middle East. After more than sixty years, we still don't know for sure the extent of the geographic boundaries the Greater Israel movement pursues.
Contrary to your comment, I believe I read both Mr. Cole's post and yours very carefully. Your main point is very clear: that Cole intended to leave the impression that the U.S. had constructed military bases "in order to encircle Iran". This assumption is neither an accurate assessment of what was said, nor is it fair to Mr. Cole. What Cole pointed out was that the U.S. "has Iran encircled by military bases"--a fact that is incontrovertible. No claim was made as to how, when or why these facilities were originally put there. Mr. Cole likely doesn't know all of the reasons for their construction, and, I believe it fair to say, neither do you.
So, what's your point? Do these military installations exist or don't they? The truth is that we have military assets all around the globe, including areas surrounding Iran. If Iran makes any move to use nuclear force against another, it stands to be incinerated within a matter of nanoseconds, while the threat that nation poses to the United States ranges from minuscule to non-existent.
My thanks to Hele Beji for allowing Informed Comment to share this translated version of her work with all of its readers, and to Juan Cole for his great scholarship and his astute awareness that such rich and powerful literature has universal application and benefit around the world--even for those who know nothing about about the Arab Spring or the recent Tunisian revolution.
"But he likely either threatened the Likud or promised them something they want."
It's doubtful Likud, AIPAC or the Neocons reacted in this manner in response to any threat by Obama. Could it be the president promised an attack on Iran after the elections? If so, given the Republican candidates' positions, Israel would be assured of an attack on Iran by early 2013.
Juan Cole: Good luck! We could all use a victory here. If the cowboy road in singing "don't mess with Texas", let his swan song be "don't mess with Juan Cole".
The good news for civilization is that mother nature and gravity ultimately win. Murdoch is 80 years old. Before long, he won't be able to get out of bed. The "network" he has built is entirely egocentric and ephemeral. There are no Golden Tablets to guide his "followers". As a matter of fact, there are no followers. His life's work has focused solely on leaving behind a planet full of idiots, predominately Americans. In the end, and in his absence, enlightenment will eliminate them.
With Palin, "familiarity" with language and the actual meaning of words and phrases is always left in doubt--hence, the occasional rise of a new word like "refudiate". Most likely it was the puppeteer who sent "blood libel" down the string and the lady obediently delivered. She's not the type who would ask beforehand what it meant.
Thank you, Professor Cole and “Informed Comment”:
Although you are recognized mainly for your laser-like focus on the Middle East, there is no other single source I have found that is so able or willing—day in and day out—to bring readers such diverse and scholarly work. Your labor and commitment to humanity is greatly appreciated.
"Bush and the Bushies screwed up, and they are blaming it on the liberties enshrined in the constitution by men a thousand times their betters, for which generations of Americans have fought and died, and whose memory is being desecrated by the sad likes of George W. Bush, Richard Bruce Cheney, Peter King and the rest of our would-be Anglophone Francisco Francos."
This is what makes the Obama Administration's failure to prosecute Bush and Cheney for war crimes such a travesty. Now, we are left not with clear-cut anti-torture laws but with esoteric arguments on the subject with pro-torture freaks like Alan Dershowitz.
There is definitely a serious cultural conflict underway in America, one with all the intrigue, complicity and--of late--covertness of a real war. The potential for lethality in this struggle is, at once, very present and unquantifiable. If I were a member of some minority--which, of course, most of us are in America--I would be extremely fearful.
One can hope for political change within Israel. In the meantime, this small country in the Middle East represents extremely heavy baggage and great danger for the United States. The anti-social and unlawful behavior of Israel is out of control and in the open for everyone to see. So is America's unflagging support of it, without regard to the unending violations of human rights and international law.
Let's face it, Israel cannot survive without the support of the United States, a reality that gives America all the leverage needed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian statehood issue. Unless we are willing to apply that leverage, however, Israel's crimes will almost certainly continue and America will continue having to deal with collateral damage and unintended consequences.
