By Maidhc Ó Cathail
The Passionate Attachment
September 25, 2012
Last Friday, during question time at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy policy forum luncheon
on “How to Build US-Israeli Coordination on Preventing an Iranian
Nuclear Breakout,” the director of research at the pro-Israel think tank
hinted that a Pearl Harbor-type attack might be necessary to get the
United States to go to war against the Islamic Republic.
“I frankly think that crisis initiation is really tough,” said
Patrick Clawson, who also heads the Washington Institute’s Iran Security
Initiative, in response to a question about what would happen if
negotiations with Tehran fail. “And it’s very hard for me to see how the
United States … uh … President can get us to war with Iran.”
As a consequence, Clawson said he was led to conclude that “the
traditional way [that] America gets to war is what would be best for US
interests.”
Intriguingly, he went on to recount a series of controversial
incidents in American history — the attack on Pearl Harbor, the sinking
of the Lusitania, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and the blowing up of the
USS Maine — that US presidents “had to wait for” before taking America
to war.
“And may I point out that Mr. Lincoln did not feel he could call out
the federal army until Fort Sumter was attacked,” Clawson continued,
“which is why he ordered the commander at Fort Sumter to do exactly that
thing which the South Carolinians had said would cause an attack.”
“So, if in fact the Iranians aren’t going to compromise,” the Israel
lobbyist concluded with a smirk on his face, “it would be best if
somebody else started the war.”
Note: Clawson begins his answer around the 1 hour 15 minute mark.
Update: It’s worth noting that op-ed
in the Jerusalem Post magazine earlier this year raised the possibility
of just such an attack. In a piece entitled “The looming war with
Iran,” Avi Perry, who served as an intelligence expert for the Israeli
government, confidently predicted:
Iran, just like Nazi Germany in the 1940s, will take the
initiative and “help” the US president and the American public make up
their mind by making the first move, by attacking a US aircraft carrier
in the Persian Gulf.
The Iranian attack on an American military vessel will serve as a
justification and a pretext for a retaliatory move by the US military
against the Iranian regime. The target would not be Iran’s nuclear
facilities. The US would retaliate by attacking Iran’s navy, their
military installations, missile silos, airfields. The US would target
Iran’s ability to retaliate, to close down the Strait of Hormuz. The US
would then follow by targeting the regime itself.
Elimination of Iran’s nuclear facilities? Yes. This part would turn
out to be the final act, the grand finale. It might have been the major
target, had the US initiated the attack. However, under this “Pearl
Harbor” scenario, in which Iran had launched a “surprise” attack on the
US navy, the US would have the perfect rationalization to finish them
off, to put an end to this ugly game.
Unlike the latest attempt at an Iranian revolution, this time the US
would not shy away, rather, it would go public, openly calling for the
Iranian people to join in with the US in working to overthrow the
corrupt Islamic fundamentalist regime. The Iranian people would respond
in numbers.
Spring would reemerge, and the Iranian people would join the rest of
the Middle East – this time with the direct support of the US.
The greatest irony behind this most significant episode in 2012 is
that the Iranian regime would affect their own demise. Attacking the US
navy in the open seas is equivalent to carrying out a suicide bombing.
When the Bush-Cheney
administration was in power, Dick Cheney tried hard to find an
excuse for military attacks on Iran. After all, according to Gen.
Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO from 1997
to 2000, Cheney and other hawks had
plans for attacking and destroying seven countries in
the Middle East and North Africa over five years in order to
transform them into U.S. client states, and he wanted to
“accomplish” as much as possible before leaving office.
Various options were considered. As reported
by Seymour Hersh, in late 2007 the Bush-Cheney
administration received congressional approval for its request for
$400 million to launch major covert operations against Iran, and a
presidential finding signed by Bush authorized a secret program for
destabilizing Iran by supporting puppet groups purporting to
represent the Iranian Arabs living in the oil province of Khuzestan,
the Baluchi people, and other
separatist “organizations.” Aside from
terrorist operations that killed many innocent Iranians, the program
failed. Other venues were also tried, ranging from fabrications
about Iran’s alleged interference in Iraq to huge
shows of force in the Persian Gulf and a campaign of
lies
and exaggerations.
Another option that
was considered was provoking the Iranians to attack the U.S. forces,
hence justifying counterattacks by the U.S. Given the long history
of the attacks by the U.S. Navy on Iranian ships and
offshore oil installations in the Persian Gulf, and the destruction
by the U.S. Navy of the Iranian
passenger jet in July 1988 that killed 290 people,
creating an “incident”
in the Persian Gulf to justify the attacks seemed only “natural.”
