What Are They? Who Are They? Mole in the Pentagon? Confluence of Interests NEO-CONnected Wolfowitz's World Bank Franklin pleads guilty Israel Lobby Explained War by Other Means Realists & Neo-Cons Neo-Cons Bail Out? More Troops into Iraq Neo-Con's Solution Shiite Plan Backfires

Don't Talk to Iran! Cheney Does AIPAC Book Review: Epicenter Neo-Con Revolving Door $30B for Peace Our Man in the Pentagon Book Review: Speak Out Book Review: Anti-Semitism Book Review: Zionism & US Power Open Season for Treason References News Resources

What is a Neo-Conservative?

Finding out who the neo-cons really are and the actual motivations and beliefs of the people and groups under that label is a necessary step in understanding America’s self-destructive foreign policy and putting the pieces together to form a coherent picture of the future and the greater scheme at work on world events.

Neo-conservative is a label applied to the marriage of convenience between three basic groups of theologically and ideologically driven lawyers, academics, politicians and millionaires that have a shared goal to influence and direct United States foreign policy. Now this group has found  a common vehicle in enacting their agenda through the window of opportunity provided by a sympathetic Congress and President of the United States.

Neo-conservatism is where the theological and ideological goals of Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians in America and the militant, conservative factions inside and outside Israel, as well as many Zionist sympathizers in both countries, overlap. Neo-conservatives have been around in various forms for decades, seeing a resurgence of influence during the Reagan administration and a lull during the elder Bush and Clinton administrations. The overt influence they exert may wax and wane but the neo-conservatives rarely take the blame for their own mistakes and are quite adept at deflecting responsibility and re-emerging in a slightly different form years later. They always come back because they never really disappear. They use a multitude of private organizations, lobbyist groups, and other superficially legitimate facades with benign titles, like the American Enterprise Institute, to influence policy-making and generally further their agenda; they are the very definition of a special interest group, hijacking democratic institutions to further a narrow agenda. The neo-Conservatives are not all the same but they do fall into three primary categories.

American Christian fundamentalists really believe that when the Israel of the Bible, which they interpret to mean the modern Zionist state of Israel, controls Babylon and the Holy Land in its entirety, among other things, then this series of events will usher in Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus which will whisk every Christian believer up to heaven while everyone else writhes in torment and warfare down on Earth. This view is taken from a literal interpretation of the fever-dream book of  Revelation in the New Testament of the Bible. President George W. Bush who considers himself a "born-again" Christian falls into this category. Many of the fundamentalist Christians under the neo-con label are actually anti-Semitic in the colloquial meaning of the phrase. Their alliance will appear ironic without an understanding of the apocalyptic Biblical theology they believe in that maintains the unrestricted Jewish claim to the Holy Land.  

These people have a visceral hatred for what they call 'secular humanism' and 'liberal values' that incorporate the opinions and concerns of the other side in the decision-making equation because this inclusive view of persons and events leads to appeasement and even nihilism, in their view. What they really mean is that the Christian fundamentalists hold an extremely self-righteous worldview, just as the Zionist neo-cons do, that would be mortally undermined by inclusion of alternative views and ideas. All neo-cons have a fundamentally black and white, right or wrong, Manichean view of reality that views world events as a battle between good and evil; this is clearly evident in the language and rhetoric used by President Bush in his speeches such as the 'axis of evil' and the war on terrorism as a 'battle between good and evil', etc.

The goal of the Jewish segment under the rubric of neo-conservatism is to use the military and economic might of the United States to preemptively attack and eliminate all challenges and threats, real and perceived, to the state of Israel and Jews wherever they live as well as the organizations and structures they use to maintain their wildly disproportionate influence on world-affairs. In this category Zionist is a much more apt description to employ for descriptive purposes than 'Jewish' or 'neo-con' because it accurately characterizes the mostly ideological drive of its constituents. Zionism is more ideological than theological but again has the same aim as the neo-cons namely to see a middle East totally dominated by the political, rather than religious, state of Israel that Zionism created. The Zionists are a much more pragmatic lot than the delusional Christian fundamentalists but they nonetheless fully exploit religious beliefs to further their pro-Israel agenda. Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle are just two neo-cons that fit into this category.

The ultra-conservative fringe element that isn't Christian or Zionist is on board the neo-conservative wagon to see the hegemonic influence of the United States undiluted and uninhibited by international institutions, standards, and oversight which is why they are such vociferous antagonists of the United Nations, weapons limitations, environmental protection agreements - basically any law or agreement that restricts the unilateral military and economic power, known by their codeword of 'sovereignty', of the United States. This faction of the neo-cons is primarily motivated by economic self-interest. They reject international rules and regulations because they interfere with predatory capitalism and the accumulation of unrestricted and irresponsible profits  that they seek. They subscribe to the fractured belief common among American right-wing conservatives that 'if I can get richer than America is automatically made a better place'. Millionaires Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld likely fall into this category as well as the former UN ambassador John Bolton.

Thus the basic shared beliefs of the neo-cons are as follows:

• Total blank-check support for the government of Israel

• Hatred for the United Nations and all international rules that limit U.S. influence

• A completely self-righteous view of reality that maintains all major events are a conflict between good and evil (we're always right and they're always wrong)

 Who Are the Neo-Conservatives?

Although many neo-conservatives come from deeply leftist backgrounds (many are even considered Trotskyites), this left-right discrimination only muddles the picture and serves to mask the consistency that is actually occurring. For example, during the years of the first Bush administration and then under Bill Clinton the foreign policy mantra was one of worldwide inclusion and multi-lateral efforts so neatly characterized by the large coalition of countries and agencies carefully sewn together for the first Gulf War attack on a recalcitrant Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Although the goal of disarming a threat to Israel remains the same the labels and methods have changed. Iraq has been attacked again but instead of a coalition it was unilateral. Similarly, today the buzzword of the moment is ‘neo-conservative’ as the power-players behind the scenes have bounced from the left and the multilateral efforts of the previous decade, towards the right and the unilateral might-makes-right efforts currently in vogue. The neo-cons have found a very convenient ally in the conservative, apocalypse-seeking fundamentalist Christian segment of the American public and this alliance of convenience has driven the name changes and superficial ideological shifts.

Neo-conservatives are primarily Jewish but they nonetheless represent a minority in the Jewish community because of their brazen, bumbling tactics but not necessarily in their slavish devotion to the state of Israel. Much of the mindset that drives the rampant and frantic unilateral military action characteristic of the neo-con foreign policy and typified by the foolish make-up-an-excuse and go-it-alone strategy of again invading Iraq under the W. Bush administration, is driven by the intense sense of fear and victimization associated with the Jewish Holocaust of World War II that has been incorporated into collective Jewish mythology as the Shoah. The fanatical desire to prevent another Holocaust is the excuse neo-cons use to justify their deleterious actions in their own minds.

Israel’s strategically calculated influence of U.S. foreign policy goes much deeper than left or right wing political platitudes. Although it is the product of decades of effort, today AIPAC is the apex of lobbyist power used to directly influence American policy and planning to benefit the government of Israel. No Senator, Congressman or President can criticize Israeli government policy or the official AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) views on Israel and world-events without incurring the full political career-killing wrath of their power through organization clout and direct influence of the mass media. Neo-con influence of the mass media is hastened by the assistance of numerous sympathetic opinion-editorial writers and editors in key media outlets. For example, several key newspapers influential to policy-makers such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and Kristol's The Weekly Standard. There is nothing fantastic or special about the rise to power of the Israel lobby, it’s merely a testament to the synergy of strategic planning and organization coupled with a strong sense of collective identity that Jews share.

To put this into context when considering the influence of Jews keep in mind that the current population of the United States is 301 million and although the estimated Jewish population in the USA varies considerably by source 5.5 million is mid-range. So Jews make up 1.8% of the United States population. The current worldwide Jewish population is approximately 13 million and the total world population is currently estimated to be over 6.5 billion. That makes Jews 0.2% of the world population. The odds of gaining this kind of influence by accident seem to be astronomical.

The influence of Jews within the supposedly democratic political system of the United States is unmistakable and with the advent of the neo-cons acting in direct collusion with the Presidential administration of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney this influence has reached unprecedented levels. Congress will not do anything that AIPAC doesn’t approve of and with the President and Vice President as slavish supporters of the AIPAC agenda as well, little if any force exists within the U.S. government to reverse this trend.

It is true that the majority of Jews do not directly support the machination of the neo-cons just as they don’t support the extreme right-wing religious-nationalist Zionist elements that are increasingly vocal within Israeli government and society and that the neo-cons are aligned with. Yet very few Jews publicly criticize or even resist these fanatical segments that claim to speak for, and protect, the entire Jewish population! Silence is considered to mean consent and the silence from moderate and rational Jews on this issue is deafening. Similarly, if the state of Israel is a democracy then the characters elected to office in Israel are indicative of the current attitude of the Jewish electorate. Everyone should realize that the actions of the neo-cons and Zionism are just as detrimental to Jews in the long-term as it is to gentiles in the near term.

A Glossary of Persons and Groups Associated with Neo-Conservatism:

Aboul-Enein, Youssef		Navy Lt. Commander, U.S. intelligence officer and Arabic specialist, a special assistant and translator to Luti.
Abrams, Elliott [Jewish]		President Bush’s chief Middle East adviser on the National Security Council (NSC); unofficial White House liaison to Jewish community on Mid East issues; worked as legal counsel to senator Henry 'Scoop' Jackson (1912-83); convicted for false testimony in Iran Contra scandal; conservative views on Jewish identity, once stated: "Outside the land of Israel, there can be no doubt that Jews, faithful to the covenant between God and Abraham, are to stand apart from the nation in which they live. It is the very nature of being Jewish to be apart - except in Israel - from the rest of the population." [25] Condi Rice put Abrams in charge of Middle East policy, now deputy national security adviser 'in charge of the Middle East and democracy promotion'.
Addington, David		Long time staffer for Cheney; close associate of John Bolton; against international law while promoting United States' unilateralism.  [18]
Adelson, Sheldon [Jewish]		Billionaire casino mogul who owns Sands and Venetian casino/hotels, describes self as “the richest Jew in the world”, funds Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, placed on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations to the U.S. Trade Representative by President Bush in December 2007. [51], founder and financial backer of Freedom’s Watch, major supporter of AIPAC’s Israel tours for U.S. lawmakers, litigious, hates unions, on Board of Directors for the Republican Jewish Coalition, council member for US Holocaust Memorial Museum.  [50]
American Center for Democracy		An office that seeks to align the foreign policy of the United States with that of Israel by using the establishment of ‘democracy’ as a cover story; Rachel Ehrenfeld president. [23]
American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)		“…consistently has ranked among the most powerful special-interest groups in the United States,” [2]
American Enterprise Institute (AEI)		Umbrella organization for multiple neo-conservative persons and projects including recruitment and propaganda; sponsors 'NGOWatch'.
Arad, Uzi [Jewish]		Former member, CIA liaison, and Director of intelligence for Mossad 1975-1997; Netanyahu’s foreign policy advisor; worked at Hudson Institute 1972-1975; met with Franklin at Pentagon cafeteria in 2004. [56]
Benador, Eleana		Founder and CEO of Benador Associates, a public relations and media propaganda company; markets neo-cons to the public; works with the Middle East Forum; Her clients include some the nation's most fervid hawks, including Michael Ledeen, CharIes Krauthammer, Al Haig, Max Boot, Daniel Pipes, Richard Perle, and Judith Miller. During the Iraq war, Benador's assignment was to embed this squadron of pro-war zealots into the national media, on talk shows, and op-ed pages." [49]
Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC)		A small group associated with WINEP through foreign policy director Michael Makovsky, plans for disingenuous U.S. diplomacy with Iran to fail in order to justify war, participating members include Senator Tom Daschle. [54]
Bolton, John R. [Christian]		Worked to block Iran-Contra criminal investigations; was in charge of the State Department's disarmament, proliferation, and WMD office; vociferous critic of the United Nations; nominated by W Bush to be American ambassador to the UN; senior vice-president of AEI; activist in the Federalist Society; frequently criticized for politicizing intelligence. [10] On Iran, June 2007: "we have to look at: 1, overthrowing the regime and getting in a new one that won't pursue nuclear weapons; 2, a last-resort use of force."
Boot, Max		Boot is a prolific writer that feeds his extreme jingoistic neo-con view to the opinion-editorial pages of major newspapers, signed the PNAC, Council on Foreign Relations member.
Colonel Bruner		Former military aide to Newt Gingrich, brought in by Luti, funneled in bad info from Chalabi, acted as Chalabi’s handler.
Bryen, Dr. Stephen [Jewish]		Worked as consultant to AIPAC, staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but forced to resign after caught transferring secrets to AIPAC and a Mossad agent [8], worked with Perle. “Served as head of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), a group dedicated to promoting strategic ties between the US and Israel and one in which Perle, Feith and Ledeen have long been active.” [1]
Campus Watch		Campus Watch is an operation connected to the Middle East Forum that seeks to expose criticism of Israel and Israeli government policies in academia.
Center for Security Policy (CSP)		Created by Frank Gaffney in 1988 with the slogan “To promote world peace through American strength”. [24]
Chalabi, Ahmad		Ran Iraqi National Congress (INC) exile group, accused of siphoning information off to Iran and cut-out of the loop, fled Baghdad at the age of 13, in 1958, accused of bank fraud, embezzlement, and currency manipulation, invited by Perle to address the Defense Policy Board.
Cheney, Dick [Christian]		Vice President, had ties to OSP through Luti
Cheney, Elizabeth (Liz)		Dick Cheney's daughter, former deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, expressed militant neo-con views and fervent desire of U.S. government to launch attack on Iran as soon as possible at AIPAC conference June 2008, 'Visiting Fellow' at AEI.
Christians United for Israel (CUFI)		A Christian Zionist lobbying group started in 2006 by Pastor John Hagee of Texas.
Clawson, Patrick		Chief Iran analyst at the Washington Institute For Near East Policy (WINEP).
Cohen, Ariel [Jewish]		Primarily a self-proclaimed expert on Russia and Central Asia issues at the conservative Heritage Foundation but he's also vocal on Arab/Palestinian issues always with the typical neo-con slant: pro-war, pro-empire, pro-Israel.
Cohen, Eliot A.		Associated with the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, Project for the New American Century, and the Defense Policy Board.
Committee on the Present Danger (CPD)		Neo-conservative lobby group
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations		Israel Lobby umbrella group that coordinates actions for manipulating U.S. government and social policy to favor the opinions and goals of right-wing Israeli interests; current 'marching orders' expressed through the CPMAJO's Daily Alert publication; revealing list: <member organizations>.
Counter - terrorism Evaluation Group		[see entry under Douglas Feith]
Crouch II, Dr. J.D. [Christian ?]		Hawkish, low-visibility but influential on Bush and Cheney serving as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser, specializes in evading and undermining arms-control agreements, advocated military action against Cuba and nuclear strikes against North Korea, promotes U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal, consistent supporter of Frank Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy.
Daily Alert		Key publication expressing the current 'marching orders' for Zionism from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Ehrenfeld, Rachel		President of the American Center for Democracy, an office that seeks to align the foreign policy of the United States with that of Israel by using the establishment of ‘democracy’ as a cover story. [23]
Federalist Society		Association of ultra-conservative lawyers working to undermine International law as it applies to the United States; sponsors 'NGOWatch'. [10]
Feith, Douglas [Jewish]		Lawyer, Under Secretary, Pentagon #3, consultant for Likud party of Israel, “Feith's office enjoyed especially close links with Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I Lewis Libby, to whom it "stovepiped" its analyses without having them vetted by professional intelligence analysts in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the DIA, or the State Department Bureau for Intelligence of Research (INR).” and “…served as a Middle East analyst in the National Security Council in the administration of former president Ronald Reagan (1981-89).” [1] Publicly opposed the Biological Weapons Convention, CW, ABM and nuclear weapons treaties and Oslo accord. [8] Feith was once described by General Tommie Franks as "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the Earth." Oversaw the Counterterrorism Evaluation Group that produced a classified report linking Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, a conclusion debunked by reputable analysts. [21]
Fishman, Richard		AIPAC's managing director, under FBI investigation in the Franklin case. [13]
Forbes, Steve [Christian]		Operates business magazine Forbes, ran for President in 1996 and 2000, has promoted harsh conservative social and economic policies, worth nearly half a billion dollars, constantly pushes his ‘flat-tax’ plan, supports expanded U.S. military that acts unilaterally, and of course an emphatic supporter of Israel. The neo-con viewpoint matches very closely with Forbes’ explaining why he is a founding member of the Project for the New American Century.
Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)		Created September 13, 2001, as the twin towers were still smoldering, FDD claims to be a non-partisan 'think tank' acting to preserve American democracy. Yet, as is so often the case with these groups despite the noble ideals on the masthead the actual agenda is of the Neo-conservative flavor as indicated by a slavishly pro-Israel stance (particularly favoring Israel's Likud party), distinctive anti-Islam discourse, and a tendency to package everything they dislike under the loaded term 'terrorism'. Despite the hollow platitudes FDD is simply yet another public relations office working to boost support for Israel in the United States. Senator Joseph Lieberman, recently defeated in the Connecticut primary election, is listed on the FDD biographies webpage as a "distinguished adviser", while other people on the list include Kirkpatrick, Kristol, Perle, and many more.
Foxman, Abraham [Jewish]		National director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) “…one of the largest Jewish organizations in North America.” and "The one clear fact that can be agreed upon is that there was a malicious and targeted leak that is more damaging than the actual allegations of Israeli spying - allegations that in all likelihood are baseless," Abraham Foxman. [3]
Franklin, Lawrence A. [Christian]		Accused spy under investigation by FBI, desk officer at Near East and South Asia office of the Pentagon, “devout Christian” [4] Currently on trial for passing secrets to Israel.
Freedom's Watch		Propaganda machine started in August 2007 to maintain political support for continuing the war on Iraq, on “terrorism”, Iran, etc.; works closely with the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and AEI. Key founder and financial backer: billionaire Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation; key operators include Matt Brooks, head of the RJC, and Ari Fleischer, former mouthpiece for W. Bush administration. [48] As a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization can legally spend unlimited amounts of money in an election if promoting an issue and not a candidate. [51]
Freilich, Chuck [Jewish]		Former Israeli deputy national security adviser, senior fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center on Science and Int’l Affairs, pushes for U.S. war on Iran.
Frum, David [Jewish]		Former speechwriter for George W. Bush; notable accomplishments include the ‘Axis of Evil’ speech lumping three disparate nations into one singular threat to America; member of AEI; in 2003 co-authored book An End to Evil with Perle. Frum’s vision for a new world order is startling to say the least, he’s recommend that Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore join NATO and that Japan should build nuclear weapons to scare China into submission. [26]
Gaffney, Frank		Worked as an aide to Richard Perle undermining arms control agreements, among other things. Referred to as “Perle's Bulldog” in the Dep’t of Defense. Gaffney is a prolific writer who feverishly pushes the need to expand the United States’ military and to use that force against countries that oppose American interests throughout the world, particularly in the Middle East. Founded the Center for Security Policy (CSP) in 1988 with the slogan “To promote world peace through American strength”. [24]
Ghorbanifar, Manichur		Iranian Arms dealer, “In December 2001, Rhode and Franklin met in Europe with a shadowy Iranian arms dealer, Manichur Ghorbanifar, who, along with Ledeen, played a central role in the arms-for-hostages deal involving the Reagan administration, Israel and Iran in the mid-1980s that became known as the "Iran-Contra Affair." [1]
Gilon, Naor [Jewish]		Accused of receiving classified information from Franklin; number two diplomat at the Israeli embassy in Washington.
Gingrich, Newt		Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, often had meetings with Luti, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, member of the Committee on the Present Danger, former member of Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies member.
Hagee, Pastor John [Christian]		Israel boosting apocalypse seeking preacher, Hagee leads the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio Texas, founded lobbyist group Christians United for Israel (CUFI), has stated that "The end of the world as we know it is rapidly approaching," and "The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West... a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation [...] and [the] Second Coming of Christ." [41]
Hannah, John P.		Main White House contact with Ahmad Chalabi's  INC, worked closely with Harold Rhode, senior fellow and deputy director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy a group founded by AIPAC to influence policy-makers. [18]
The Heritage Foundation		Founded by Paul Weyrich and Edwin Feulner with the financial backing of beer baron Joseph Coors, major supporter of Reagan and Bush W administrations and associated panoply of social and military crusades, pioneered a new role for think-tanks by dropping objective research in favor of partisan rhetoric and active manipulation of government policy, called a ‘propaganda mill’ that spends half its $40 million budget on marketing, corporate donors are reported to include Scaife, GM, Ford, Proctor & Gamble, Chase Manhattan Bank, Dow Chemical, Mobil Oil, and Smith Kline.
Horowitz, David [Jewish]		Horowitz is the classic neocon; supported radical leftists during social turmoil of 60s then did a whiplash inducing shift in ideology to the far right beginning in the 70s. Regardless of the rhetoric the continuing theme throughout Horowitz’s career is an unquestioning support for Israel using whatever means most popular at the moment to push a Zionist agenda. His hot-buttons include supposed censorship of conservative (meaning pro-Zionist and anti-Palestinian) speech at U.S. universities; uses DiscoverTheNetworks.com to attack hated leftists (unions, anti-war activists, etc.); cofounder of Horowitz Freedom Center; editor or NewsMax and FrontPage mag, collected 2005 salary of $352,647 from his Horowitz Center sponsored by Sarah Scaife, Bradley, and Olin foundations. More at: David Horowitz Profile.
The Hudson Institute		Founded by Herman Kahn, an infamous and enthusiastic advocate for nuclear warfare, The Hudson Institute has now been eclipsed in influence by AEI but was once the equivalent neo-con factor in U.S. politics, currently focuses on security issues, leadership has ties to right-wing pro-Israel groups such as Hudson’s chairman of the board Walter P. Stern who is vice president of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a director of the America-Israel Friendship League.
Indyk, Martin Jewish		Influential Middle East adviser to President Bill Clinton, founded Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), research director for AIPAC, director of Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brooking’s Institute [51].
Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (IASPS)		IASPS is a think-tank based in Jerusalem, most famous for producing notorious 1996 document ‘A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm’ that pressured the Israeli government to dump the peace process and adopt an aggressive posture in favor of attacking neighboring states like Syria and Iraq, Douglas Feith and Richard Perle helped write the 'Clean Break' paper.
Iraqi National Congress		Founded in 1992 with the help of a CIA-connected public-relations firm called the Rendon Group. [5]
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA)		JINSA is an advocacy group for military cooperation and sponsorship of Israel by the United States, started by Stephen and Shoshana Bryen, Michael Ledeen was the first executive director, Richard Perle is a member of JINSA’s Board of Advisers and a spokesman.
Kagan, Frederick W. [Jewish]		Associated with PNAC's production, promotes American sponsored wars and a vastly expanded military for the United States as well as the federal spending to go along with it, brother of Robert Kagan, ‘Kagan’ is the Russian equivalent for ‘Cohen’ in English.
Kagan, Robert [Jewish]		Analyst at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; started Project for the New American Century with William Kristol in 1997 [22], appointed by Elliott Abrams to lead Office of Public Diplomacy in mid 80s to promote support for the Contras in Nicaragua, brother of Frederick Kagan, ‘Kagan’ is the Russian equivalent for ‘Cohen’ in English.
Kirkpatrick, Jeane [Christian]		Works for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Kohr, Howard		AIPAC's executive director, under FBI investigation in the Franklin case. [13]
Kovner, Bruce [Jewish]		Chairman of the American Enterprise Institute, chairman of the hedge fund Caxton Associates, Forbes ranked as 85th richest American [42], uses wealth to support the New York Sun newspaper, AEI, influence politicians, and bankroll special interest groups.
Kristol, William (Bill) [Jewish]		Weekly Standard editor; started Project for the New American Century with Robert Kagan in 1997 [22]; board of trustees member at Manhattan Institute.
Ledeen, Michael [Jewish]		Member of American Enterprise Institute (AEI), has consulting firm 'Benador Associates', on JINSA Board of Advisors with Bryen, consultant for OSP [8] “Since the Iraq war, Feith's office has also lobbied hard within the US government for a confrontational posture vis-a-vis Iran and Syria, including actions aimed at destabilizing both governments - policies which, in addition to the ousting of Saddam, have been strongly and publicly urged by prominent, hardline neo-conservatives, such as Perle, Feith and Perle's associate at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Michael Ledeen, among others.” [1]
Libby (Liebowitz), Lewis 'Scooter' [Jewish]		Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, worked as a liaison between Feith's Pentagon policy office that extracted one-sided, unverified  intelligence, and VP Dick Cheney via the White House. Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice but had his prison sentence commuted by President George W. Bush. Libby is suspected of being an intelligence agent working for Israel's Mossad.
Lieberman, Senator Joe [Jewish]		Vocal advocate for military action against Iraq and Iran, labeled the neo-conservative Democrat but aligns with Republicans on foreign policy, member of the Committee on the Present Danger, the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, adviser to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
Lipsky, Seth [Jewish]		Neo-con, runs the New York Sun “a paper that functions as a journalistic SWAT team against individuals and institutions seen as hostile to Israel and Jews,” supposedly a popular read in the ‘think-tank’ crowd. The Sun loses $1 million a month but continuous funding is provided by rich backers. Lipsky’s heroes include Ronald Reagan, “Ze'ev Jabotinsky (the militant Zionist who admired Mussolini), Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon”, founding editor of the Forward newspaper called “the bible for the Yiddish-speaking masses of Manhattan's Lower East Side.” [42]
Lowell, Abbe		DC lawyer hired to defend AIPAC, defends Rosen in Franklin case.
Luti, William		Protégé of Newt and aide in 1996, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Near East affairs, ran cell Office of Special Plans, or OSP inside Pentagon with Wolfowitz and Feith, Luti came to the Pentagon from the office of Vice President Cheney, retired Navy captain.
Luttwak, Edward [Jewish]		Currently a Senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), served as a consultant to Office of the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council, Department of State, and the U.S. military. Edward Luttwak is a notorious freestyle historian and another ‘expert’ on war and international relations, a real piece of work even for the genre with plenty of ‘solutions’ that are great for everyone else but would never apply to anyone he cared about. Luttwak displays the startlingly misapplied intelligence so characteristic of many neo-cons and think-tank spawned advisors that morph from obscure bookish analysts into outspoken advocates that write op-ed pieces and haunt the Sunday morning  TV talk-shows to sell the public and the politicians on self-defeating policies. Luttwak is currently promoting the incitement of ethnic strife and internal divisions inside Iran as a 'solution' to regional problems for the U.S. government. [39]
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation		Funds the Project for the New American Century , the American Enterprise Institute, and the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC). [14]
Maloof, F. Michael		Former aide to Perle in 1980s Pentagon, twice stripped of security clearance.
Manhattan Institute		‘Think tank’ for influencing political decision-making to favor conservative policies; heavy influence of lawyers and wealthy investors; writes policy script for presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani; see also William Kristol, Paul Singer.
Middle East Forum		The Middle East Forum is a self-described think tank that crafts information to direct the Middle East foreign policy of the United States towards serving the interests of Israel; “a fanatically pro-Zionist white paper mill”. [49] See also: Eleana Benador.
Moskowitz, Irving [Jewish]		Irving Moskowitz is a millionaire and ardent Zionist who gained riches buying and selling hospitals and running bingo gambling halls; converted gambling business into tax-free charitable organ that uses cash to fund neo-con organizations in the US like the Hudson Institute, AEI, JINSA, and CSP, and illegal settlement groups in Israel; wife Cherna promoted assassination of ‘pro-peace’ Israeli leaders.
Office of Special Plans (OSP)		Rogue planning cell; not officially part of the intelligence community  and is thus immune to congressional oversight.
Perle, Richard [Jewish]		Worked as chairman of Defense Policy Board (DPB); Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy during Reagan era; worked at AEI; once aide to Senator Henry Jackson; in 2003 co-authored book An End to Evil with Frum.
Pipes, Daniel [Jewish]		Rabid and prolific pro-Israel, anti-Islam writer and speaker; connected to the Middle East Forum;  advises  Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Middle East affairs.
Pletka, Danielle		Prominent and outspoken member of AEI, continually promoting war on Iraq, aggression against Iran, torture as state policy, and similar neo-con views. Australian born, member of Committee on the Present Danger, gained experience manipulating U.S. Middle East foreign policy working with Senator Jesse Helms on Senate Intelligence Committee, signatory member of Project for the New American Century.
Podhoretz, Norman [Jewish]		Described as the godfather of neo-conservativism
Project for the New American Century (PNAC)		Center for the neo-conservative vision. Sets out plans for expanding and exploiting United States military power to further the neo-con agenda around the world. [15]
Rhode, Harold		Colleague of Feith, ”… once described himself as Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz's chief adviser on Islam.” [1] speaks Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, and Farsi.
Rice, Condoleeza [Christian]		Secretary of State, has close ties to AIPAC and speaks at their meetings.
Rosen, Steven [Jewish]		Former director of foreign policy issues at AIPAC. Public scrutiny forced AIPAC to cut Rosen from staff.
Rosenberg, Joel C. [Christian, Jewish background]		Has worked with Steve Forbes, Rush Limbaugh, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Natan Sharansky, the Heritage Foundation, and many other neo-cons, Formed the consulting company November Communications, written several novels about events in the Middle East based on Biblical prophecies, popular with Christians and Jews, see Epicenter book review below.
Ross, Dennis [Jewish]		WINEP fellow, supports push for a U.S. war on Iran, adviser to Obama, Middle East envoy for President George HW Bush and Bill Clinton.
Rumsfeld, Donald [Christian]		Former Secretary of Defense responsible for  the actions of the Defense Department.
Saban, Haim [Jewish]		"I'm a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel"; billionaire Hollywood media boss, made fortune importing cartoons like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers; founder and money behind the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute where he’s on the Board of Trustees, and the Saban Institute for the Study of the American Political System at the University of Tel Aviv; involved in spy scandal with Congresswoman Jane Harman.
Schmitt‚ Gary		Executive director of the Project for the New American Century, wrote book called Silent Warfare with Shulsky.
Sharansky, Natan [Jewish]		Dedicated Zionist, idolized by neo-cons, Carter and Reagan got Sharansky out of the USSR in spy deal, immediately goes to Israel and becomes active with extreme views and multiple roles in Israeli government, advocates sole Jewish control over Jerusalem and no peace deals with neighbors, wrote book: The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny & Terror, calls U.S. policy a continuum with his friends Abrams, Perle, Feith, Libby, and Wolfowitz all connected through either Senator ‘Scoop’ Jackson or the Reagan administration, Bush’s terrorism speech rhetoric drawn from Sharansky’s own words, board member at Peace Watch, chairman of Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism (CFCA), more < here >.
Shulsky, Abram N. [Jewish]		Director of OSP, Senate intelligence committee staffer for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, wrote book called Silent Warfare with Schmitt.
Singer, Paul E. [Jewish]		Former corporate lawyer, now the secretive billionaire owner of Elliott Associates hedge fund, started ‘vulture’ style investment funds buying up debt from poor countries and then through lawsuits and interest payments collecting more than the original amount of the loan; funds Rudolph Giuliani’s presidential campaign; Giuliani’s senior policy adviser on the Middle East; advocates bombing Iran, active use of U.S. military force and supporting Israel; JINSA board member [47]; Manhattan Institute trustee.
Stern, Walter P. [Jewish]		Chairman of the Hudson Institute,  Vice President of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and a director of the America-Israel Friendship League.
The Israel Project (TIP)		Founded by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, The Israel Project (TIP) is yet another front organization manipulating U.S. policy-makers with its donor-based cash machine while promoting Israel as a paragon of peace, equality, and … you know the routine; headquarters in Jerusalem and Washington DC; TIP slogan: “We fight the war of words and images to make our global Jewish family safer.” What’s notable about TIP is the board of advisors that includes Senators Chambliss (R-GA), Coleman, (R-MN), Nelson (D-FL), Santorum (R-PA), Spector (R-PA), Wyden (D-OR), and Representatives Andrews (D-NJ), Berkley (D-NV), Davis (R-VA), Engel (D-NY), Pallone (D-NJ), Porter (R-NV), Saxton (R-NJ), Sherman (D-CA), Wilson (R-SC). Robert and Yadelle Sklare are listed as funding TIP Jerusalem.
Washington Institute for Near East Policy		A 'think tank' founded by Martin Indyke and AIPAC in the mid 1980s to influence federal policy-makers. See also: John P. Hannah [18] and the Hudson Institute.
Weissman, Keith		Senior Middle East analyst at AIPAC and Iran specialist. Public scrutiny forced AIPAC to cut Weissman from staff.
Wolfowitz, Paul [Jewish]		Former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Defense in Bush administration, created Pentagon unit to manage all military counter-intelligence operations called Counter Intelligence Field Activity (CIFA) later accused of domestic spying [20], moved into position as President of World Bank. “[I]t is hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself and to secure the surrender of Saddam’s security forces and his army - hard to imagine."  - Paul Wolfowitz to a Congressional committee in 2003.
Woolsey, James [Christian]		Former CIA director,  co-chairs the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), member of and advisor to Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), Chairman of Freedom House. advisor to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), advocates war on Iraq, Iran and Syria, pro-nuclear weapons and U.S. missile dominance, multiple business interests like Benador Associates, is the VP for defense industry consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
Wurmser, David [Jewish]		Director of Middle East studies for AEI, recruited by Feith and Rhode to be Pentagon consultant, wanted U.S. support for the Iraqi National Congress (INC), “spent years calling for a pre-emptive invasion of Baghdad” senior adviser to Undersecretary of State John Bolton [5], wrote 1999 book: ‘Tyranny's Ally: America's Failure to Defeat Saddam Hussein’, married to Meyrav Wurmser.
Wurmser, Meyrav [Jewish]		Director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Hudson Institute, stated that neo-cons used their influence in the Bush administration to block UN pressure to halt Israel's attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon during the short 2006 war that ultimately ended in retreat after Israel failed to achieve the publicly stated military and political objectives: "The neo-cons are responsible for the fact that Israel got a lot of time and space ... They believed that Israel should be allowed to win." [35], married to David Wurmser.
Zakheim, Dr. Dov [Jewish]		The Pentagon's chief financial officer from 2001 to 2004, signed Project for the New American Century, currently (2006) a vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. ''In 2003, I don't think anybody predicted it [the war on Iraq] would go as long as World War II and the wear and tear on equipment would be as intense.'' [32]
Zelikow, Philip David		Neo-con architect for the takeover of US government by a supreme executive authority based on a catastrophic terrorist event (i.e. 9-11) and the subsequent use of US military power to serve Israel’s agenda; member of Condi Rice’s National Security Council transition team from 2000-2001; member of Bush’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 20001-2003; principal author of the 2002 US National Security Strategy emphasizing war on Israel’s neighbors. [55]
Zell, L. Marc		Former law partner with Feith, served as a spokesman in Israel for the Jewish settler movement on the occupied West Bank.
Zionist Organization of America		Self description: “fighting for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel”; works to expunge criticism of Israel and Zionism from public discourse while expanding ties between Israel and the United States, billionaire Sheldon Adelson a major funder.
Zoellick, Robert [Jewish]		Bush W. administration’s deputy secretary of state, former U.S. trade representative, vice chairman of international operations at investment bank Goldman Sachs, former consultant for the Enron corporation, current president of World Bank; pushes hard for ‘free trade’ agreements with particular focus on poor and developing countries.

