Robert Naiman in Huffpo smartly asks "if Dennis Ross has been serving in a leadership capacity for an organization [Jewish People Policy Planning Institute] that may have received funding from the Israeli government."
More Obama balancing: he will keep on Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department official who put the financial squeeze on Iran under George Bush, and thereby the president is sending an aggressive signal. (Thanks to Ira Glunts)
Funny how the Naiman piece simply can't be on the front page of Huffpo. The equivalent of buried ledes on the 18th page of the NYTimes.
Oh well, sometimes, as Michael Kinsey so aptly puts it "The crab claws wouldn't fit on the smorgasbord table…"
HuffPo may raise it, but it doesn't allow discussion of it. They have a cadre of moderators whom I sense are young and well-paid outside HuffPo's walls to mold the conversation. HuffPo has turned into a moderate New York Sun. Pity. It could have been great.
This looks like a good place for this:
Livni and Levey consult on anti-Iran sanctions
San Diego Jewish World
August 9, 2007
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—The US Treasury's top anti-terrorism official, Stuart Levey, is visiting Israel to discuss Iran's disputed nuclear program with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni. Levey, the US Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and Livni will discuss a push for more international sanctions on Iran, according to Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev.
"Israel supports a hardening of sanctions already imposed" on the Islamic republic, Regev said. "Diplomacy must be firm and speak with one voice in order to succeed. The Tehran regime must understand that business as usual cannot continue while it is pursuing its nuclear program."
Meanwhile, the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has repeated that Tehran will not negotiate with countries that refuse it the right to nuclear energy. During a state visit to Algeria he said "Iran cannot talk to countries which do not recognize its right to produce nuclear energy for peaceful means".
In a hard-hitting new attack on Israel, the Iranian leader also said that "the whole of humankind today has been bruised by crimes perpetrated by Zionists in Palestine, in Lebanon, and in the whole world. Our support for the Palestinian people is unconditional. As for the Israelis, let them go find somewhere else to live".
The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress
Naiman: "Some may complain that the allegation of 'dual loyalty' is being raised against Dennis Ross, pointing to the racist history of that charge."
What racist history of the charge of dual loyalty? Mayhap I'm being imperceptive, but I see absolutely nothing racist or antisemitic about pointing out obvious conflicts of interest that Zionists, not non-Zionist Jews, will inevitably have working in national security positions inside the United States government. Dennis Ross' close affiliation with known necon traitors like Paul Wolfowitz clearly indicates that he should be denied a security clearance, and would be by any impartial review where the primary objective was to protect the security of the United States. I've come to the belief that allegations of antisemitism thrown about because of challenges to accusations of dual loyalty are bogus, used by extremists to push through their Israel-first agenda. I think it is part of the unfortunate overuse of the charge of antisemitism, and is partially responsible for the ongoing debasement in the seriousness with which such charges are taken. If I am being unfair, I invite criticism.
More on Ross:
What conclusively demonstrates Obama’s drive to war with Iran is his appointment of the most zealous Zionist militarist, Dennis Ross, to the key strategic position dealing with Iran. Obama appointed Ross to the post of ‘Special Envoy to Iran’. He will act as Czar of Middle East policy. George Mitchell is his envoy on Israel-Palestine negotiations, a typical ‘good cop’ (Mitchell) strategy to counter the ‘bad cop’ (Ross). Ross, who is often called ‘Israel’s Lawyer’, is the ultimate Zionist, a crown prince of the US Zionist Jewish Lobby in all of its major undertakings regarding Iran. Ross is a founding leader of AIPAC, the principle and most powerful Israel First Lobby in Washington. He has been a lifelong and influential ZionCon ideologue, who successfully led the campaign in favor of the invasion of Iraq. He is among the most prolific and influential writers and propagandists at the Zionist-financed propaganda mill, WINEP (Washington Institute for Near East Policy), which has produced the most bellicose position papers pushing US military intervention in favor of Israel’s expansionist ambitions. During the Clinton years, Ross was appointed head of the US ‘mediation’ committee during the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations (1999-2000). In that position, he acted as ‘Israel’s lawyer’ according to a fellow US Zionist diplomat. He scuttled all possibility of any acceptable compromise by “following Israel’s lead.” He set up the conditions, which made Palestinian rejection inevitable while placing the blame on that embittered people. Ross has a profound influence on Obama’s politics to Israel.