Then, in January 2008 five Iranian patrol boats supposedly made
aggressive moves toward three U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Bush called the incident “provocative” and “dangerous,”
and it appeared momentarily that Cheney’s wish had been
realized. But less than a week later the Pentagon acknowledged that
it could not positively identify the Iranian boats as the source of
the threatening radio transmission that the press had initially
reported coming from the boats. In fact, it had come from a
prankster.
Hersh also revealed
that in 2008 some administration officials met in Cheney’s
office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. As Hersh
explained, “There was a dozen ideas proffered about how
to trigger a war. The one that interested me the most was why don’t
we build — we in our shipyard — build four or five boats that look
like Iranian PT [patrol] boats. Put Navy SEALs on them with a lot of
arms. And next time one of our boats goes to the Strait of Hormuz,
start a shoot-up ….It was rejected because you
can’t have Americans killing Americans.” But, the War
Party learned a lesson: To gain public support for attacking Iran,
create the “right” incident.
Four
years later, the idea is surfacing again, with the War Party and the Israel
lobby calling for an “Iran
Pearl Harbor.” Although
under Yukiya
Amano, the politicized
International Atomic Energy Agency has been highly critical of Iran,
it still reports consistently that it has found no evidence that Iran
has diverted its enriched uranium to a non-peaceful purpose and, in
fact, Iran has recently diverted it topeacefulpurposes — fabricating fuel rods for the Tehran Research Reactor that
produces medical isotopes for 850,000 Iranian patients annually.
Senior Obama administration officials have also emphasized over the
past several months that Iran is not making nuclear weapons and has
not even made the political decision to move forward toward building
them. Over the past several years there have been several analyses
arguing that the U.S. can
live with an Iran armed with
nuclear weapons, and that such an Iran will
even be a stabilizing factor in
the Middle East.
Thus,
the War Party’s hope for “justification” for war
with Iran based on its nuclear program has been quashed, at least for
now. It has therefore revived the idea of creating the “right
incident” for provoking a war with Iran and gaining the
public’s support for it too.
One leading advocate of
this has been Patrick Clawson, deputy director of research at
the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the research arm
of AIPAC. Although his recent suggestion for
provoking a war with Iran (see below) attracted wide attention, he
has been virulently anti-Iran for at least a decade, and he has never
shied away from promoting attacks or provocative acts against Iran. In a conference on Iran’s
nuclear program in November 2004 at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center in Washington, Clawson declared,
Look, if we could
find a way in which we could introduce computer viruses which caused
the complete shutdown of the Bushehr system before it became
operational, that would be delightful.
If we could find
ways in which these very complicated centrifuges, which are spinning
at such high speeds, could develop stability problems and fly apart,
and the cascade [of the centrifuges] could be
destroyed, I think that would be delightful.
And, indeed, if we
could find a way to create an industrial accident of the scale of
the Three Mile Island which did not cause a single fatality, which
would prevent Bushehr from becoming operational, I think that
would also be very helpful.
If we could find
ways to bring about industrial accidents, that offer good prospects
of not endangering human life, but may unfortunately cause some
collateral damage, then that’s a plan that we have to consider.
Note the outrageous
claim that the Three Mile Island nuclear accident did not cause any
fatality, a claim that, as I
pointed out then, had already been totally
discredited.
A
recent study indicated that an attack on four of
Iran’s nuclear sites would kill up to 85,000 Iranians. But
Clawson is oblivious to such facts.
Several months ago in
a debate on al-Jazeera TV regarding the assassination of Iranian
nuclear scientists, Clawson supported targeted
assassination — a “polite” name for
state-sponsored terrorism — which both Israel and the U.S. have been
using, calling it “a valid instrument of war” and
declaring,
If we were going to
say that everyone that is involved in targeted assassination is
responsible as a terrorist, then Mr. Obama would quickly be thrown
in jail, because the United States has killed over 1000 people with
its targeted assassination program with its drones, targeted
assassinations that have included American citizens. So, the idea
that targeted assassination is an instrument of war is something
that the U.S. has well accepted. So, the idea that Israel might use
targeted assassination as an instrument of war — we may not like it,
we may disapprove of it, we may think that it is a bad idea for
Israel to do that — but it is a valid instrument of war.
Clawson did not
explain why, if his claim is true, the War Party constantly moans about Iran committing terrorism, calls
for “holding Iran accountable,” and
refers
to Iran as the “leading sponsor of terror.”