Another interesting characteristic the neo-cons share is that they are almost universally male; this may not be a defining feature but it is a common element. This fact may explain the adversarial, uncooperative, zero-sum attitude of the neo-con view, one that is often fostered by a sense of powerlessness and victimization in life - a typically masculine, emotionally stunted and self-destructive interpretation of history as a series of events where the 'strong' mercilessly' exploit the 'weak' for their own personal gain.

The neo-conservatives are a grave danger to the well-being of the United States, its citizens and the world population in general because this cabal does not seek the greater public good in their actions, their goals do not allow for the needs, views and interests of others but is rather a unilateralist view of reality that is as self-serving as it is exclusive. The neo-cons, regardless of the current label they use to describe their ideology, are fundamentally authoritarian, dictatorial, and non-democratic and this can be detected in their actions even if not in their rhetoric for every regime they sponsor must ultimately fit that form in order to gain the influence and outcome they desire.

These self-defined elite do not accept the views and ideas of opponents or outsiders, that militants and terrorists may have legitimate grievances rooted in injustice and poverty, for instance, or the fact that the neo-cons themselves may be wrong! The greatest threat the neo-cons face while implementing their nefarious agenda is simple public exposure and a basic, coherent public understanding of who they are and what they plan to do.

The right's think tanks know how to ventilate their views. The Heritage Foundation publishes hundreds of books, monographs and studies annually, with complimentary copies mailed to journalists across the country Heritage's 95-96 Guide to Public Policy Experts lists some 1,800 policy wonks and 250 policy groups that "share our commitment to public policies based on free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense." The cross-referenced guide provides deadline-weary journalists with cooperative specialists in dozens of areas, ranging from "intelligence and counter-terrorism" to "wildlife management" and "bilingual education.”

Think-tank scholars make money on the side by renting themselves out to public relations firms and lobbyists looking for "independent" supporters of their clients' viewpoints. One PR industry rep. describes his technique in the following way:

"I call up an "expert," feign interest in his or her work, confirm that it's consistent with the industry viewpoint and then seek to strike a deal," normally for either a study or an appearance at a press event. "We don't say that we want an industry mouthpiece, but that's what it amounts to—and they know it. There are many people in this town who are willing to prostitute themselves and their work." This person recalls asking the conservative economist Murray Weidenbaum, former head of Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers, to appear at a media briefing on behalf of an industry group. Weidenbaum said he was very busy, but would try to squeeze in half a day if the PR firm would pony up $15,000—about three times the normal rate paid to industry flacks. From: End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate, by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, p. 27-28, 2007.

A Mole in the Pentagon?

News headlines in the latter part of 2004 have proclaimed the existence of a (potential) American spy busy transferring classified information about Iran to Israel and the subsequent FBI investigation that has actually been ongoing for over two years. A spy case in itself is not that original but the location of this one is having originating from a special office deep inside the Pentagon. The alleged ‘mole’ is named Larry Franklin who works in the Office of Special Plans (OSP) under the authority of the neo-conservative Douglas Feith. [6] Apparently Franklin is Christian not Jewish but nonetheless he is supposed to have connected with Steven Rosen of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the second in command Israeli diplomat stationed in Washington D.C. named Naor Gilon, and offered to share classified information concerning Federal policy on Iran. Franklin’s motivation remains unclear, perhaps it is rooted in personal ideology, or perhaps he was working as a liaison for another group, or something else entirely. The details of this event are still emerging.

Meanwhile Israeli officials loudly insist these scurrilous accusations are completely unfounded, as Israel has no need for spying inside America since they can already get all the information they want simply by asking. "I think the ties between Israel and the United States are intimate. The cooperation and levels of information are so close, so intimate, that the information that is exchanged is much more classified that any conversation or another," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom of Israel [7]. Official statements portray Israel is a gallant ally of America, the democracy in the Middle East that consistently upholds American values in the face of Arab Islamic fundamentalism. In reality the notion of Israel as an ally is viewed with trepidation at best by objective officials and at worst as a very dangerous leak. Basically whatever information Israel can get they will either use for their own purposes independent of American interests or simply to further their own multi-billion dollar weapons industry, China and India being major customers. Yet at the same time Israel wields enormous political influence through multiple legitimate organizations such as AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and many others too numerous to mention (see listing above).  Thus even when the depth of espionage is known, outing the spies and naming names is fraught with peril for the authorities – especially when the investigation becomes public knowledge. This is why the simultaneous worldwide release of the alleged mole throughout world newspapers seems suspicious to me, but regardless it brings up a very important issue – the disproportionate influence Israel and its sympathizers exert upon American policy-making and even intelligence collection.

Confluence of Interests

The neo-conservative cabal that has wielded enormous influence in the present Bush administration is in practice the external arm of Ariel Sharon’s Likud Party of Israel in all but name. The neo-cons have single-handedly dragged America into an incredibly foolish war of invasion against Iraq that benefited no one except Israel by toppling their primary regional threat. This extraordinary influence has reached the current levels largely due to the confluence of interests between Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians in America and the militant, conservative factions inside Israel as well as many Zionist sympathizers in both countries. Douglas Feith runs the OSP, a specially created office for pushing the neo-con agenda of invading Iraq among other things, and has responsibility over the alleged mole Larry Franklin, hence the severity of the current allegations.

The kind of influence that Israel has is hardly something that appears over-night but rather is a system built over decades of planned and coordinated effort. The covert nature of this system has been the key to its successful implementation and especially with the current disastrous invasion of Iraq, ignoring Israeli influence in American policy is like trying to ignore a flatulent 800-pound gorilla in the room with everyone else. Presently many intelligent authors and analysts have finally started to openly examine and publish research into Israeli influence of American policy both in alternative and even mainstream outlets. These endeavors have been made easier by the increasingly ineffectual insults and code-words traditionally employed to stifle dissent and criticism such as “anti-Semitism”. Regardless of the vindictive name-calling, espionage is still spying and stealing secrets or technology is still theft of a very high-order.

It’s important to remember that these people, specifically the neo-cons in this case, get their jobs not from public choice but through appointments. They could never withstand public scrutiny to acquire their power but rely on inside connections and selection behind closed-doors. Because of this they are not accountable to the American public nor to the taxpayer in general and in fact unless they do something flagrantly illegal and the news media picks up on it their names are rarely known outside of their offices!

The current news leak on its own is especially intriguing because events such as this that negatively reflect upon Israel or AIPAC very rarely reach the mainstream news avenues. Even now the panic is intensely palpable even as it is thinly veiled throughout the Israeli newspapers because they know the damage this kind of story can do. It only takes one loose pebble to start an avalanche. Especially given the election season timing, I attribute this calculated leak to the fact that the neo-cons are running out of allies which just goes to show that when you make war on the world you suddenly find yourself surrounded by enemies.

The NEO-CONnections Map

Practical truth is the composite picture that emerges from elements within the broadest possible awareness of facts and events. This leads to a conundrum because understanding requires that the requisite information be as refined and concise as possible, thus effective communication is really not so much what is known but rather the form of presentation. So in order to better understand the dynamics of this event I created a map (click on the graphic for a larger view) of connections between persons and groups built entirely from publicly accessible news sources. It turned out slightly more complicated than I'd planned but it does reveal some startling implications nonetheless. The direct connections between Franklin and his VIP superiors remains unclear at this time and it’s completely possible that Franklin is simply a rogue acting entirely on his own, but since no motive is evident it begs the question. The Israelis certainly deemed Franklin important enough to dedicate their second in command diplomat to handle the information transfer, whatever exactly that information was.

Paul Wolfowitz nominated by Bush to run World Bank

"It's a very surprising and, in many ways, inappropriate nomination. We need an individual with international experience in the fight against poverty and global trust. Mr. Wolfowitz does not fit those criteria.'' - Jeffrey Sachs,  Columbia University professor and UN adviser. [11]

The World Bank and the IMF are two of the most powerful architects of the world economy, and are dominated by the planet's wealthiest nations. The United States, the world's largest economy, naturally plays a central role. It is the single largest shareholder in almost every multilateral financial institution.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. share in the World Bank -- which lent 20 billion dollars for various projects last year -- is roughly 14-22 percent, while its share in the IMF lies between 17 and 22 percent. The IMF lent 40 billion dollars in 2003. [12]

What this means in practice is that the IMF and World Bank are used as the economic force in conjunction with the military (Department of Defense) and diplomatic forces (State Department) to further United States foreign policy objectives around the world. The IMF and World Bank have enhanced legitimacy in the world stage precisely because they are not entirely controlled by the federal government even though enough influence is exerted to effectively control the outcome; after all both the IMF and World Bank are physically located in Washington DC.

By placing the neo-con architect of the invasion and occupation of Iraq Paul Wolfowitz in control of the World Bank, the Bush administration is directly incorporating the financial arm of policy into the neo-conservative nexus along with Donald Rumsfeld’s Defense Department where it all started, and now with Condoleezza Rice running the State Department as Secretary of State. Although Condi Rice’s status as a neo-con is open to debate, her actions are hardly antagonistic to the neo-con’s aims and policies and with her in charge of the State Department the three main forces are now fully under an ideologically consistent influence aligned with the neo-cons.

So, far from being out in the cold during President Bush’s second term, as some suggested might occur over the planning and execution failures of the invasion of Iraq, the neo-cons and their supporters have significantly expanded their influence outside the offices of the Defense Department in a coordinated and seemingly well planned strategy. It seems very likely that future foreign policy directives, as driven by the Executive branch and the neo-cons, will be increasingly brutal, unilateral, and in direct defiance of world opinion. 16.03.05

The nominations of Wolfowitz to the World Bank today and John Bolton last week as U.S. representative to the United Nations suggests Bush “is throwing down the gauntlet and telling Europeans “we'll do anything we want,” said Soren Ambrose, a policy analyst at the Washington-based 50 Years is Enough, a group that seeks to overhaul World Bank policies. [11]

Larry Franklin Pleads Guilty in Israel/AIPAC spy case

Pentagon policy analyst on Iran and Iraq, Larry Franklin, has pleaded guilty to charges of passing classified information to an Israeli diplomat and the powerful lobbyist group AIPAC. “The two AIPAC officials who allegedly received the information, Steven Rosen of Silver Spring, Md., and Keith Weissman of Bethesda, Md., also have been charged with conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. defense information.” [16] The Franklin case demonstrates at least three important facts. First of all it proves that Israel does spy against the United States despite their repeated and highly vocal assertions to the contrary. Second, the Franklin case demonstrates that Israeli officials as well as its unofficial mouthpieces will continually lie to the public about illegal and disreputable Israeli activities even in the face of insurmountable evidence. Likewise, continuing claims that Israel is a benign and beneficial ally to the United States is clearly a dubious assertion if not completely absurd. Third, the neo-conservative’s devotion to to Israel, a foreign government with interest that run contrary to American welfare, are so strong that they are not just willing but eager to endanger United States national security and to break its laws in order to aid Israel. And remember, Franklin worked in the Office of Special Plans (OSP) under the authority of Douglas Feith in the Pentagon, a group specially created by the neo-cons to collect, manipulate and distribute classified information to support war aims in the middle east. But this isn’t the end of it now that Franklin has pleaded guilty. As the court case continues it should reveal even more about the neo-conservative to Israel relationship and the depth of the spying going on. Stay tuned.