Ross is a leader in a relatively new Zionist front group, known as the ‘Bipartisan Policy Center’. The ‘Center’ recently published a report entitled, “Meeting the Challenge: US Policy Toward Iranian Nuclear Development.” This roadmap for war with Iran was produced by a task force, which included Ross and two other extremist Zioncons, the dual-Israel-US citizen Michal Makovsky and Michael Rubin. Ross’ endorsement of the ‘Report’ reflects his rejection of any possibility of a negotiated agreement with Iran, which would accept Iran’s legal right to a uranium enrichment program as recognized by international treaty.
A recently reported wrinkle in Dennis Ross’ appointment to the Obama Cabinet is his role as current Chairman of the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, under the Jewish Agency, which is an official part of the Israeli Government. His current work for an Israeli government agency could place Ross at odds with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a Federal statute that requires individuals working on behalf of a foreign government to register as such – something Ross has never done.
The ‘Report’ advocates a preemptive Israeli aerial bombing and missile campaign against Iran should the US and Europe fail to strike first. This Dennis Ross-endorsed ‘Report’ proposes a total naval and air blockade and embargo of Iran as a prelude to a US attack on Iran’s vital infrastructure. This document called on Obama to ‘bring in troops and material to the region under the cover of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, thus maintaining a degree of strategic and tactical surprise.’ In other words, Obama’s forthcoming appointment of Ross to head his regime’s Middle East Policy Advisory Group places an unconditional advocate and promoter of genocidal war with Iran in a key strategic foreign policy position.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Dennis Ross will do everything in their power to promote and justify a US-Israeli joint attack on Iran. Ross and Clinton will begin with phony negotiations based on unacceptable ultimatums. This will be followed by acts of war in the form of Gaza style embargos designed to starve and impoverish the people of Iran, and conclude with a Gaza-style aerial blitzkrieg. Given the extraordinary number of Zionists appointed by Obama in every key level of his government, the possibility of any internal debate or dissent over the Ross roadmap for war in Israel’s interest is minimal. Obama has put together a policy-making elite so closely linked and loyal to the Israeli military that it precludes any type of meaningful negotiations with Iran.
Israel Asserting Middle East Supremacy:
From Gaza to Tehran
On the subject at hand, I can say from experience of several years that things are definitely changing. I've been involved in online activism on this subject since 2002. Since that time, the number of people who are able to now see the truth of what the government of Israel has been and is doing has grown by orders of magnitude. It's not uncommon for me to be told by people that their views on the Middle East have been changed because of things I have written and because of things they have read elsewhere online.
It's the internet that is making the difference, although the small amount of truth that gets through the filters in the mainstream media also has an important impact. And it's not just the younger generation who are telling me that. More often than not it's Baby Boomers.
Sorry. That got posted in the wrong place.
Colin,
For what it's worth, the "dual loyalty" that Naiman is alluding to is in reference to post-WWII McCarthyism, Jewish identification with Communism, the Rosenbergs, etc. It's interesting that enough time has passed that there would be any confusion about this. The Rosenberg executions had a huge impact on Jewish consciousness in this country. I highly recommend the documentary "Heir to an Execution" by their Grand-daughter. Prior to WWII, the Lincoln Brigade that went to Spain was disproporionately Jewish, and probably fellow traveler as well. These folks were not necessarily popular among the Jewish establishment. By the way, I don't think Wolfowitz is a traitor, certainly not to his social class. It's better to call him an oppressor.
'Putting the financial squeeze on Iran' is not all that Stuart Levey is known for. After Hamas took over Gaza and Israel started sequestering Customs revenues that it collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, Stuart Levey orchestrated a worldwide ban on wire transfers to Gaza. By this means, Levey worked hand-in-hand with Israel to 'put the Gazans on a diet.'
Obama is showing a Bush-like talent for surrounding himself with the wrong people — those who are either corrupt (e.g. Daschle) or have their own agendas (e.g. Stuart Levey, a comic-book-villain, dual-loyalty Jew straight out of central casting).
It disgusts and scandalizes me that my taxes support Stuart Levey's corrosive Palestinian boycott, when U.S. interests would be far better served by a boycott of Israel, the nuclear-armed bully of the region. Once again, Barack Dubya Obama delivers 'stasis we can believe in.'