Terrorism is a valid instrument of war only for one side?
Then Avi Perry, a
former Israeli intelligence officer, opined
that a “Pearl Harbor-style Iranian attack”
on an American warship in the Persian Gulf would provide the pretext
for the U.S. to launch all-out warfare against Iran. He did not
explain why Iran would want to stage such an attack, expecting a
fierce counterattack by the U.S. Perry was implicitly suggesting
staging such an attack on behalf of Iranians, the way
Cheney wanted it.
Clawson got Perry’s
message. In September in a WINEP policy forum luncheon on “How
to Build U.S.-Israeli Coordination on Preventing an Iranian Nuclear
Breakout,” Clawson lamented, “I frankly think that crisis initiation
[with Iran] is really tough,” and that, “It’s very
hard for me to see how the United States — [the] president can
get us to war with Iran.” After reciting a number of
historical incidents that U.S. was able to use to justify going to
war, such as the Pearl Harbor attack and the Gulf of Tonkin
incident, Clawson said, “So, if in fact the Iranians aren’t
going to compromise, it would be best if somebody else started the
war [for them],” and, “Look people, Iranian submarines
periodically go down. Then, one day one of them might not come up.
Who would know why? We could do a variety of things [to provoke
Iranians], if we wish to increase the pressure,” and, “We
are in the game of using covert means against the Iranians, we could
get nastier at that.” In effect, Clawson, who should be forced
to register as a lobbyist for Israel, is calling for fabricating a
reason to attack Iran.
The War Party and its
Israeli allies will do what they can to provoke a war with Iran over
its nonexistent nuclear weapons program. Only public vigilance can
prevent them from taking us to such an unjustified and
criminal war.
• Dr. Patrick Clawson admits ‘false-flag’ operations have become the American way
By Mark Anderson
A recent speech by a prominent think-tankwarmonger strongly suggests the restlessforeign policy community disdains peacewith Iran and is angling for a “false-flag” event to provoke a war with a nationthat has done nothing to theUnited States.
On the Internet, policy expertDr. Patrick Clawson casts asidethe dry narrative that characterizestypical meetings of major foreign policy “advisory” organizations.As if to throw cold water onhis stuffy listeners at a meeting of the stridentlypro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), Clawson openly argues for false-flag tacticsto spark a war with Iran—which fits neatly into the “clash of civilizations” world crusade that mostwell-connected policy planners endlessly promote.
“We can do a variety of things if we
wish to increase the pressure. I’m not advocating that,” Clawson
said—not “advocating” but still “suggesting” an illegal false-flag
strategy, while speaking in a hurried, almost hyper tone. “But I’m just
suggesting that this is not an either-or proposition—that . . .
sanctions have to succeed or other things [have to succeed]. We are in
the game of using covert means against the Iranians. We could get
nastier at that.”
While also saying, “I frankly think that
crisis-initiation is really tough”—note the words “crisis
initiation”—Clawson added, “and it’s very hard for me to see how the
U.S. president can get us to war with Iran—which leads me to conclude
that if in fact compromise is not coming, then the traditional way
America gets to war is what would be best for U.S. interests.” That
“traditional way,” he said in a barely cryptic manner, is on the basis
of terrible “incidents” that catapult a reluctant nation into all-out
war.
“Some people might think that Mr.
Roosevelt wanted to get us into World War II . . . and you may recall we
had to wait for Pearl Harbor,” Clawson said. “Some people might think
Woodrow Wilson wanted to get us into WWI, [and] you might recall he had
to wait for the Lusitania episode. Some people might think Mr. [Lyndon]
Johnson wanted to send troops to Vietnam; you may recall he had to wait
for the Gulf of Tonkin episode.”
Clawson added: “We didn’t go to war with
Spain until the Maine exploded.” He even suggested the alleged Southern
attack on Fort Sumter to spark the Civil War was engineered by the
North and blamed on the Confederates.
Especially notable was his comment: “So
if in fact the Iranians aren’t going to compromise, it would be best if
somebody else started the war . . . . [W]e could step up the pressure. I
mean, look, people, Iranian submarines periodically go down. Someday
one of them might not come up. Who would know why?”
And this comes as a presidential
election nears which, by the time some read this, could have put a GOP
warmonger in the White House, while the corporate media continue
alleging Iran is hell bent to build “the bomb” and that Iran can only
“negotiate” by ending its nuclear energy program altogether, even if
it’s for peaceful purposes. Anything less than that, most U.S. pundits
intone, is belligerence deserving of a U.S. and Israeli military strike.