One level of Israeli spying that the Franklin case probably won’t reach is that of military industrial espionage. The worldwide weapons trade is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, and also considered the most corrupt legal sector of the economy at that! [17] Israel is one of the world’s largest sellers of advanced military weapons and equipment, but the distinct advantage that Israel enjoys over other countries is direct American financial aid and easy access into the United States for the purposes of espionage against private defense industries and against the American military’s weapons development programs. Israel has an extensive spying program targeted against the United States in an effort to acquire new weapons technology to incorporate into Israeli weapons systems to be sold on the open market around the world. Israel is not the only country to do this against America but it is easily the most persistent and pernicious in how they do it, a task made especially easy because of the continuing myth of a benign and benevolent Israel looking after American interests in the Middle East. 08.10.05

***

Franklin eventually pleaded guilty to passing classified information to two employees of an influential pro-Israel lobbying group and was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison. [19] 30.03.06

The Israel Lobby Explained

An  eye-opening and carefully researched report was recently published detailing the involvement of AIPAC and other Israel lobby groups to manipulate and influence United States foreign policy. Prepared by two tenured academics, John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy explains the connections between the neo-conservatives and the war on Iraq, among other things. This is something to seriously consider given the current talk of war against another one of Israel's enemies, Iran. A few excerpts from the report are listed below. You can read the entire document  from the original source <here> or if that's unavailable, a local copy  <here>. 22.04.06

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

It is AIPAC itself, however, that forms the core of the Lobby’s influence in Congress. AIPAC’s success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it. Money is critical to U.S. elections (as the recent scandal over lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s various shady dealings reminds us), and AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial support from the myriad pro-Israel political action committees. Those seen as hostile to Israel, on the other hand, can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to their political opponents. AIPAC also organizes letter-writing campaigns and encourages newspaper editors to endorse pro-Israel candidates. [page 17]

The bottom line is that AIPAC, which is a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on the U.S. Congress. Open debate about U.S. policy towards Israel does not occur there, even though that policy has important consequences for the entire world. [page 18]

The neoconservatives were already determined to topple Saddam before Bush became President. They caused a stir in early 1998 by publishing two open letters to President Clinton calling for Saddam’s removal from power. The signatories, many of whom had close ties to pro-Israel groups like JINSA or WINEP, and whose ranks included Elliot Abrams, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, William Kristol, Bernard Lewis, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, had little trouble convincing the Clinton Administration to adopt the general goal of ousting Saddam. [page 32]

Moreover, the Lobby’s campaign to squelch debate about Israel is unhealthy for democracy. Silencing skeptics by organizing blacklists and boycotts—or by suggesting that critics are anti-Semites—violates the principle of open debate upon which democracy depends. The inability of the U.S. Congress to conduct a genuine debate on these vital issues paralyzes the entire process of democratic deliberation. Israel’s backers should be free to make their case and to challenge those who disagree with them. But efforts to stifle debate by intimidation must be roundly condemned by those who believe in free speech and open discussion of important public issues. [page 41]

War by Other Means

In actions that have been described as 'unusual' Paul Wolfowtiz as president of the World Bank has placed extraordinary emphasis on moving aid dollars to the new Iraqi government despite the lack of domestic political legitimacy and efficacy that (puppet regime) has in country.

Beneath the pseudo-benevolent veneer of development and reconstruction assistance resides a more sinister motive. Paul Wolfowitz is directing the monetary influence of the World Bank onto Iraq in order to bury the new Iraqi government in a mountain of debt owed to Western investors; debt that can be used as a tool of control from Washington DC. This is classic World Bank and IMF policy in play, techniques of economic exploitation and domination that have been practiced for decades in Latin America. The only aspect that is unusual about it is the focus on Iraq, a country that is currently experiencing extreme internal turmoil, has an unstable and nearly powerless central government, but that nonetheless sits atop one of the largest oil supplies in the world. Iraq is also a country that is under military occupation by a foreign power – the same power that put Wolfowitz in charge of the World Bank as president.

Mr. Wolfowitz is also betting the bank can operate more effectively at rebuilding Iraq than the U.S. can because the World Bank is viewed as a neutral player, not an occupying power. [27]

Not for long…

But the scope of corruption in Iraq -- a recent U.S. report estimated $4 billion a year is lost there – may put Mr. Wolfowitz in a bind between his competing priorities. For now, however, Iraq is exempt from the anticorruption drive under exceptions extended to countries torn by violence. [27]

Now that’s convenient!

For awhile after the departure of Wolfowitz from the Pentagon and the ascendancy of Condi Rice many Washington watchers were certain that the neo-cons were on the decline with the return of the ‘realist’ clique. Don’t believe it for a minute. The neo-cons have not lost any influence in the Bush administration, they very intentionally branched out into other departments, like the World Bank and State Department, in order to continue their campaign using other levers of power besides military force. Development aid from the World Bank is simply war by other means for the neo-conservatives. 04.11.06

Moving dollars into Iraq can potentially serve three important goals for the Bush administration and the neo-conservatives.

• Bury the new Iraqi government in a mountain of debt owed to Western investors and controlled through Washington DC.

• Dollarize the economy of Iraq by flooding it with greenbacks and thereby gaining monetary influence over it.

• Use public cash to pay private (most likely American) corporations under the guise of reconstructing Iraq.

Neo-Conservative Defeat and Realist Salvation? Get Real!

Media outlets have been very excited with the ‘surprising’ upset by the Democratic Party in their defeat of the Republicans and the GOP agenda in elections earlier this November. The establishment line is that since the Democrats hold a slight margin over the Republicans in the House and Senate everything will be better. Skepticism is desperately needed here.

“Some of my best friends are Democrats.” - Douglas Feith [29]

So now we’re supposed to believe that these same Democrats, who for the most part voted with great alacrity to support George W. Bush’s war against Iraq, are now going to turn on a dime and pull the troops out of the same quagmire they helped to create? Are the Democrats going to do what Congress has the power to do – cut funding for the war to shut down the whole sad show and force a force a withdrawal? Yeah right!

Unfortunately the foolish lack of skepticism or historical analysis extends beyond partisan boundaries. Virtually every single mainstream, and even alternative, news media outlet has been trumpeting the coming salvation of the Iraq Study Group (ISG) and their promised report on Iraq (soon to be released, just wait, really!) in which they will recommend to policy-makers, specifically the White House, how to solve the crisis in Iraq. Considering the avalanche of repetitive hype in support of the Iraq Study Group the average person has to be convinced these guys will be bigger than the second coming of Jesus!

The ISG is lead and promoted by veteran of Washington D.C. politics James Baker who is considered a member and protagonist of the ‘Realist’ clique, as opposed to the Neo-Conservative clique that has wielded so much influence over the past six years in the Bush administration, specifically under Vice President Cheney’s purview. Jim Baker is most strongly associated with the administration of W. Bush’s father, the first President Bush, where he served as the secretary of state, hence the commentary that father Bush is coming to the rescue of his son to bail him out of the mess in Iraq, a mess that Bush and the neo-cons still refuse to even call it what it really is: a civil war!

"In American history, in the Civil War, you had borders and you had two sides," said Michael Ledeen, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "I don't see anything like that. There's lots of people killing lots of other people, yes. Why not call it a terror war? That seems to cover it." [31]

So will the ISG and the Realists really rescue America from its ill-advised misadventure and military occupation of an Arab country? And what is the true difference between the Realists and the Neo-Conservatives? Upon careful inspection it’s fairly obvious that in either case the ultimate agenda remains the same, rather it is the means to get to that objective that is the distinguishing difference between the ‘Realists’ and the ‘Neo-Conservatives’. Both sides want the United States to be the sole super-power wielding unchallenged influence over world events and particularly over world resources. Russia, China, and a host of minor states that are perceived as threats, such as Iran and North Korea, are seen as challengers to American dominance and must be dealt with in a way that neutralizes their hostile or competitive potential.

The neo-conservatives take a very hard line approach, they believe that the United States is so powerful now, particularly after the fall of the Soviet Union, that they no longer need to argue or debate with anyone, not the UN, not even with allies like Britain and Australia. The neo-con view is that the time is ripe to push now and push hard, attack unilaterally and ignore the petty criticism that will emerge.

The Realist clique agrees with the perceived threats but is not as convinced that America is so powerful they can unilaterally push through an agenda without negotiations first. The Realists believe that ‘we still need to negotiate a little more first’.

Realists are the ‘good cops’ to the Neo-Conservative ‘bad cops’:

• The Neo-Cons say: ‘we don’t need to negotiate anymore, just push now!

• The Realists say: ‘we still need to negotiate a little more.’

When editorialist and mass media pundits trumpet the defeat of the neo-cons and the ascension of the Realists what they really mean is the triumph of the more cautious, but no less authoritarian and aggressive, approach towards manipulating world events to favor the same wealth, power, and special interest forces that have been driving U.S. foreign policy for decades. Baker’s team will establish the good cop side to regain the support of the military leadership that the neo-cons have lost so as to continue the same agenda but with more credibility.

While their numbers in the senior ranks at the Pentagon have been reduced, neo-conservatives have retained an active presence there, too. In a particularly ominous turn of events earlier this year, the Defense Department established an "Iranian Directorate", an office staffed and overseen by the same individuals that ran the Office of Special Plans (OSP), which "cherry-picked" and "stove-piped" raw and questionable intelligence about Saddam's supposed ties to al-Qaeda and WMD programs. [28]

The current situation in Iran is an informative indicator of who is really writing America’s foreign policy script. The USA needs Iran to help stabilize Iraq through their Shiite connection in that very troubled and strife ridden country. Yet Israel is adamant about the imperative need to forcefully deal with Iran’s nuclear research program. The two demands are mutually exclusive, one benefits the USA and the other benefits Israel, so which one will it be? If Baker and the Realists prevail will a change of course occur and will genuine dialogue and negotiations ensue with  Iran as promised by mass media pundits? Or will the 'dialogue' be simply yet another ruse to continue the same unilateral policy under a more acceptable cover? Actions speak louder than rhetoric; we shall soon find out what the words really mean. 23,28,29.11.06

Remember the origins of the neocons, as shock troops of the Israel lobby Back in the mid-1970s Norman Podhoretz, Irving Kristol, Albert Wohi stetter and the others saw the impending defeat in Vietnam and feared that the McGovemite peaceniks would rot the resolve of the Democratic Party to stand behind Israel. So they fanned out into the Committee on the Present Danger and the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, stoked up the furnaces of the new cold war and greased the wheels of the Reagan campaign. [30]

Neo-Cons Bail Out?

Many of the most prominent neo-conservatives have left their posts. We already know about Paul Wolfowitz who went to the World Bank, but he’s still actively involved in Iraq. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby resigned after being indicted in the Valerie Plame CIA spy scandal leak. He was Cheney's chief of staff from 2001 until 2005. Now the abrasive John Bolton is leaving his position at the UN, but not by choice. Even with a Republican controlled Congress Bush could only get him into his job as a recess appointment and now with the Democrats in the majority he has no chance at all of getting Bolton approved. The wildly unpopular Donald Rumsfeld announced his resignation immediately after the November election results and now Robert Gates has been approved to replace him. Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush remain in office and neither one has shown any signs of backing down, so whether these personnel changes will lead to any significant policy changes remains to be seen.

The high profile public position of the neo-conservatives has certainly become very difficult to maintain amidst the widespread criticism of the failing war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the worldwide War on Terrorism in general. Indeed, the neo-conservatives have made a massive miscalculation over the invasion of Iraq, a mistake that will have domestic and international repercussions that are so serious it only makes sense for them to begin bailing out sooner rather than later.

But Iraq was not supposed to be difficult; it was all supposed to be a “slam dunk”. Paul Wolfowitz publicly stated to a Congressional committee in 2003: “[I]t is hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself and to secure the surrender of Saddam’s security forces and his army - hard to imagine."

Even more luaghable is Dr. Dov Zakheim’s excuse. “From 2001 to April 2004, Dr. Zakheim served as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense (DoD), managing the world’s largest  budgets.” The man in charge of planning the financial needs of the Department of Defense had this to say in 2006: ''In 2003, I don't think anybody predicted it [the war on Iraq] would go as long as World War II and the wear and tear on equipment would be as intense.'' [32] The whole point of financial planning is to prepare for future events, especially the ones you don't wish for, so how did this guy get his job anyway?! No wonder he bailed out in 2004.

Iraq: The Perfect Trap

Iraq is the perfect trap for the United States. Neither political party can stop it because if Congress uses its powers to halt funding for the war they will be accused of letting down the troops by the opposition. So when they were a minority party the Democrats criticized the Republicans who played the ‘support the troops’ chant like a broken record, and now that the Democrats are the majority party they start playing the same broken record and then talk about adding soldiers to Iraq in a bizarre attempt to appear more 'patriotic' than the other side! None of this makes any logical sense because anyone that really cared about the troops would want them to stop getting killed, especially for a lost cause, and get them home to their friends and family immediately.

Nor is this a conflict like Vietnam where the United States can pull out and leave, suffering serious but repairable financial and political damage. This war on Iraq is much more difficult for Congress and the President to walk away from because Israel is deeply involved in the outcome. So unlike the conflict in Southeast Asia that prominently featured many Jews in radical domestic dissent at the grassroots level, this war was engineered and supported from the beginning by influential Jews at the highest levels of government.

Nor will the enormous financial costs be quickly patched up. The wear and tear on military equipment will cost years and billions of dollars just to ‘reset’. Macroeconomically the damage from the war on Iraq is also much more significant. In the declining years of Vietnam, a war that did feature tax increases, Nixon pulled the Dollar off of the gold exchange to create a floating value fiat currency. Bush’s war features no new taxes or budget cuts to fund it and in fact had tax cuts. The Dollar is already free-floating on worldwide markets and has reached a 20 month low against the Euro with a steady decline in value expected. The total cost for the global war on terrorism is, after only five years, around half a trillion dollars and rising fast.

The neo-cons massively miscalculated this time, they overplayed their hand and have no way to get out of the mistakes they have made so they just dig the ditch even deeper by continuing to deny obvious reality and blame everyone except those responsible: themselves. Instead of taking any blame they just bail out and lay low to work behind the scenes and plan their strategic reappearance in a few years when the heat is off. They weren’t elected to public office yet they pose as public servants while actually working for the benefit of very exclusive private interests. They have PhDs and resumes a yard long yet their mistakes would make even the village idiot feel superior. But that’s what happens when you throw reason and objective decision making out just to follow fanatical belief and narrow agendas that contradict fact-based reality.09.12.06

Neo-Con Plan Adds Soldiers to Iraq

Although talk of adding thousands more soldiers to Iraq as a solution to the problem has been discussed by several high profile persons, Republican Senator McCain for instance, the actual plan with the details for implement such a strategy comes from a very unsurprising source. The current plan to send 35,000 more troops to Iraq was developed by Frederick W. Kagan in the American Enterprise Institute. [33] Sound Familiar? This demonstrates that although some of the high-profile neo-cons have left their positions the ones operating behind the scenes in the policy institutes and ‘think-tanks’ are more influential than ever. The neo-conservatives are engineering an expanded conflict in Iraq despite the fact that, even by McCain’s own admission, only 15-18% of the American people support sending more soldiers into the sandpit.