One of the biggest problems: Israel is nuclear armed, thanks to the not-so-discrete acquiescence (if not outright complicity) of the U.S. With nuclear weapons in the hands of such a strikingly belligerent nation, the future of the world, let alone of the Middle East, presents a dark and foreboding picture.
President Obama’s signature characteristic has been his staunch commitment to bipartisanship and the avoidance of political confrontation. Since he came to power, he has been so busy putting “stuff”—primarily, Republican malfeasance—behind us that he has failed to govern.
It is true that Obama will never make this particular speech his own. Unlike our last president, however, this man can read beyond the level of "My Pet Goat". Hopefully, he has already considered the facts of the matter and agrees with them, though his actions and words certainly provide no clue as to that being the case.
Dare I ask: What exactly is the link (or links) between the NYT and the Israeli perspective, which the newspaper so unfailingly, and sometimes outrageously, promotes and defends?
Given the effectiveness of Israel and AIPAC in influencing U.S. foreign policy by bullying government officials and politicians, Israel is rapidly becoming one of the greatest threats to American national security in existence. It seems likely that we may someday regret having so heavily subsidized Israeli military might and nuclear weapons capabilities.
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The next phase in sowing Middle East chaos: the Saudi's and the Israelis attack Lebanon.
Got to make haste while Trump can still provide cover, and before Mueller grabs him by the ------!
"But the allegation that the US and its allies are just bombing Daesh/ ISIL for show but really are supporting it is bizarre."
How so?
As a matter of reality, Saudi war crimes in Yemen are essentially Saudi/U.S. war crimes.
More and more, U.S. foreign policy appears to be designed and carried out by young children dressed in adult attire.
Out of seventeen candidates, this is the best Republicans can do? Time for an overhaul.
Thanks! Great observation and analysis. Much superior to the one-side opinion offered here by EurActiv.com
"It is as though...", indeed!
It's a dilemma, alright. Maybe we should steal a play out of the GWB/Neocon "How to End a Preemptive War" handbook, by taunting ISIL fighters to "Bring It On", then hanging out the old "Mission Accomplished" banner. I'm sure those guys are just a bunch of "dead enders" anyway.
Typical.
So much for the Neocon strategy of sowing chaos as a means of maintaining U.S./Israel supremacy over the Middle East.
Whether it's sins of omission or sins of commission (remember Judith Miller?), we're talking here about propaganda. And when it comes to Israel, the NYT is very good at it.
"Upskirting" is a perfectly normal and legal behavior, just ask Senate Intelligence Select Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein. Voyeurism in the national interest, she will tell you, can be a good thing, especially when carried out by our patriotic friends over at the NSA.
Rogue upskirting by rowdy CIA thugs, however, may be a 'hole 'nuther matter. This time the undies in focus will not be yours and mine but those of Ms. Feinstein and her committee colleagues.
With Saudi and Israeli self-interests focused like lasers on the destruction of Iran--and anyone allied with them--what do you think the chances are of the U.S. giving further aid to al-Maliki? We lost that war once. What are we going to do, lose it again?
Feinstein is what she is because she has now remained self-centered and politically untouchable for decades. She's out of reach and out of touch, a vile and corrupt offspring of vast political corruption.
The notion of a Palestinian peace process is as obsolete as John Kerry's hair style.
There can be only one "justification" for Israel's behavior, including its permanent occupation and taking of Palestinian lands. Zionism.
Neither Israel nor the United States have yet admitted that Zionism is but another form of apartheid, but it is. And, like all previous apartheid constructs, this one will not stand for long.
The majority of people around the globe simply do not believe God gave Jews, or anyone else, a proprietary homeland—or, for that matter, any other special consideration or accommodation. Most believe we, in the eyes of God, are all equals, all one.
In the meantime, as self-proclaimed “true believers” and constant aggressors, Israel and the U.S. become increasingly reviled. It's a risky and self-destructive path that we are on. The sooner we realize it and fix it, the better for everyone.