That was the exact framework of CNN’s intermittent analysis during the
last debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, when foreign
policy was the main topic.
Especially notable was that Clawson
spoke of these past events as if it’s self-evident that they were all
false-flag, or trumped up, catastrophes to intentionally bring about
American involvement in war. Largely gone was the conventional
pretense—pushed for countless decades in schools, colleges and the
media—that such events were more or less randomized acts of violence
carried out only by the culprits named in mainstream history books.
The real, little-known history of
intrigue, deception and conspiracy—where, for example, a nation like the
U.S. provoked Japan into attacking Pearl Harbor and helped ensure the
tragic, deadly event had maximum impact—including the needless murder of
2,459 men, women and children, as well as the loss of two battleships
and 169 aircraft.
Clawson’s background suggests his words
carry tragic weight. He directs the Iran Security Initiative. Moreover,
he is “widely consulted as an analyst and media commentator [and] . . .
is the author or editor of 18 books or studies on Iran,” WINEP’s website
notes. “He has also testified before congressional committees more than
20 times and has served as an expert witness in more than 30 federal
cases against Iran. Prior to joining [WINEP] he was a senior research
professor at the National Defense University’s Institute for National
Strategic Studies, a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank, and a research scholar at the Foreign Policy
Research Institute.”
Mark Anderson is AFP’s roving editor. Listen to Mark’s weekly radio show and email him at truthhound2@yahoo.com.
Many who have now seen creepy event video clips featuring
Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) Research Director
Patrick Clawson listing “crisis initiation” pretexts such as the Gulf of
Tonkin phantom torpedo attacks, or false blame for the sinking of the
USS Maine, felt it was a subtle call for false flag attacks that would
drag a reluctant United States into war with Iran. The full video of
the think tank’s event is well worth watching. Dennis Ross struggles
mightily to answer reporter Barbara Slavin’s simple question into how
WINEP will move beyond diplomatic “red lines” against Iran when polls
reveal the majority of Americans have now grown tired of costly elective
wars in the Middle East. At one point former American Israel Public
Affairs Committee lobbyist Steven J. Rosen’s seemingly disembodied head
eerily floats across the screen.
Those seeking background information about WINEP on its official website are informed that
WINEP was founded in 1985 by a small group of visionary Americans
committed to advancing U. S. interests in the Middle East. Like much of
the website’s content, this information isn’t actually true. WINEP was
actually incorporated during an espionage investigation crisis that
enveloped AIPAC in 1984. The spin-off is eerily reminiscent of AIPAC’s
own crisis-driven formation two decades earlier as the Senate struck
back against the same types of false flag incitement now emanating from
WINEP.
Between 1982 and 1985
English/Australian immigrant to America Martin Indyk busily served as
deputy research director at AIPAC. Under Indyk’s reign, AIPAC pumped out
a steady flow of lobbying booklets arguing for ever greater U.S.
military support to Israel such as “The Strategic Value of Israel”
(1982), “Israel and the U.S. Air Force” (1983), “Israel and the U.S.
Navy” (1983), “Israeli Medical Support for U.S. Armed Forces” (1983) and
“U.S. Procurement of Israeli Defense Goods and Services” (1984).
Securing duty-free Israeli access to the entire U.S. economy was the
AIPAC research division’s most important project in 1984. But trade
negotiations were going badly at the beginning of 1984. Undercutting
the arguments of
today’s pundits who opine that U.S. industry is the eager driver of
ever more dangerously entangling economic and military ties, the
majority of U.S. companies providing formal inputdidn’t want any special trade preferences granted to Israel, an economy then dominated by state-run industries. Monsanto even suggested that
if the U.S was even going to bother with trade negotiations to boost
volumes through comparative advantage, it should do so with a worthwhile
economic partner such as Taiwan, Hong Kong or Japan.
Help soon arrived in the form of Israeli Minister of Economics Dan Halpern. Halpern provided AIPAC a stolen copy (PDF)
of a secret International Trade Commission report outlining the precise
objections supported by arguments using internal industry and secret
market data provided in confidence to the US government by American
companies opposed to Israeli concessions. It was an indispensible
resource for AIPAC’s counter-lobbying and public relations.
