Obama has begun to show signs of weakness and instability, his recent appeasement of the Israel lobby over the Freeman falala being an ominous example of his impotence. Will this limp-wristed and laissez-faire president be able to halt the headlong rush to a new war in the Middle East?
Speaking to a Jewish friend the other day about the Freeman debacle and its significance, I ventured to express my concern over the formidable power of the Israel lobby. “Where’s it all going to end?” I sighed. He fixed me with a baleful eye. “Iran!” he crowed. “That’s where it’s going to end!”
Make no mistake: Iran was what the Freeman imbroglio was all about. Freeman was merely an irritating obstacle that had to be kicked out of the way on the road to Iran. The lynching of this loyal public servant is a chilling proof that the Israel Lobby is now in control of America. Nor will the Lobby rest until Iran, like Iraq, lies in ruins.
Let’s review the basic facts.
On February 19 an important announcement was made. Charles W. Freeman, a distinguished Arabist whose love for Israel was insufficiently ardent, was appointed to the key post of chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC). He had been selected for this post by Admiral Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence. Blair had made the mistake of assuming that Freeman’s stellar talents and fitness for the job — his fluency in several languages, his experience of diplomacy, his judicious realism, his perspicacity and his patriotism — would all somehow compensate for his tepid feelings toward a foreign country built on stolen land.
Within hours of the announcement of Freeman’s appointment, the American agents of this foreign country, Israel, went into action.
It is perhaps unfortunate that the first of these agents, though he owns an American passport, had already given ample proof that the interests of Israel meant more to him than the interests of America. A former official of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the man’s name is Steve Rosen; and he is currently on trial for violations of the Espionage Act.
This impudent traitor was soon to be joined by other agents for Israel. Launching a “thunderous, coordinated assault” against Freeman, this swarm of hissing hornets included such luminaries as Jonathan Chait of the New Republic, Michael Goldfarb of the Weekly Standard, Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, Gabriel Schoenfeld of the Wall Street Journal, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review, and Martin Peretz of the New Republic.
What these Israel Firsters said between them was enough to bring Freeman down. It didn’t matter that what they said was untrue. What mattered only was that it was sufficiently nasty; that is to say, nasty enough to produce the desired effect of enforcing silence and an ignominious surrender to its dictates. “The tactics of the Israel lobby,” Freeman was to complain later, “plumb the depths of dishonour and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth.”
And so Freeman resigned. Or was given the push. The scenario probably goes something like this:
Senator Chuck Schumer, a stern critic of Freeman — “wrong man for this position” [5] — conveys his concerns to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Proud son of an Irgun terrorist and Obama’s chief minder, Emanuel naturally has identical “concerns” and needs no reminding that Freeman is bad news.
Emanuel then whispers honeyed words in Obama’s ears. Obama understands his instructions. Picking up the phone, he calls DNI Blair and speaks in the dull monotone of a well-trained Manchurian candidate. Blair gets the message. Blair then calls Freeman and breaks the news. “Chas, Obama’s wimped out. He’s thrown you to the wolves. He says you gotta spend more time with your family.”
Freeman starts writing his resignation statement.
Meanwhile, back at the White House, Emanuel is on his cell phone to ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu in Israel. Bibi punches the air when he hears about Freeman’s castration. He calls Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s own answer to Hitler, and gives him the happy tidings. Avigdor dances with delight. “Iran, we gotcha now!” he drools.
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