"Approve (our) attack on Iran & to Exempt (us)from Sequester”--Israel
Israel (a nuclear armed nation of barely 7 million people) attempts to take 300 million hostages: the U.S. Congress, the U.S.Military and the already beleaguered U.S. Tax Payers
Thank God--and Darwin--for the bright minds and civic commitment of people like Zack.
It seems there are approximately 536 elected officials in Washington who didn't really mean it when they swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Since the attorney general and all federal judges, including supreme court justices, are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of those officials, the question of whether or not any of them decide to uphold the constitution becomes moot. And that, my fellow Americans, is where things are.
Scary, this business of police oppressing people who think as opposed to those who don't.
Ditto!
Citizens United was truly a watershed moment in history. Whatever the intentions of the U.S. Supreme Court, five justices managed to end democracy as we previously knew it.
If Romney is in Israel picking up bucks and promising to deliver that country a war on Iran, he is treading very close to being a foreign agent.
Unfortunately, we have baby's EVERYWHERE in Washington D.C., with more coming in 2012. The question we have to ask ourselves is: "Who's passing out all these hammers?
Diskin and Dagan exhibit the intelligence and courage that will be broadly needed inside both Israel and the United States in order for Israel to have a future.
It took a big lie to sell the Iraq war, and it's going to take another big lie--now in process--to sell an attack on Iran. In both cases, David Frum has been front and center.
"There is a distinct, if little discussed, downside to being a superpower and acting as the self-appointed global policeman with a multitude of targets."
Our motivation for "being global policeman" is, of course, to facilitate our nation's insatiable lust for global empire--a dubious goal for which the majority are apt to pay a very steep price for a very long time.
Even as an occupier--especially and occupier--has an obligation to be humane.
"That these developments can be commented on in Western media without Khamenei’s speech being mentioned or it being noted that he strongly opposes nukes is baffling."
Baffling, perhaps, but understandable and predictable given the level of pro-Israel influence over the Western press. Israel is far from a finished product, and its not a passive actor in the Middle East. After more than sixty years, we still don't know for sure the extent of the geographic boundaries the Greater Israel movement pursues.
The mother may have been a property lady, but the baby was (and remains) a tramp!
Contrary to your comment, I believe I read both Mr. Cole's post and yours very carefully. Your main point is very clear: that Cole intended to leave the impression that the U.S. had constructed military bases "in order to encircle Iran". This assumption is neither an accurate assessment of what was said, nor is it fair to Mr. Cole. What Cole pointed out was that the U.S. "has Iran encircled by military bases"--a fact that is incontrovertible. No claim was made as to how, when or why these facilities were originally put there. Mr. Cole likely doesn't know all of the reasons for their construction, and, I believe it fair to say, neither do you.
"...incidental to their mission"?
So, what's your point? Do these military installations exist or don't they? The truth is that we have military assets all around the globe, including areas surrounding Iran. If Iran makes any move to use nuclear force against another, it stands to be incinerated within a matter of nanoseconds, while the threat that nation poses to the United States ranges from minuscule to non-existent.
Opening your wallet and handing someone $60 bucks to pay a utility bill is not a very well designed safety-net
My thanks to Hele Beji for allowing Informed Comment to share this translated version of her work with all of its readers, and to Juan Cole for his great scholarship and his astute awareness that such rich and powerful literature has universal application and benefit around the world--even for those who know nothing about about the Arab Spring or the recent Tunisian revolution.
"But he likely either threatened the Likud or promised them something they want."
It's doubtful Likud, AIPAC or the Neocons reacted in this manner in response to any threat by Obama. Could it be the president promised an attack on Iran after the elections? If so, given the Republican candidates' positions, Israel would be assured of an attack on Iran by early 2013.
Juan Cole: Good luck! We could all use a victory here. If the cowboy road in singing "don't mess with Texas", let his swan song be "don't mess with Juan Cole".
The good news for civilization is that mother nature and gravity ultimately win. Murdoch is 80 years old. Before long, he won't be able to get out of bed. The "network" he has built is entirely egocentric and ephemeral. There are no Golden Tablets to guide his "followers". As a matter of fact, there are no followers. His life's work has focused solely on leaving behind a planet full of idiots, predominately Americans. In the end, and in his absence, enlightenment will eliminate them.