Unfortunately, by August 3, 1984 theWashington Post broke the news that the FBI was investigating how
AIPAC “obtained a copy of a classified document that spells out the
American negotiating strategy in trade talks with Israel…” By November
1, 1984 the U.S. Bromine Alliance was in urgent talks with the
International Trade Commission Chairwoman, publicly demanding to know
how much of their industry’s secret trade and market data had been
leaked to AIPAC and Israel’s state-run producer. Perhaps ominously for
Indyk and other staffers, an August 13, 1984 FBI report stated “files
contain an unsubstantiated allegation that a member of the Israeli
Intelligence Service was a staff member of AIPAC…”
The very same month – on November 14, 1984 – the Washington Institute for Near East Policy was incorporated in Washington D.C. (PDF)
WINEP was formed not by “prominent individuals” but Martin Indyk’s wife
Jill along with Marilyn Edeson and Elizabeth Chotin according to
original articles of incorporation obtained from the D.C. Department of
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. As the FBI’s espionage and
theft-of-government-policy dragnet tightened around AIPAC during the “Year of the Spy” spurred by revelations of Jonathan Pollard’s espionage bonanza against the Defense Intelligence Agency,
Martin Indyk jumped the burning AIPAC ship and quietly regrouped
research production within WINEP. By 1986 WINEP was doing public
relations work for the disastrous Lavi jet fighter program while
providing a Washington perch for a visiting Shimon Peres to chastise
Soviet immigration policy. Thwarted by Israeli diplomatic immunity
claims, the FBI quietly shut down its investigation in 1987 after
learning much about AIPAC and Israeli officials’ various roles in
duplicating and handling classified economic documents – all to the
detriment of democratic process in the US.
Although
WINEP’s founding myth is that its “scholars” simply wanted to do
serious research independent of AIPAC (while funded by AIPAC’s major
donors), history indicates that survivability is a more compelling
reason for its quiet launch in November of 1984. In a worse-case
scenario, espionage or theft of government property indictments would
have likely destroyed either AIPAC or WINEP – but not both. Splitting up
was the same survivalist strategy that led to the spinoff of AIPAC just
six weeks after its parent organization, the American Zionist Council,
was ordered to register as an Israeli foreign agent in 1962 – which
brings this latest Israel lobbying and covert action saga full-circle.
AIPAC’s parent was ordered to register as a foreign agent (destroying
it, though it took a few years) as a result of a Senate Foreign
Relations Committee investigation into the activities of foreign agents
in the U.S. and abroad. The key reason given for the investigation was
the Senate’s fear of foreign agents calling out for Israeli false flag
attacks to goad the U.S. into action against the broader national
interest. According to a declassified 1961 memo chartering
the Senate investigation “In recent years there has been an increasing
number of incidents involving attempts by foreign governments, or their
agents, to influence the conduct of American foreign policy by
techniques outside normal diplomatic channels…..there have been
occasions when representatives of other governments have been privately
accused of engaging in covert activities within the United States and
elsewhere, for the purpose of influencing United States Policy (the
Lavon Affair).” The “Lavon Affair”, mentioned twice in the memo, refers
to Israel’s “Operation Susannah” terror attacks on U.S. targets – not to
goad America into attacking Iran – but to keep a U.S. presence in a
neutral Suez Canal zone. No other country is mentioned as a false flag
“crisis initiator” in the declassified memo.
WINEP’s
sordid history and current calls for “crisis initiation” means it is
once again time for Americans to be extra vigilant and ready for action
against the movements and machinations of Israel’s most deceptive and
dangerous foreign agent duo.
Cette crise n'est pas la première à survenir entre Israël et
son puissant allié, mais la tactique de Nétanyahou consistant à passer
par-dessus le président américain en misant sur sa non-réélection, ou en
en appelant directement au Congrès ou à l'opinion américaine, est vue
comme contre-productive par beaucoup de responsables israéliens. Le chef
du parti centriste Kadima, Shaul Mofaz, a critiqué le premier ministre
pour son ingérence dans les affaires intérieures américaines, lui
demandant s'il cherchait à remplacer Obama plutôt qu'Ahmadinejad.
L'UANI
("United Against Nuclear Iran") est un paravent pour une clique
interventionniste israëlo-américainne. Les co-fondateurs de l'UANI:
Richard Holbrooke et Dennis Ross. Le PDG actuel: Mark Wallace. Le
président: Kristen Silverberg. Pas très perse comme noms... encore de la propagande. La guerre approche.
Says Obama was right to avoid fighting Iran
Sept 15, 2012 Lewistown Sentinel
To the editor:
God bless President Barack Obama for
standing up against Israel and the Jewish lobby and refusing to engage
the United States in a foolish and unnecessary war against Iran.
Americans are tired of fighting Israel's wars.