The operational commander over Iraq, Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, has publicly resisted increasing troops in Iraq while instead promoting the idea of economic development and job creation. So, a general in charge of Iraq finally realizes that the 70% unemployment rate could be a major force propelling the insurgency and you might think that finally, after four years, some common sense has arrived. Not quite. Chiarelli has just been replaced by Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, a character described as aggressive and who does support an adding more soldier to Iraq. The signs don’t come any clearer than that. 16.12.06

Neo-Con Solution to Iraq Quagmire: Attack Iran and Syria

Wondering what to do about the mess in Iraq? Well wonder no more  folks, the neo-cons have your solution! Here's Michael Ledeen, a military analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, in his own words:

"For people to think we have a good chance to win, they have to see us beating Iran and Syria. We will never have the full cooperation of the people of Iraq until people see we are waging war against Iran and Syria." [34]

Statements like that lead suspicious minds to conclude that Ledeen and the rest of the neo-cons have a hidden agenda and that the war on Iraq is just a subcomponent of a larger scheme to demolish all the regional challengers to the state of Israel.

However, considering the reliability of past advice and the unerringly accurate predictions of the neo-cons, like Michael Ledeen and others at the American Enterprise Institute, these concerns are undoubtedly groundless. And I’m nearly certain that Ledeen’s official biography just neglected to mention the years of experience serving in uniform in a real military that he must assuredly possess to qualify as a military analyst at the probably totally unbiased AEI, and that we shouldn’t be misled by his real PhD in philosophy because he clearly knows more than you or I possibly do. So you see it all makes perfect sense that we should do exactly what Ledeen and the rest of the experts at the probably prestigious AEI tell us to do. I for one feel more secure knowing that our ship of state remains under the firm and unwavering navigation of proud patriots like Michael Ledeen ... now that's sarcasm! 18.12.06

It’s the Condi & Nicholas show!

At one point, Rice said that the difficult circumstances in the Middle East could represent opportunity. "I don't read Chinese but I am told that the Chinese character for crisis is wei-ji, which means both danger and opportunity," she said in Riyadh. "And I think that states it very well. We'll try to maximize the opportunity."

But Victor H. Mair, a professor of Chinese at the University of Pennsylvania, has written on the Web site http://pinyin.info, a guide to the Chinese language, that "a whole industry of pundits and therapists has grown up around this one grossly inaccurate formulation." He said the character "ji" actually means "incipient moment" or a "crucial point." Thus, he said, a wei-ji "is indeed a genuine crisis, a dangerous moment, a time when things start to go awry." - Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, January 19, 2007

"Iran needs to learn to respect us, and Iran certainly needs to respect American power in the Middle East."

and ...

“The Middle East isn’t a region to be dominated by Iran. The [Persian] Gulf isn’t a body of water to be controlled by Iran. That’s why we’ve seen the United States station two carrier battle groups in the region.” - R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2007.

Watch for an appearance of Rice & Burns’ standup routine at your nearest, and least reputable, comedy club!

R. Nicholas Burns recently took a break from making comedically belligerent statements against Iran, as part of the supposedly diplomatic State Department, to attend the Herzliya Conference on Israel's security. The Herzliya Conference is led by former senior Mossad official Uzi Arad and the speakers included James Woolsey and the neo-con Richard Perle, remember him? Burns, Perle, and the rest of the gang used the meeting to finalize the script for the next stage in their strategy to exaggerate the threat, isolate the nation, and eventually attack Iran. Stay tuned. 24.01.07

Neo-Con Plan to Exploit Iraq's Shiites Backfired

The U.S. policy decisions that led to the sectarian war can be traced back to the conviction of a group of right-wing zealots with close ties to Israel's Likud Party that overthrowing the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq would not destabilise the region, because Iraqi Shiites would be allies of the United States and Israel against Iran.

The idea that Iraqi Shiites could be used to advance U.S. power interests in the Middle East was part of a broader right-wing strategy for joint U.S.-Israeli "rollback" of Israel's enemies. In 1996, a task force at the right-wing Israeli think tank, the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, under Richard Perle advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that such a strategy should begin by taking control of Iraq and putting a pro-Israeli regime in power there.

Three years later, the former director of that think tank, David Wurmser, who had migrated to the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, spelled out how the United States could use Iraqi Shiites to support that strategy in "Tyranny's Ally". Wurmser sought to refute the realist argument that overthrowing Saddam Hussein would destroy the balance of power between Sunni-controlled Iraq and Shiite Iran on which regional stability depended.

Whereas the "realists" had assumed the Iraqi Shiites would be "Iran's fifth column", Wurmser argued that the Iraqi Shiite clerics would "present a challenge to Iran's influence and revolution." He cited their rejection of the central concept of the Iranian revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini -- the "rule of the jurisprudent" -- justifying clerical rule.

From that fact, Wurmser leaped to the conclusion that Iraqi Shiites would be an ally of the United States in promoting a "regional rollback of Shiite fundamentalism". Wurmser even suggested that Iraqi Shiites could help pry Lebanese Shiites, with whom they had enjoyed close ties historically, away from the influence of Hezbollah and Iran.

The neoconservative plan for invading Iraq reflected Wurmser's assumption that the United States would not need to plan a long military occupation of Iraq, because toppling Hussein's regime would unleash the power of the Iraqi Shiites.

Throughout 2004 and the first half of 2005, the Shiite militias took advantage of the supportive policy of the United States to consolidate their power in Baghdad and began terrorising Sunni communities. After the government formed under the Dawa Party's Ibrahim Jaffari, the Shiite Badr Brigade moved into the Ministry of Interior, which became a vehicle for state terror. Despite media coverage of Shiite death squads operating freely in the capital, the Bush administration refused to admit that there was any problem with Shiite militias. [36]

Don’t Talk to Iran – It Might Stop Our War!

In 2003 Iran sent a letter seeking reconciliation with the United States government via the Swiss embassy. The Swiss are used as intermediaries because the two countries do not have any direct diplomatic channels. The document included “cooperation on nuclear safeguards, action against terrorists and possible recognition of Israel” according to a Washington Post article titled Rice Denies Seeing Iranian Proposal in '03. Under questioning by the House Foreign Affairs Committee Condi Rice, who was national security adviser at the time, stated she did not remember any such document from Iran. Rice never saw a document where Iran offered to do something as significant as recognize Israel?!

Yet a former staff member named Flynt Leverett claims he saw the proposal when he worked at the White House.

Leverett said yesterday that he became aware of the two-page offer, which came over a fax machine at the State Department, in his waning days in the U.S. government as a senior director at the National Security Council, but that it was not his responsibility to put it on Rice's desk because Rice had placed Elliott Abrams in charge of Middle East policy.

So look who’s acting as the filter, none other than Elliott Abrams. How inconvenient that Iran, a country the neo-cons like Elliot Abrams desperately want to see on the receiving end of the Bush administration’s war machine, is reaching out in an attempt to find common ground and a dialogue towards peace! Abrams probably stuffed the proposal into the shredder as soon as he saw it.

Abrams is currently the deputy national security adviser in charge of the Middle East and democracy promotion. An NSC spokeswoman, speaking on behalf of Abrams, said yesterday that Abrams "has no memory of any such fax and never saw or heard of any such thing."

Former State Department officials have said that they saw the Iranian offer and used it as a key element in a 2003 memo to then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell proposing that the United States pursue a "grand bargain" with Iran. The Iranian offer was attached to the memo, but Powell did not forward the memo to the White House, officials said.

Last June, Rice appeared to confirm, in an interview with National Public Radio, that the White House had received the memo. "What the Iranians wanted earlier was to be one-on-one with the United States so that this could be about the United States and Iran," Rice said. State Department officials at that time did not dissuade reporters from interpreting her comments as referring to the 2003 fax.

Leverett said the Iranian offer is "embarrassing and politically difficult" for the administration now that it has rejected calls for a dialogue from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, has confronted Iranian agents in Iraq and has expanded military assets in the Persian Gulf. [37] 13.02.07

Vice President Cheney Delivers Keynote Speech to AIPAC

On March 12, 2007 in the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the keynote speech to the influential lobbyist group the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) 2007 Policy Conference. Cheney used the platform to attack public criticism of his wars, to express his  solidarity with the state of Israel and his unceasing support for Jewish interests in the United States  and elsewhere, and to symbolically merge the United States' geopolitical situation with that of Israel's. The Vice President left no doubt as to the critical importance  of continuing the so-called Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) and the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan for the benefit of Israel and his administration.

As members of AIPAC, you play a vital role in making the strategic and moral case for America's friendship with Israel. I commend AIPAC for the fine work you do, not just at this annual event but every day of the year. It's good to be in your company, and I bring warm regards from the President of the United States, George W. Bush. (Applause.) ...

If anyone is still unsure as to the loyalties of the Bush / Cheney administration:

I stand here today as a strong supporter of Israel and Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than George Bush. (Applause.)

Just as the false threat of the 'domino theory' of regional states sequentially falling to communist insurgency was used to justify continued military operations in Southeast Asia 40 years ago so is the same fear-based symbolism and fatuous reasoning being used to justify continued military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. This despite the obvious futility of a military solution to political and social problems as well as widespread public opposition in the United States and nearly unanimous resistance throughout the rest of the world, except in Israel.

It would be easier, no doubt, to avoid controversy by following snapshot polls or catering to elite opinion or seeking political refuge in comfortable myths. President Bush understands, as Ronald Reagan did, that if history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly. [38]

What can you say to that?! President Bush, and especially Vice President Cheney, clearly want their wars very, very badly and it seems that despite the apparent military failure that is emerging from the smoke of car bombs and the stench of open sewers and dead bodies in Iraq this administration must be gaining something very important from it all to justify flagrantly ignoring the opinions of their electorate and the advice of practically every reputable expert and independent analyst of the situation. 14.03.07

Book Review: Epicenter, by Joel C. Rosenberg, 2006, (hardcover edition)

"Joel understands the real problems and threats to the Middle East better than any American novelist I know." - Natan Sharansky, quoted on the Epicenter book cover.

In his book Epicenter Joel C. Rosenberg describes the novels he has written, his predictions and experiences, and how current events in the Middle East relate to his Christian interpretations of Biblical prophecies. Although you may not have heard of Joel Rosenberg he is very well-known author in the realm of neo-conservatism and is a notable figure because he crosses the boundaries between Christianity and Judaism. Rosenberg is a born-again Christian with a Jewish background (he repeatedly mentions that his Jewish grandparents 'miraculously' escaped unspecified persecution in Czarist Russia) and as such he enjoys great credibility amongst Christians for his belief in Jesus,  and Jews because of his family  background and fervent Zionist sympathies.

Joel is closely associated with many influential neo-conservative figures.  Indeed he goes out of his way to brag about the famous and important people he is friends with, but this is very helpful in constructing the web of interconnections that bind these extreme religious and political characters.

Finally, I had met Dr. LaHaye on a number of occasions. My wife worked for his wife, Beverly, at the time. I had always found him to be a strong friend of Israel and the Jewish people, as well as one of the most insightful and counterintuitive thinkers in the evangelical world. True, he was controversial in some circles, but if he saw such a scenario within the pages of Scripture, I decided I should not be so quick to dismiss it.

As I sat with Natan Sharansky on that fight to New York in the fall of 2000, I tried to connect the dots. Never before in human history had Russia and Iran been allies. But according to LaHaye, Scripture said they would be in the last days. [p. 26]

Rosenberg writes of his job interview with former rightwing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“So, Joel tell me a little about yourself," Netanyahu began.

I tried to compose my thoughts. There was something remarkable about meeting the ninth prime minister of the modem State of Israel, a man who'd literally had his finger on the button while facing down enemies like Saddam Hussein and the ayatollahs of Iran.

"Well, sir, my first job was at the Heritage Foundation...

I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth when Netanyahu broke out in a smile and told me how much he loved the work Heritage did for the cause of freedom and how long he had been friends with the organization's founder, Ed Feulner.

"What did you do after Heritage?" he asked.

I explained that my next job had been working for Bill Bennett and Jack Kemp. This, too, elicited a strong reaction. Netanyahu was friends with both men. As I recall, he referred to Jack as "Yitzhak Kemp," a nickname the famed quarterback turned congressman turned secretary of housing and urban development had earned through years of supporting Israel through thick and thin.

Netanyahu also turned out to be a big fan of Rush Limbaugh, for whom I'd worked as director of research from 1994 until I joined Steve Forbes's presidential campaign in 1996. And when I mentioned working for Steve as his communications director and later as deputy campaign manager during the 2000 primaries, that was apparently all Netanyahu had to hear. [p.32]

The Dr. Tim LaHaye mentioned is author of the ‘Left Behind’ series of apocalyptic Christian novels he claims are based upon, and substantiated, by the Bible.

Rosenberg’s primary philosophical contention, beyond his theologically based predictions, is that events must be viewed not just through the prism of politics and economics but through the third lens of spiritual perception.

Too many in Washington today have a modern, Western, secular mind-set that either discounts—or outright dismisses—the fact that evil a real and active force in history. They insist on interpreting events only through the lenses of politics and economics. Yet to misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it, and that is what happened on August 2, 1990 [Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait], and September 11, 2001. Washington was blindsided by an evil it did not understand, just as it had been blindsided by Auschwitz, Dachau, and Pearl Harbor, and much as I believe it will be blindsided by future events. [p. 46-47]

In Joel’s view the biggest enemy of God, freedom, private wealth, and the world, other than Iran of course, is Russia!

But the more time I spent in Moscow, the clearer it became that the tide of freedom was going out. The remarkable season of political, economic, and religious freedom that had begun with Boris Yeltsin's courageous insistence on free markets and free elections was systematically coming to an end under the reign of Yeltsin's handpicked successor, Vladimir Putin. And the West seemed unwilling or unable to do anything about it or to see its prophetic implications. [p.91]

Anyone that knows anything about what really happened in Russia during the 1990s knows that Boris Yeltsin was as crooked as he was drunk. Anyone that pines for the Yeltsin years is no friend of the Russian people, only criminals and oligarchic, predatory capitalists. This is a particularly revealing statement concerning Rosenberg’s true values and allegiances but something that will, unfortunately, be lost on the majority of Americans.

But what about the Biblical lens on events? Well it turns out there’s another reason to hate Russia:

But that last line troubled me, for when one looks at Russia through not only the political and economic lenses but also through the third lens of Scripture, one sees that Russia is, in fact, destined to become an enemy of the West, and particularly of Israel, in part because of its alliance with Iran. [p.104]

Throughout his book Rosenberg repeatedly posits that Iran and Russia have an alliance because such a connection is needed to fulfill his apocalyptic interpretation of the Bible. In reality no such association exists; Russia and Iran do not have an alliance! Russia’s connection to Iran is almost entirely commercial in nature and even that rocky relationship is increasingly tenuous.

Epicenter really becomes a laugh riot when Rosenberg turns his attention to Iraq. Even though the author refers to events in 2005 and 2006 he still maintains that the Bush-Cheney administration’s war on that small country is a great success!

The truth is that Iraq will form a strong, stable, and decisive central government. Iraq's military and internal security forces will be well trained, well equipped, and increasingly effective. The insurgency will be crushed, support for it will evaporate, and foreign terrorists will stop flowing into the country.

As the situation stabilizes, Iraqi roads and airports will become safe, and people will finally be able to move freely about the country. Tourists will pour in to visit the country's many ancient archeological sites and national treasures. Business leaders will also pour into the country, as will foreign investment, particularly to get Iraq's oil fields, refineries, and shipping facilities up to twenty-first-century standards.