"Also i would take issue with the assertion that the US was humiliated by Netanyahu over the settlements".
Good point. Apparently, in politics, it's better to appear embarrassed than perfidious.
In a most unique way, these statistics serve to define "American exceptionalism".
With Palin, "familiarity" with language and the actual meaning of words and phrases is always left in doubt--hence, the occasional rise of a new word like "refudiate". Most likely it was the puppeteer who sent "blood libel" down the string and the lady obediently delivered. She's not the type who would ask beforehand what it meant.
Might as well hang around Bagram playing cards and waiting for the weather to change...not getting much done at home anyway.
"Tyger, Tyger, a fire snuffed out"
Thank you, Professor Cole and “Informed Comment”:
Although you are recognized mainly for your laser-like focus on the Middle East, there is no other single source I have found that is so able or willing—day in and day out—to bring readers such diverse and scholarly work. Your labor and commitment to humanity is greatly appreciated.
"Bush and the Bushies screwed up, and they are blaming it on the liberties enshrined in the constitution by men a thousand times their betters, for which generations of Americans have fought and died, and whose memory is being desecrated by the sad likes of George W. Bush, Richard Bruce Cheney, Peter King and the rest of our would-be Anglophone Francisco Francos."
This is what makes the Obama Administration's failure to prosecute Bush and Cheney for war crimes such a travesty. Now, we are left not with clear-cut anti-torture laws but with esoteric arguments on the subject with pro-torture freaks like Alan Dershowitz.
There is definitely a serious cultural conflict underway in America, one with all the intrigue, complicity and--of late--covertness of a real war. The potential for lethality in this struggle is, at once, very present and unquantifiable. If I were a member of some minority--which, of course, most of us are in America--I would be extremely fearful.
Nice try, Rupert!
Could the Netanyahu Government Fall over New Settlements?
One can hope for political change within Israel. In the meantime, this small country in the Middle East represents extremely heavy baggage and great danger for the United States. The anti-social and unlawful behavior of Israel is out of control and in the open for everyone to see. So is America's unflagging support of it, without regard to the unending violations of human rights and international law.
Let's face it, Israel cannot survive without the support of the United States, a reality that gives America all the leverage needed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian statehood issue. Unless we are willing to apply that leverage, however, Israel's crimes will almost certainly continue and America will continue having to deal with collateral damage and unintended consequences.
One of the biggest problems: Israel is nuclear armed, thanks to the not-so-discrete acquiescence (if not outright complicity) of the U.S. With nuclear weapons in the hands of such a strikingly belligerent nation, the future of the world, let alone of the Middle East, presents a dark and foreboding picture.
Remember, Israel is nuclear armed, thanks to us.
Worried about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons? Could a country be any more arrogant, belligerent, or dangerous to U.S. national security than Israel?
"Well, at least...they are entertaining muggers". Entertaining Mugger-fuggers, more like it.
al-Maliki Declares Independence
President Obama’s signature characteristic has been his staunch commitment to bipartisanship and the avoidance of political confrontation. Since he came to power, he has been so busy putting “stuff”—primarily, Republican malfeasance—behind us that he has failed to govern.
It is true that Obama will never make this particular speech his own. Unlike our last president, however, this man can read beyond the level of "My Pet Goat". Hopefully, he has already considered the facts of the matter and agrees with them, though his actions and words certainly provide no clue as to that being the case.
A plague has already stricken the Palestinians. It's called Israel.
Dare I ask: What exactly is the link (or links) between the NYT and the Israeli perspective, which the newspaper so unfailingly, and sometimes outrageously, promotes and defends?
If the Tea Party truly wants to cut back on the size of government, it might start by eliminating one branch--Israel.
Given the effectiveness of Israel and AIPAC in influencing U.S. foreign policy by bullying government officials and politicians, Israel is rapidly becoming one of the greatest threats to American national security in existence. It seems likely that we may someday regret having so heavily subsidized Israeli military might and nuclear weapons capabilities.