New
York money is not only playing a big part in 2008 presidential campaign
politics, but it's also a driving force behind the ongoing push by
pro-Israel fanatics at the highest levels of U.S. policy-making to force
the United States into a senseless war against Iran.
That's
the only conclusion that can be reached based on a survey of multiple
and wide-ranging news reports—circulating largely within publications in
Israel and in the American Jewish community—that have not been brought
to the attention of most Americans through the aegis of the so-called
"mainstream media."
It's almost as
if the major media in America is simply determined to prevent average
Americans from knowing that there are some people who believe that
Israel and its well-heeled backers in the United States are the primary
advocates for U.S. military action against Iran.
Perhaps
the most explosive comments in this regard came from Gen. Wesley Clark
(ret.), who was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination
in 2004 and who—until then, at least—was considered a likely candidate
for the Democratic nod in 2008. In an interview with columnist Arianna
Huffington, Clark said that he believed that the Bush administration is
determined to wage war against Iran. When asked why he believed this,
Clark said:
You
just have to read what's in the Israeli press. The Jewish community is
divided but there is so much pressure being channeled from the New York
money people to the office seekers.
In
short, Clark was saying that powerful New York-based financial
interests (those whom he called "the New York money people") are putting
pressure on political candidates and incumbent politicians to support a
war against Iran.
In fact, Clark
was correct. Jewish community newspapers have indeed noted, time and
again over the past several years, that many in the American Jewish
community and in Israel are urging U.S. military action against Iran.
And in Israel, of course, the bellicose talk of Israel itself attacking
Iran is commonly and publicly discussed with free abandon. All of this
is little known to the American public.
Despite
this, Clark came under fire and was accused of "anti- Semitism" or
otherwise charged with lending credence to what are dismissed as
"anti-Israel and anti- Jewish conspiracy theories," which—Clark's angry
critics said—suggest that Israel and its supporters are prime movers
behind the drive for war.
Because
Clark is the son of a Jewish father (although he didn't know that until
several years ago, having been raised by a Christian mother and a
Christian step-father who never told Clark of his Jewish heritage), some
Jewish leaders were pulling their punches, recognizing that it sounded
somewhat outlandish to call Clark "anti-Jewish." But the word is
definitely out in the Jewish community: "Clark can't be trusted."
On
Jan. 12,2007, the New York-based Jewish newspaper, Forward, carried a
front-page story zinging Clark for his remarks, noting that,"The phrase
New York money people' struck unpleasant chords with many pro- Israel
activists. They interpreted it as referring to the Jewish community,
which is known for its significant financial donations to political
candidates."
The fact that Jewish
leaders and publications were attacking Clark for using the term "New
York money people" was ironic, inasmuch as just the week before the
furor over Clark's comments, the same Forward, in its own Jan. 5, 2007
issue, had a front-page story announcing that pro-Israel stalwart U.S.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had lined up significant financial support
for his own 2008 presidential campaign from those whom—in its own
headline—Forward called "New York money men."
In
that revealing article, describing McCain's "heavily Jewish finance
committee," Forward announced that, in recent weeks, "McCain has been
signaling that an attention to Jewish issues will remain on his agenda
as his campaign moves forward." The Jewish newspaper did not mention
whether McCain will direct any attention to Christian, Muslim, Buddhist
or Hindu issues—or any other issues of concern to other religious
groups.
The article in Forward made
it clear that support from these "New York money men" is critical in the
forthcoming presidential campaign and that it could be pivotal, whether
that money stays in McCain's camp or ultimately goes elsewhere.
This
information could prove a surprise to grass-roots Republicans all over
America who think (apparently incorrectly) that they are the ones who
actually pick their party's presidential nominee.
In
addition, in light of the fact that Jewish groups attacked Clark for
suggesting that "New York money people" were pressuring political
candidates to push for war against Iran, it is interesting to note that
Forward pointed out that one of the key "New York money men" supporting
McCain cited the issue of Iran as one of the reasons why he was boosting
the Arizona senator.
Dr. Ben
Chouake, who is president of the pro-Israel NORPAC, a political action
committee, and a member of McCain's finance committee, was cited as
having remarked that Iran is "an immense threat to the United States,
and this is an immense threat to Israel," and that "the person that is
the most capable, most experienced, most courageous to defend our
country, would be John McCain."
Clearly,
the "New York money people" are playing a major part in the American
political arena, throwing their weight behind who gets elected— and who
doesn't—and whether or not America goes to war.
That's something that Americans need to know about, but they had better not count on the mass media to tell them about it.