In short order, Iraq will emerge as an oil superpower, rivaling Saudi Arabia. Trillions of petrodollars will flood into the country, and as this happens, Iraq will become a magnet for banks and multinational corporations that will set up their regional and international headquarters in the country.

High-rise office buildings, luxury apartments, and single-family homes will be constructed. Theaters, concert halls, parks, and malls will be built. The ancient city of Babylon will emerge virtually over night like a phoenix rising from the ashes to become one of the modem wonders of the world.

As I described in The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, and most recently The Copper Scroll, Iraq is about to see a political and economic renaissance unparalleled in the history of the world. The people of Iraq are about to experience a level of personal and national wealth and power they have never dreamed possible. The pundits who have written the country off to failure and chaos will be absolutely stunned by such a dramatic turn of events … [p. 173]

Predicting future events is fine, even if your prognostications border on the delusional, but Rosenberg’s primary selling point is the accuracy of his novels in foretelling major events. Rosenberg enthusiastically elaborates on the predictive success of his past novels on such issues as hijacked planes flying into towers ala 9-11, the rise of Islamic terrorism, “Islamo-Fascism”, and so on. That he could be so far off the mark on Iraq is revealing just on its own.

Rosenberg describes his travel across the globe but his only contacts seem to have been with either Christians or Jews. Rosenberg never even entertains the notion that people other than Jews and Christians might actually hold valid ideas and concerns! Indeed he makes no apparent effort to include in an accurate way, or research, the views, attitudes and motivations behind ‘the other side’ in his assessment of present and future world events, and consequently the bias in his conclusions should not surprise.

The War of Gog and Magog, as we have seen, will bring about a shattering of radical Islam that will trigger a spiritual crisis for Muslims all around the world as they see, to their shock, the hand of the God of Israel defending—not demolishing—the Jewish people. The soul-searching that results will be intense. As they monitor saturation coverage on radio, television, and the Internet, Muslims will hear followers of Christ explaining what will happen and why, and they will see the prophecies of the Bible—not the Koran—coming true before their own eyes. What's more, they will see the power of the God of the Bible displayed before the eyes of the world.

In the process, many will realize for the first time that Jesus Christ did, in fact, die on the cross for them. He also rose again for them—to give them assurance of salvation, a place in heaven for eternity, and an abundant, joyful life here on earth, if they will only receive his free gift of salvation. When that happens, Muslims will turn to Jesus Christ en masse.[p. 204-205]

It's easy for most people to quickly dismiss outrageous statements like this but it should be remembered that Joel Rosenberg's views are actually taken very seriously, and literally, by millions of Christians! Joel Rosenberg's Biblical delusions and end-times fantasies are being picked up and repeated by many influential pastors and Christian evangelists across America. For instance, Pastor John Hagee who leads the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas and founded the lobbyist group Christians United for Israel (CUFI), has stated that "The end of the world as we know it is rapidly approaching," and "Just before us is a nuclear countdown with Iran followed by Ezekiel's war (as described in Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39), and then the final battle -- the battle of Armageddon." As part of CUFI Hagee stated that, "The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West... a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation [...] and [the] Second Coming of Christ." [41] Considering the inflammatory, self-defeating, and even suicidal, rhetoric spewing out of their mouths and from their books to conclude that people like Pastor John Hagee and Joel Rosenberg are dangerously insane would be an understatement.

But even today, an exciting and dramatic spiritual revolution that is being completely missed by the mainstream media is under way throughout the Islamic world. The big (untold) story in the Middle East is that more Muslims are turning to Christ today than at any other time in human history, and much of it has happened since 9/11.

Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of interviewing more than three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and Christian leaders throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia. In sharp contrast to the picture the media is painting, the picture they present is one of Christianity being dramatically resurrected in the lands where the Bible was written. [p. 205]

In fact Christians, at least in Iraq, are a rapidly diminishing population just as Christianities de-facto alliance with Judaism for a war on Islam has not made them particularly popular anywhere else. “Although they make up only about 5% of Iraq's population, Christians make up nearly 40% of the refugees fleeing Iraq, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.” [40]

Ezekiel, Gog and Magog

There is also a growing sense among the Jewish community worldwide that the cataclysmic events of recent decades are signs of the last days and the Messiah's nearing appearance as well. The famed twentieth-century Jewish writer Martin Buber, for example, wrote an entire novel called Gog and Magog (it was much different from my novels). In it, he spoke of the "three hours of speechless terror after the tumult of the wars of Gog and Magog and before the coming of the Messiah," which will be "more difficult to endure than all the tumult and thunder” that had gone before, and "only he who endures them will see the Messiah."

Elie Wiesel, the widely beloved Jewish Nobel laureate, also wove Ezekiel's prophecies into his work and has long believed their fulfillment will signal the Messiah's arrival. In his moving 1972 novel Souls on Fire, he wrote of Jewish communities watching unfolding world events in great fear. "Frontiers, thrones, loyalties, and systems change over night. The earth trembles. Nations discover new passions, liberating but deadly. History moves and bursts into flame. And the blood flows.

In the rabbinical courts, these events are endowed with a messianic dimension. One speaks of Gog and Magog, of their gigantic, apocalyptic war.... The Jews needed the Messiah, perhaps more than ever." Years later, Wiesel told an interviewer that "Messianism is the gift of the Jew to the world, but in our tradition we believe that before redemption there will be a huge catastrophe. We call it the war of' Gog and Magog."

I agree. The war of which Ezekiel wrote will precede the appearing of the Messiah on earth. But it will be his second appearing, not his first, and his name will be Yeshua HaMoshiach, Jesus the Messiah. [p. 200]

Rosenberg draws his main inspiration from the Biblical book of Ezekiel and particularly the story of Gog and Magog interpreted to mean Iran and Russia joined for a war against a lone Israel. There’s really very little point in trying to explain the myth suffice to say, much like Nostradamus or the book of Revelation, it’s vague enough to construct almost any mystical prediction out of it while remaining compelling enough to convince the believers.

Through a concerted effort over the past 30 years or so people like Joel C. Rosenberg have been particularly successful at conflating the needs and objectives of Zionist Israel with those of the United States in the minds of American Christians. As a result the spectrum of acceptable politics in the USA, and in Israel, has shifted far to the right.

Although Joel Rosenberg and his supporters would never make the comparison a particularly profound similarity one can be made between Joel and a very influential figure of the same last name that lived during the first half of the 20^th century. Alfred Rosenberg performed a similar task for the National Socialist (NAZI) party of Germany that Joel does today by constructing the spiritual justification needed for achieving the political and military objectives of an elite. Whereas Alfred Rosenberg was a German who used the Bible's New Testament to illuminate the divisions between Christianity and Judaism, Joel Rosenberg is a Jew who uses the Bible's Old Testament to conflate Judaism and Christianity. The ideology and theology of the two Rosenbergs are opposites but the ultimate effect of their efforts remains the same. Today so many American Christians are convinced of the imperative need to totally and unquestioningly support the state of Israel that they are aptly referred to as Christian Zionists. Bush and Cheney, their favorite President and Vice President elected twice largely through Christian votes, have done everything they can to acquire dictatorial powers while exploiting the scriptural and spiritual merger of Christianity and Judaism to launch a world war that is, in everything but name, a religious crusade against the increasing wealth, influence, and popularity of Islam. 23.03.07

President Bush has done an excellent job defending the U.S., and I have strongly supported the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq in light of the 9/11 attacks. But let's be clear: if Iran goes nuclear on President Bush's watch, all the gains that have been made thus far in the War on Terror will be wiped out virtually overnight.

We absolutely cannot let Iran go nuclear. To do so would put Americans and all freedom-loving people in existential danger. It is time to prepare for war. [p. 246]

Saddam / al-Qaeda Fiction by Feith

A declassified report done by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense has found that, as everyone should already know by now, neo-con Douglas Feith exaggerated and manipulated information to concoct a convincing link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda in order to create the justification needed to launch a war on Iraq. The full report is available to read here: Review of the Pre-Iraqi War Activities of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. 07.04.07

U.S. policy in the Middle East: who's really in charge here?

Condi Rice may be the highly visible element of United States policy in the Middle East with her efforts to broker peace deals between Israel and the Palestinians, but judging from the actual outcome of her frenetic efforts the 'Peace Process' is clearly just a sham and the real decision-makers behind the scenes have no desire to see the situation change, at least not in any way that might disadvantage Israel. 16.05.07

"Condi is just not in charge of your Middle East policy," one Israeli official commented. "Every time she turns around, Elliott Abrams is slapping her down. It's embarrassing." The embarrassment has now become public.

In a breakfast meeting at the White House last Thursday, Abrams told a group of Jewish Republicans that they should not put too much stock in efforts to pressure Israel to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. "He said that pressure on Israel was all for show," a congressional staffer familiar with the meeting said, "and that it was being done just to satisfy the Europeans and Arabs.

"He said, 'You know, we have to show that we're doing something. You really shouldn't worry about it.'"

Abrams, according to a report on the same meeting that appeared in Haaretz, said the talks among Rice, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on prospective negotiations was just "process for the sake of process". The Haaretz report noted that "some of the attendees understood Abrams' comments as an assurance that the peace initiative promoted by Rice doesn't have the full backing of President George W Bush". [43]

Neo-Con Revolving Door: Wolfowitz Replaced as Head of World Bank

President George W. Bush has replaced World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz with Robert Zoellick from the Goldman Sachs banking comglomerate after Wolfowitz was disgraced in a scandal involving a pay raise arranged for his girlfriend. Wolfowitz’s popularity at the World Bank was low when he started his term and considerably less by the time he ended it.

Zoellick is no random pick on the part of the Bush administration; he’s yet another neo-con and one of the original signers to the Project for the New American Century.

Starting as a protégé of former Secretary of State James Baker, Zoellick made his mark as the privatization-preaching personal representative of Bush Senior at G-7 summits in 1991 and 1992. In recognition of his service, the investment firm Goldman Sachs hired Zoellick as a senior international adviser in the mid-1990s. [44]

The World Bank is about spreading democracy, upholding America’s core values, and making the USA more and more popular around the globe. Or at least that’s what the advertising brochure will probably try to convince you. And if you believe any of it, the World Bank has a loan just for you! Actually the World Bank is like a credit card company to the poor countries of the world - very experienced at squeezing every last penny out of the poorest of the poor. Privatize! Commercialize! Don’t spend on social services! Zoellick is from Goldman Sachs and he's in charge of global poverty relief! You get the idea.

Zoellick practiced what he preached as the Administration's economic hit man during W.'s first term, negotiating trade pacts that paved the way for multinational corporations to country-hop in a race-to-the-bottom search for lower wages and laxer regulations. [44]

The one positive aspect ascribed by critics to Zoellick’s appointment is that at least the World Bank will get a leader emblematic of their actual behavior. 16.06.07

Nicholas Burns is back, and he’s funnier than ever!

In response to concerns over the recent announcement of $30 billion dollars in U.S. government aid to Israel Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns had this to say, "This $30 billion in assistance to Israel is to be an investment in peace, in long-term peace — peace cannot be made without strength.” [46]

It's not about guns - it's all about peace! By this reasoning more guns mean more strength ... so in other words if you give a gangster more money and more guns then that will make the neighborhood safer!

In the real world of course that kind of reasoning is ludicrous. Even if strength is determined by firepower it can only bring as much peace to the world as there is intelligence and wisdom in control of the weapons. Unfortunately intelligence and wisdom are notably absent from the actions of Israel’s political and military establishment. And not only that but armed conflict is typically a direct result of an imbalance of power. When one side has much greater military power than the other side the temptation to use that power to take something from the weaker side is enormous, and rarely is it not used. This is the exact equation that is present today between Israel and the Palestinians, injustice stemming from a gross imbalance of power that every objective analyst agrees is the core source of conflict fomenting anger and retribution throughout the region.

Israel is hardly a desperate economic case in need of charity funds, and in fact Israel already spends at least 10% of national income on war, warfare preparation, and weapons. By giving Israel $30,000,000,000 in public assistance, a 25% increase over previous sums, The Bush/Cheney administration is dong the exact opposite of creating peace in the Middle East or anywhere else, they are just adding fuel to the fire. 16.08.07

Our Man in the Pentagon

On October 15, 2007 U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs where he received the Henry M. Jackson Distinguished Service Award for his unceasing devotion to Israel, and played up the Iran menace to a very receptive audience.

"We should have no illusions about the nature of this regime or its leaders — about their designs for their nuclear program, their willingness to live up to their rhetoric, their intentions for Iraq, or their ambitions in the Gulf region." The ironic hypocrisy of his statement was clearly lost on Secretary Gates. Was he referring to the United States under Bush/Cheney, or Iran? You decide!

The very next day, no doubt deeply concerned that Israel might run out of ammunition for shooting Palestinian teenagers and missiles to threaten their neighbors with nuclear Armageddon, Defense Secretary Gates hosted Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Pentagon. Here we can see Gates ushering Barak into the Pentagon for the latest shopping trip. Put that credit card away Ehud, this one’s on Uncle Sam! 17.10.07

Book Review: They Dare to Speak Out

They Dare to Speak Out is written by Paul Findley, a congressman from Illinois who naively believed that United States foreign policy is objective terrain where all nations should be treated fairly. Findley’s even-handed approach to foreign policy issues incurred the wrath of the Israel lobby who managed to cut his political career short by channeling large sums of money into his opponent thereby narrowly defeating him in election.

Years of investigation and many interviews later his book has become notable as one of the first to openly challenge the Israel lobby’s death-grip on politics in the United States and now with the updated version it remains one of the most revealing and detailed books on the topic currently available.

"There are a lot of American Jews with lots of money who learned long ago that they can achieve influence far beyond their numbers by making strategic donations to candidates. . . . No Arab population here plays such a powerful role." - Columnist Carl Rowan [p. 67]

Allegiance to Israeli interests sometimes creates mystifying voting habits. Members who are "doves" on policy elsewhere in the world are unabashed "hawks" where Israel is concerned. [ibid]

Findley’s book is full of personal stories and detailed examples, and even more examples, of careers ruined and critics silenced by intimidation campaigns, vicious personal attacks, and just about every other dirty trick imaginable used by the Israel lobby in an ongoing campaign to stifle dissent and stop everyone that disagrees, or simply asks the 'wrong' questions! The Israel lobby is so paranoid and insecure that they will even attack any friend and ally that makes the slightest deviation from their script, any attempt to take a public position that differs from that of the Israeli government, and the Israel lobby that works hand-in-glove to manipulate US policy, is sufficient pretext for their assault on reason.

“[O]ne need not actually criticize the Jewish people or the state of Israel to be labeled anti-Semitic. Simply raising questions about Middle East issues and assuming that the answers may not all be obvious is enough to evoke the charge.”

The Israel lobby consists of multiple organizations but they are careful to coordinate their actions and, more importantly, their public views in order to create a façade of unity. In the process of doing this they crush not only external criticism but even internal dissent!

It is no over statement to say that AIPAC has effectively gained control of virtually all of Capitol Hill's action on Middle East policy. Almost without exception, House and Senate members do its bidding, because most of them consider AIPAC to be the direct Capitol Hill representative of a political force that can make or break their chances at election time. [p.28]

Only one view for all Jews is allowed by AIPAC

AIPAC has convinced Congress that it represents practically all Jews who vote. Columnist Nat Hentoff reported this assessment in the Village Voice in June 1983 after a delegation of eighteen dissenting rabbis had scouted Capitol Hill trying to convince congressmen that some Jews oppose Israeli policies. The rabbis reported that several congressmen said they shared their views but were afraid to act. Hentoff concluded: "The only Jewish constituency that's real to them [congressmen] is the one that AIPAC and other spokesmen for the Jewish establishment tell them about.” [p.49]

No major Jewish organization ever publicly takes issue with positions and policies adopted by Israel. Thomas A. Dine, executive director of AIPAC from 1981 to 1993, spoke warmly of President Reagan's peace plan when it was announced in September 1982, but as soon as Israel rejected the plan, Dine fell silent. This close coordination sometimes inspires intragovernmenr humor. "At the State Department we used to predict that if Israel's prime minister should announce that the world is flat, within twenty-four hours Congress would pass a resolution congratulating him on the discovery," recalls Don Bergus, former ambassador to Sudan and a retired career diplomat. …

AIPAC's charter defines its mission as legislative action, but it now also represents the interests of Israel whenever there is a perceived challenge to that country's interests in the news media, the religious community, on U.S. college campuses—anywhere. Because AIPAC's staff members are paid from contributions by American citizens, they need not register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. In effect, how ever, they serve the same function as foreign agents. [p.29]

The Israel lobby uses an “enemies list”, tracking systems, and other sleazy methods to hound and intimidate opponents and honest critics alike.

A tracking system initiated by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (ADL) assured that [Representative Paul N. “Pete”] McCloskey would have no peace, even as a private citizen. The group distributed a memorandum containing details of his actions and speeches to its chapters around the country. According to the memo, it was designed to "assist" local ADL groups with "counteraction guidance" whenever McCloskey appeared in public.

Trouble dogged him even on the campus. McCloskey accepted an invitation from the student governing council of Stanford University to teach a course on Congress at Stanford. Howard Goldberg—a council member and also director of the Hillel Center, the campus Jewish club— told the group that inviting McCloskey was "a slap in the face of the Jewish community." [p.59]

A New York businessman almost made it onto "enemies list," thanks to media coverage of his views. Jack Sunderland, businessman and chair man of Americans for Middle East Understanding, a national organization that issues scholarly reviews, made statements supporting Palestinian self-rule and an end to Israeli West Bank settlement construction during a trip to the Middle East several years ago.

His remarks were widely reported in the U.S. and foreign media, and shortly after returning to his New York home, Sunderland learned that a man had visited several of his neighbors and asked personal questions about his family, including his children's schedule and routes to and from school. Concerned for his family's safety, Sunderland engaged a private detective. Working with FBI cooperation, the detective soon located a graduate student who admitted to the obtrusive questioning and also to illegally gaining access to computer information about Sunderland's finances and credit record. The student said he was an employee of B'nai B'rith and that Sunderland was being investigated as a prospect for inclusion on the organization's "enemies list." Faced with the student's confession, B'nai B'rith officials refused to meet with Sunderland personally but agreed not to mention his name in future publications. When the "enemies list" appeared in 1983, under the sponsorship of B'nai B'rith's affiliate, the Anti-Defamation League, the organization Sunderland heads was listed as a "vehicle" of "Arab propaganda." [p.328]

Israel is subsidized by Congress as a military-industrial competitor of the United States costing billions of dollars every year and thousands of jobs.

The final vote on the 1983 Continuing Resolution authorized a remarkable new form of aid to Israel. It included an amendment, crafted by AIPAC and sponsored by ardently pro-Israeli Congressmen Clarence Long of Maryland and Jack Kemp of New York, that permitted $250 million of the military grant aid to be spent in Israel on the development of a new Israeli fighter aircraft, the Lavi. The new fighter would compete for international sales with the Northrop F-20 and the General Dynamics R16— both specifically designed for export. The amendment authorized privileged treatment never before extended to a foreign competitor. It was extraordinary for another reason: it set aside a U.S. law that requires all foreign aid procurement funds to be spent in the United States. [p. 75]

Our allies are aware of America’s tendency to place lobby interests over the interests of the United States. After AIPAC blocked a $1.6 billion arms sale to Jordan, King Hussein complained, "The United States not free to move except within the limits of what AIPAC, the Zionists, and the State of Israel determine for it." A Democratic senator conversing with a visiting European diplomat put it bluntly: "All of us here are members of Likud now." [p.50]

Total support for the violent military-state of Israel embarrasses and directly endangers the United States.

In the spring of 1980, Haddad forces [in Lebanon] used five U.S.-built Sherman tanks in an attack on a Boy Scout Jamboree near the city of Tyre, killing sixteen boys. Haddad's gunners also shot down a Norwegian medevac helicopter that arrived to help the wounded. The scout gathering, which was sponsored by the Christian Maronite Church, was just beyond the limits of "Free Lebanon," or "Haddadland," the area controlled by Haddad's Israeli-backed army. Haddad announced at the time that such attacks would continue until the Lebanese government provided more electricity to this area and recognized Haddad schools.

In the late 1970s, with the support of both Israel and the remaining Christian forces in the south, High Adventure Ministries established the Star of Hope television station in southern Lebanon. Otis himself described the Israeli support as "a miracle": "Did you ever think we would see the day when the Jews would push us for a Christian station?" Yet since the television station assured more effective communication with the public—for military and other purposes—Israeli approval seemed more the product of sound strategic thinking than of divine intervention. Like the Voice of Hope before it, the new Star of Hope was financed through tax-deductible contributions of money and equipment from donors in North America.

In 1982, Star of Hope was presented to Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network as a gift. Robertson upgraded the facility and renamed it Middle East Television (METV). The Christian separatist World Lebanese Association—which is affiliated with AIPAC—describes METV as "generally sympathetic to the Christian Maronites of the region and to Israel." It adds that, for years, METV was accused of links to Israel and the now-defunct Israel-allied Christian militia, the South Lebanese Army (SLA). [p.254]

The Israel lobby is probably the greatest threat to free speech in the United States. Open and fair discussion is absolutely anathema to everything that Zionism, Israel’s blind supporters, and the Israel lobby value and believe in. Anyone interested in how the political machinery in the United States really operates and everyone concerned about justice in society and equal opportunity in politics should read They Dare to Speak Out - People and Institutions Confront Israel’s Lobby, by Paul Findley, Third Edition, Lawrence Hill Books, 2003. 01.01.08

Book Review: The Politics of Anti-Semitism

[08.11.08] The Politics of Anti-Semitism, edited by Andrew Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, CounterPunch and AK Press, 2003, is a series of essays written by over a dozen different authors discussing and analyzing the issue of contemporary anti-Semitism. Particular effort goes into disentangling true hatred for Jews from the slur of anti-Semitism as it is actually used in the social dialogue. The significant influence that Jews and Israel exert upon U.S. politics is another critical issue tackled in the book. Overall the book is definitely worth reading but the quality of the writing varies from essay to essay, giving the book a hit or miss character.

On the topic, those who criticize neo-conservatives and their policies are sometimes accused of being anti-Semitic, but it’s important to add that many of the neo-cons are Christians not Jews. So even though many of the neo-cons believe in Jesus neo-con critics are never accused of being anti-Christian! Indeed accusing neo-con critics of being anti-Semitic only reveals the dominant Jewish nature of the neo-con enterprise. More to the point the common element between both Jewish and Christian neo-cons is Zionism.

Basically Zionism is Theodor Herzl’s philosophical justification for the state of Israel, but in a more complete sense Zionism is a combination of theology, ideology, and racism whose closest historical familiar is Hitler’s National Socialist Germany. Indeed at the time Nazi Germany and Zionism shared the common goal of getting Jews out of Europe and into Israel.

Although Nazi Germany was defeated militarily in World War II and National Socialism was ruthlessly expunged from political debate by the Allied victors Israel today remains protected by the combined military and political might of the U.S. and the European Union (EU) despite an ongoing campaign of bloody conquest and land theft, brutal policies built upon beliefs in racial superiority, and a worldwide propaganda machine that Joseph Goebbels could only dream of.  ”True, Israel has enough PR-savvy to eliminate them [Palestinians] with an American rather than a Hitlerian level of violence. This is a kinder, gentler genocide that portrays its perpetrators as victims. Israel is building a racial state, not a religious one.” From: What is Anti-Semitism?, by Michael Neumann [52]

The key moral tenet that allows the Zionist Jewish state to imprison millions of Palestinians behind the walls and razor-wire fences of the West Bank and Gaza Strip concentration camps is the ‘Shoah’ or Jewish  Holocaust of World War II Germany, a justification that now has to seem perversely ironic to any objective observer.

Since my early teens I have heard in reference to the Holocaust, "It must not happen again". This is a wise statement that has become part of our moral fiber. But "It" is happening again—to Palestinians. Sympathy for Jews and revulsion for Hitler and the Holocaust must not be carried beyond the bounds of logic. It must end when the victim becomes the oppressor, otherwise we have learned nothing. From Words Hurt, But Tanks Kill, by Linda Belanger [52]

Jews hold no monopoly on suffering and persecution. The truth is that every group of people can claim to be a victim of the genocidal oppression of some other group at some point in history. This cannot justify persecution and genocide, rather it puts such actions into proper historical context so we know how to prevent it before it happens and respond to it appropriately when it does.

Supposedly there is great danger in the anti-Semitism of the Arab world. But Arab anti-Semitism isn't the cause of Arab hostility towards Israel or even towards Jews. It is an effect. The progress of Arab anti-Semitism fits nicely with the progress of Jewish encroachment and Jewish atrocities. From: What is Anti-Semitism?, by Michael Neumann [52]

In the meantime this wide awake nightmare isn’t restricted to a small region in the Eastern Mediterranean; the Zionist propaganda machine has to provide moral, political, and military cover for Israeli actions that would otherwise be classified as appalling then condemned and punished. This protective cover comes primarily from Zionist influence over American politics through vehicles like AIPAC, and other branches of the Israel Lobby, as well as significant influence over public opinion through influence of the major mass-media institutions.

During the Bush Administration from 2000-2008 support for Israel reached new heights, exceeding even the Clinton Administration. Israel’s most vociferous supporter in the Executive branch has been Vice President Cheney, surprising despite his record prior to 2001 which tended to be even-handed of Middle East issues. Indeed Cheney made a remarkable transformation when the attacks of September 11, 2001 occurred, with even close associates stating that they no longer recognized his actions and rhetoric afterwards.

Since Cheney clearly changed his mind between 1991 and 2001, is it not legitimate to ask why, and whether Israel might have a greater influence over US foreign policy now than it had in 1991? After all, notwithstanding his wisdom in rejecting an expansion of the war on Iraq a decade ago, Cheney was just as interested in promoting US imperialism and was at that same moment in the early 1990s outlining a plan for world domination by the United States, one that did not include conquering Iraq at any point along the way. The only new ingredient in the mix that induced Cheney to begin the march to US world domination by conquering Iraq is the presence in the Bush-Cheney administration of a bevy of aggressive right-wing neo-con hawks who have long backed the Jewish fundamentalists of Israel's own right wing and who have been advocating some move on Iraq for at least the last half-dozen years.

The suggestion that the war with Iraq was planned at Israel's behest, or at the instigation of policymakers whose main motivation is trying to create a secure environment for Israel, is believed by many Israeli analysts. The Israeli commentator Akiva Eldar observed frankly in a Ha'aretz column that Perle, Feith and their fellow strategists “are walking a fine line between their loyalty to American governments and Israeli interests”. From: The Bush Administration’s Dual Loyalties, by Kathleen and Bill Christison [52]

The Obama presidency promises even greater and more brazen support for Israel and Zionist policies particularly with the appointment of Congressman Rahm Israel Emanuel as Chief of Staff.

[Israeli] Radio stations and newspapers pointed out Emanuel's Jerusalem-born father was once a member of Irgun, an ultra-nationalist Jewish terror group behind such slaughters of civilians as the bombing of the King David hotel which killed 92 people in 1946.

Emanuel himself volunteered to serve in the Israeli Army and did a two-month stint at a base in northern Israel during the 1991 Gulf war, public radio reported.

"It is obvious he will exert influence on the president to be pro-Israeli," Emanuel's father, who moved to the US in the 1960s, told the Maariv daily.

The newspaper headlined the article: "Our man in the White House." [53]

Book Review: Zionism, Militarism, and the Decline of US Power, by James Petras, Clarity Press, 2008.

Much of the reason why protestors and revolutionaries fail to get the changes they want enacted is because they fail to identify and attack the true source of the problem, which is why it’s so important to attack the root of the issue and not the symptoms. The real reason why America has become a militaristic empire declaring war upon countries throughout the Middle East and Africa is not really for oil, or even for the military industrial complex, it’s for Israel. Zionism is the force behind the hijacking of American foreign policy that now so blatantly serves Israel's interests at the expense of America, and the rest of the world.

Much of the reason American’s have accepted this development, when they are even aware of it, is simply because it hasn’t charged an onerous price. Without public scrutiny and open debate the issue of Israeli control of American government policy has rapidly expanded and now even manipulates domestic policies as well. Yet as the price for support of Israel grows so does public criticism and organized resistance to Zionism. Author and Professor James Petras writes an eye-opening book concerning the critical problem of Zionism and the way that it has joined with America’s military power to start wars and extort resources around the world, and what we can do to rectify this appalling situation.

Petras has found that the Israel Lobby is not just a political influence group like any other in the US, it’s much more elaborate, far exceeding the power of Big Oil and even then Military Industrial Complex; so, Petras has given it the term Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC).

Mearsheimer and Walt describe the pro-Israel power configuration as a lobby, just like any other US lobby', a 'loose collection of individuals and groups' outside of government, acting on behalf of Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth. The power of Israel in the United States is manifested through a multiplicity of highly organized, well-financed and centrally-directed structures throughout the United States. The ZPC include several score political action committees, many with innocuous names which disguise their pro-Israel agenda, at least a dozen propaganda mills ('think tanks') employing scores of former highly connected top policymakers mostly in Washington and on the East Coast, and the 52 major American Jewish organizations grouped under the umbrella listing 'Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations' (CPMAJO). AIPAC and other national organizations (the Anti-Defamation League [ADL], and the American Jewish Committee [AJC], etc ) are important influences at the national Executive-Congressional lobbying levels. But equally or even more important in censoring and purging critics, controlling local media and shaping opinion throughout cities, towns and villages are the local Jewish community federations and organizations which browbeat local cultural programmers, editors, bookstores, universities, churches and civic groups to deny public platforms to speakers, writers, artists, religious spokespeople, and other public figures critical of Israel and its Zionist disciples. [p. 29-30]

An obvious question emerges here, why do so many people in positions of public influence cover for Israel’s machinations?

The exonerators of Israel are not homogeneous in their political background or goals. Some liberals, fearful of arousing a powerful Zionist backlash, seek to whitewash Israel's lobby operatives in the US as a way of gaining sympathy among pro-Israel Congressional Democrats and financial backing from wealthy Jewish liberals critical of the Iraq war. Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, following the new Israeli script, declared during a visit to Tel Aviv in 2006 that the 'the US invaded the wrong country!' [p. 21]

The Democratic Party has operated as a major Trojan Horse for anti-war dissent in the United States. Most peace groups have adopted the strategy of getting the Democrats elected to office rather than protesting the ongoing wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the world. The Democrats are just as slavish in their devotion to Israel as the Republicans, so nothing changes because Israel wants the wars, and the anti-war movement is effectively killed – all due to the lack of anyone willing to speak out and identify the true cause of the greater problem!

The price of the 'exonerate Israel' strategy is to overlook the powerful role that the Israel First lobby is playing in bringing us to a new war with Iran as part of a sequence of invasions promoted by Israeli strategists. These clever ploys are backfiring—at least as it relates to any efforts to promote peace. Playing to the prejudices of the liberal pro-Israel crowd in the Democratic Party has led to the current absence of any significant anti-war movement against the Zionist-led propaganda and war-mongering blitz against Iran. [p. 21-22]

So to deflect attention away from Israel ‘Big Oil’ gets all the blame, even though the oil companies have not been beneficiaries of the wars, nor did they lobby to start them!

There is a convenient coincidence of Israeli hawks and US doves in denouncing Big Oil, which is not such a coincidence if we remember that what passes for the US peace movement is inordinately influenced by prominent left Zionists, who combine criticism of 'Bush's war' with exclusion of any mention of Israel or criticism of the war mongering Zionist lobby. Before, during and after the AIPAC conference in Washington several thousand of its zealots blitzed the offices of Congress members and Senators. More than half the Congress members and practically every Senator were browbeaten in over 500 meetings in favor of Israel's war agenda against Iran. [p. 154]

In the second half of the book James Petras examines imperialist strategies with some interesting historical examples. The attacks of September 11 really were another ‘Pearl Harbor’ – but not in the way that authorities would like us to think of! Recall the original Pearl Harbor attack in 1941:

Robert Stinnet, in his brilliantly documented study, Day of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor, demonstrates that Roosevelt provoked the war with Japan by deliberately following an eight-step program of harassment and embargo against Japan developed by Lt. Commander Arthur H. McCollum, head of the Far East desk of the Office of Naval Intelligence. He provides systematic documentation of US cables tracking the Japanese fleet to Pearl Harbor, clearly demonstrating that FDR knew in advance of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, following the Japanese fleet virtually every step of the way. Even more damaging, Stinnett reveals that Admiral H.E. Kimmel, in charge of the defense of Pearl Harbor, was systematically excluded from receiving critical intelligence reports on the approaching movements of the Japanese fleet, thus preventing the defense of the US base. The 'sneak' attack by the Japanese, which caused the death of over three thousand American service men and the destruction of scores of ships and planes, successfully 'provoked' the war FDR had wanted. In the run-up to the Japanese attack, President Roosevelt had ordered the implementation of Naval Intelligence's October 1940 memorandum, authored by McCollum, for eight specific measures, which amounted to acts of war, including an economic embargo of Japan, the shipment of arms to Japan's adversaries, the prevention of Tokyo securing strategic raw materials essential for its economy and the denial of port access, thus provoking a military confrontation. [p. 87]

The PNAC agenda could not advance without a catastrophic 'Pearl Harbor' type of event, as US military-driven empire builders, Israelis and US Zionist policymakers recognized early on. The deliberate refusal by the White House and its subordinate 16 intelligence agencies and the Justice Department to follow up precise reports of terrorist entry, training, financing and action plans was a case of deliberate 'negligence'. The purpose was to allow the attack to take place and then to immediately launch the biggest wave of military invasions and state terrorist activities since the end of the Indochina War.

Israel, which had identified and kept close surveillance over the terrorists, insured that the action would proceed without any interruption. During the 9/11 attacks, its agents even had the presumption to video and photograph the exploding towers, while dancing in wild celebration, anticipating Washington's move toward Israel's militarist Middle East strategy. [p. 96]

Zionism, Militarism, and the Decline of US Power is a great book, and although the first part jumps around too much and could use some better editing, the insights more than compensate for the minor flaws. 07.02.09

Open Season for Treason, and other Congressional Misdemeanors

The Larry Franklin spy case just keeps getting more and more explosive. The latest revelations are truly incredible, here’s what we know so far:

A US citizen named Larry Franklin, who worked in the Office of Special Plans (OSP) under the authority of Douglas Feith, gave highly-classified information about Iran to Israeli agents operating under cover of AIPAC. This espionage was discovered and an investigation was launched, then Franklin admitted guilt in 2005 and was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison in 2006. The two Israeli agents that Franklin gave the secrets to, Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weismann, are now under investigation as well. Keep in mind that Israel emphatically denies that they conduct espionage inside or against the United States.

In the process of collecting information for a case against the AIPAC foreign agents the National Security Agency (NSA), using a legally acquired warrant, intercepted Jewish Congresswoman Jane Harman (Democrat) of California making a deal with suspected Israeli spies working for AIPAC. Harman was heard promising to use her influence on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who was in charge of the Justice Department, to downgrade or block the legal prosecution case against Rosen and Weismann.

In return the AIPAC agents promised that billionaire Zionist media mogul Haim Saban would withhold his campaign donations to Representative Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) of California unless she selected Harman as head of the House Intelligence Committee in charge of oversight for all the intelligence and espionage activity of the entire United States. She then hangs up the phone after telling the AIPAC side “This conversation doesn’t exist.” As a consequence of this blatant act of, what can only be described as treason, an investigation into Harman was launched as well.

And if that wasn’t enough, it gets even better!

The influence that Harman had over the Attorney General was her support to get the New York Times to drop an explosive article revealing the NSA program for wiretapping without warrants on the eve of the 2004 elections.

Bill Keller, the executive editor of The Times, said in a statement Monday that Ms. Harman called Philip Taubman, then the Washington bureau chief of The Times, in October or November of 2004. Mr. Keller said she spoke to Mr. Taubman — apparently at the request of Gen. Michael V. Hayden, then the N.S.A. director — and urged that The Times not publish the article. [57]

If the New York Times had published the article on illegal NSA spying it could have tipped the Presidential election towards the Democrats. In any case, the pressure was successful and the NYT sat on the story for a year, eventually printing it and creating a storm of anger. Ironically, even though she was a Democrat Harman publically defended the warrantless wiretap program, and was later caught by the NSA! In return for her support the Bush administration intervened and stopped the investigation of her apparently treasonous actions. Then director of national intelligence John D, Negroponte, former NSA director at the time Michael Hayden, and then CIA director Porter Goss, all opposed the investigation into Harman, and so it ended. [58]

This sordid episode, bound to grow even more outrageous if further details emerge, is a perfect emblem of the sad state of contemporary America. Here we have a billionaire Jewish media boss using his riches to manipulate the political process in conjunction with a powerful lobbyist and influence group (AIPAC) being run by, and for, the interests of a foreign government (Israel)! And even more outrageous, we have a Congressional representative in office making deals with all of them forming a text-book case of treason that, so far, shows no signs of being punished! And this is just the rare instance where these events have been publicized. One can only imagine what else is occurring on a daily basis behind the scenes. 24.04.09

Update, May 2009

The AIPAC spy case against Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman has been dropped. The official excuse is that pre-trial court rulings have made the case unwinnable for the prosecution, and based on past precedent it is much easier to prosecute those passing secrets than those receiving secrets. Nonetheless, if this cases had gone to court it would have made many powerful people very nervous - Representative Harman being just one, and it’s not difficult to discern that massive political pressure is the real reason it won’t go to trial. 03.05.09

References

Anyone with sufficient time and inclination can recreate the NEO-CONnections chart and other information about the neo-cons  shown above using these public sources or others:

1. Spy probe scans neo-cons' Israel ties, By Jim Lobe, IPS, September 2, 2004.

2. FBI copies Israel lobbyist's computer drive, By Jerry Seper, Washington Times, September 3, 2004.

3. ADL calls for probe of Pentagon `mole' leak, By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz September 2, 2004.

4. A molehill without a mole, By Jonathon Ariel, Maariv International, August 31, 2004

5. The Lie Factory, by Robert Dreyfuss and Jason Vest, MotherJones.com, Jan./Feb. 2004.

6. Traitorous 'Conservatives' Israeli spies in Pentagon..., By Justin Raimondo, September 1, 2004.

7. Israel Says It Has No Need to Spy on U.S., Reuters, August 30, 2004.

8. Serving Two Flags - The Bush Neo-Cons and Israel, By Stephen Green, September 3, 2004.

9. And Now A Mole?, By Michael Isikoff And Mark Hosenball, Newsweek, September 2004.

10. Bush makes a foxy pick, by Jim Lobe, Asia Times Online, March 9, 2005.

11. Wolfowitz Nominated to Be Next World Bank President (Update6), by Julie Ziegler and Simon Kennedy, Bloomberg News, March 16, 2005.

12. Staff Accuses World Bank of 'Cooking the Books', by Emad Mekay, IPS,  March 14, 2005.

13. A subterranean power struggle in Washington, By Patrick Martin, World Socialist Web Site, May 10, 2005

14. Exit Strategy: Civil War, by Pepe Escobar, Asia Times Online, June 10, 2005.

15. Uncovered: The War on Iraq , a film by Robert Greenwald, 2004 DVD.

16. Pentagon Analyst Pleads Guilty in Spy Case, by Mathew Barakat, AP, October 5, 2005.

17. Scandal sours Saudi arms deal, by David Isenberg, Asia Times Online, October 6, 2005.

18. Cheney Circles the Wagons, by Jim Lobe, Asia Times Online, November 3, 2005.

19. Neo-con cabal blocked 2003 nuclear talks, by Gareth Porter, Asia Times Online, March 30, 2006.

20. Pentagon Steps Up Intelligence Efforts Inside U.S. Borders, by Robert Block and Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2006.

21. Faculty's Chilly Welcome for Ex-Pentagon Official, by Jason DeParle, New York Times, May 25, 2006.

22. The New American Century: Rest in peace, by Jim Lobe, IPS via ATOL, June 14, 2006.

23. US: Danger, danger everywhere, by Tom Barry, ATOL, June 23, 2006.

24. Profile: Frank Gaffney, Right Web, 2006.

25. Hunting monsters in Jerusalem, by Tom Barry, ATOL, August 26, 2006.

26. U.S. Neo-Cons Call For Japanese Nukes, Regime Change, by Jim Lobe, IPS October 11, 2006.

27. In World Bank Role, Wolfowitz Keeps Up Battle to Reshape Iraq, By Greg Hitt, Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2006.

28. The rise and decline of the neo-cons, by Jim Lobe and Michael Flynn , ATOL, November 22, 2006.

29. A New House Democrat With an Insiders’ View of Iraq, by James Risen, NYT, November 28, 2006.

30. Now What? by Alexander Cockburn, The Nation, December 4, 2006 issue.

31. White House Wages War of Words Over 'Civil' Term, by Peter Baker, Washington Post, November 30, 2006.

32. War cost has hidden tolls, by Kevin G. Hall and Dave Montgomery, Miami Herald, December 6, 2006.

33. U.S. considers 35,000 more troops for Iraq, by John F. Burns, IHT, December 15, 2006.

34. 'Unanswered questions' cloud decisions on Iraq, by Rowan Scarborough, Washington Times, December 18, 2006.

35. How Syria dodged a neo-con bullet, by Jim Lobe, Asia Times, December 20, 2006.

36. How Neocon Shiite Strategy Led to Sectarian War, by Gareth Porter, IPS, February 6, 2007.

37. Rice Denies Seeing Iranian Proposal in '03, by Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, February 8, 2007.

38. Vice President's Remarks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee 2007 Policy Conference, White House Press Office, March 12, 2007.

39. US ally Musharraf in a tangle over Iran, by M K Bhadrakumar, ATOL, March 7, 2007.

40. Christians, targeted and suffering, flee Iraq, by Zaid Sabah and Rick Jervis, USA Today, March 23, 2007.

41. [Iran] The Religious Right's New Bugbear, by Bill Berkowitz, IPS, March 14, 2007.

42. Sun-rise in New York, by Scott Sherman, The Nation, April 18, 2007.

43. Document details 'US' plan to sink Hamas, by Mark Perry and Paul Woodward, Asia Times, May 16, 2007.

44. Neoconned Again, by John Nichols, The Nation, June 7, 2007.

45. Bolton: I'm 'very worried' for Israel, by David Horovitz, Jerusalem Post, June 27, 2007.

46. Israel to Get $30 Billion in Military Aid From U.S., by Steven Erlanger, New York Times, August 17, 2007.

47. Rudy's Bird of Prey, by Ari Berman, The Nation, October 11, 2007.

48. Freedom's Watch targeting Iran, by Bill Berkowitz, Media Transparency, October 17, 2007.

49. End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate, by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, p. 190, 2007.

50. Betting on Red, by Peter Stone, Mother Jones magazine, January/February 2008 issue.

51. Billions: The Politics of Influence in the United States, China and Israel, by Peter Dale Scott and Connie Bruck, Japan Focus, July 25, 2008.

52. The Politics of Anti-Semitism, edited by Andrew Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, CounterPunch and AK Press, 2003.

53. Obama's choice for chief of staff puts 'Israel's man in White House', Agence France Presse (AFP) via Daily Star (Lebanon), November 07, 2008.

54. Neo-cons still preparing for Iran attack, by Robert Dreyfuss, Asia Times, December 4, 2008.

55. Zionism, Militarism, and the Decline of US Power, by James Petras, Clarity Press, 2008, pg. 102-103.

56. Former Israeli spy linked to Pentagon leak, by Eli Lake, Washington Times, March 17, 2009.

57. Lawmaker Is Said to Have Agreed to Aid Lobbyist, by Neil A. Lewis and Mark Mazzetti New York Times, April 20, 2009.

58. Sources: Wiretap Recorded Rep. Harman Promising to Intervene for AIPAC, by Jeff Stein, Congressional Quarterly, April 19, 2009.

News

• Franklin's sentence drastically reduced in AIPAC spy case 12.06.09

• Neocons push for attack on 'weak' Iran that can't retaliate 02.07.08

• Top Bush aides directed torture from the White House 12.04.08

• US evangelist gives $6 million to Israel 04.06.08

• Wolfowitz Returns To Bush Administration As WMD Adviser 03.12.07

• Neo-con devises plan to seize Pakistan's nuclear weapons 01.12.07

• Elliott Abrams and Censoring the U.S. role in Gaza’s civil war 09.07

• Government funded broadcasting hijacked by Neo-cons 26.06.07

• Neo-cons accused of pushing Taiwan to declare independence, trigger war 04.06.07

• Angry Wolfowitz in four-letter tirade 15.05.07

• Wolfowitz Accused of Nepotism at World Bank 05.04.07

• "A Great Little Racket": The Neocon Media Machine 20.03.07

• Palestinian Civil War: U.S. Backing for Fatah Stirs New Conflict 02.02.07

• China's war machine boosted by critical technological aid from Israel 23.01.07

• Prominent neo-con responsible for gun deals fomenting Palestinian civil conflict 08.01.07

• Israel lobby influence means Democrats to support war on Iran as well as Iraq 14.12.06

• Neo-con plan to kill OPEC and privatize Iraq's oil goes bust 17.05.06

• Top White House posts go to Jews 25.04.06

• The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy 13.03.06

• Lewis Libby: Indictment rocks Bush administration, 28.10.05

• Franklin acted as inside source for indicted Israeli lobbyists, 08.08.05

• Former AIPAC employees charged with conspiracy to pass secrets, 04.08.05

• Pentagon analyst [Larry Franklin] charged over data leaks 06.05.05

• Bad for you, bad for the world: 'crazies' back in power

• Economist tallies swelling cost of Israel to US CS Monitor, 09.12.02

Resources

• Media Transparency - reveals neo-con funding and associations

• Right Web  - NeoCon profiles, news, research, more

• If American's Knew  -  the inconvenient facts and statistics on Israel/Palestine

• Holology: Understanding America's War on Iraq - Oil, Dollars and Israel

• Holology: Next Stop for the Neo-Con Pain-Train: Iran

• Project for the New American Century