Just saw an 'Impeach Obama' sticker on a crew-cab pickup today, here in the New York 'burbs …
Will average Americans wake up? If so, what would cause such an awakening?
Apparently NOT A SINGLE HUFFPO READER has been interested enough to comment on the Dennis Ross story. Either that or the moderators have excedingly high standards.
(All comments from the recent Harvard Crimson op-ed about Israel were also wiped. And the weasely president of Middlebury College has also been removing comments on his blog critical of his Zionist spinning.)
David,
Your consideration of dual-loyalty racism in the context of post-WWII McCarthyism makes a lot of sense. I try to imagine how the experiences of the 50's may have left an imprint on American Jewish culture. Maybe such memories are more strongly transmitted in Jewish culture than in traditional Anglo-Protestant culture? I think it is a complete non-issue for everyone else, but given the long history of antisemitism it does not seem unreasonable that Jews consider the present within that context.
I strongly disagree about Paul Wolfowitz. He was instrumental in both the sabotage of traditional intelligence pipelines to command authority and their replacement with neocon substitutes. He was certainly not the only one involved, but he was a key player, and relevant to this thread because he was Dennis Ross' original sponsor and brought him into the government side of the neocon network. His and the other neocons Zionist beliefs were utterly instrumental in the decisions that they made to betray America by pushing for a war with Iraq when there was not a shred of evidence, and they knew there was not a shred of evidence, tying Saddam Hussein to 9-11.
It is utterly clear to me now that being a Zionist should automatically disqualify individuals from government service in national security (not NOAA or Dept Education, etc) in exactly the same way that being a communist disqualifies. Both affiliations or outlooks necessitate loyalty to states other than the US, and because the notion that two states can have identical interests is nonsense, the ugly reality is that Zionists when faced with decisions that may affect both American and Israel cannot be trusted to put America first. It is unfortunate that many in the larger Jewish community feel obligated to protect neocon miscreants, because it is inevitable that suspicion will fall on those who defend traitors. It may take 50 years, but eventually Americans will cease to tolerate Zionist activity, private or official, that adversely affects the United States. Hopefully enough American Jews will publicly stand against extremist Zionism and avoid having Judaism painted with the same brush as Zionism in the eyes of most Americans. It would be tragic if American Jews lost their current acceptance and respect within American society because of an inability to disassociate from colonial extremists here and in Israel. The ball is in their court.
I've done a post or three on the Dennis Ross appointment saga – see Dennis Ross: Andrea Mitchell Instructs for example.
From an ocean away, this is a ripping yarn of the first order. When the Zionist media gets as squeakily domineering as this it's time to have a good laugh.
Speaking of which, the Time Magazine theories are very funny:
So what did Ross's absence from the envoy rollout signal about the Administration's Iran policy? Although Ross remains studiously silent, sources who have spoken with him recently provide two credible, not necessarily incompatible explanations…
The first version emphasizes traditional turf battles. Ross wants the job as described three weeks ago in a memo from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the pro-Israel think tank where Ross was based after leaving the government in 2001. The WINEP memo to its board of trustees announced that Ross had accepted a position as ambassador-at-large in Hillary Clinton's State Department with a broad regional policy role in which he would advise Clinton directly on a "wide range of Middle East issues, from the Arab-Israeli peace process to Iran." But that job definition would potentially undercut Mitchell's role as Middle East envoy reporting to Clinton. In this telling, Ross, who in the Clinton Administration had played the role now assigned to Mitchell, doesn't want his responsibilities limited strictly to Iran. "He's frustrated," says one person who spoke with him recently. And until a title and responsibilities can be agreed upon, Ross can't be rolled out.
The alternative explanation is that Ross is already hard at work on Iran, which will be his primary responsibility, but he can't be named as an envoy tasked with engaging Iran until the Administration's top players agree on a basic approach to the issue. "He's on board," says another Ross friend, but "it would be the height of folly to roll out Dennis [now] … There's just a lot of very careful and, I would say, quiet spadework to be done [first]."
_________________________
A third theory might be that Ross is waiting for a better offer from Netanyahu.
A fourth theory (the correct one, I hope) is that Obama has no intention of appointing this rather blatant Zionist agent to any job whatesoever.
dual loyalty, no. only one loyalty – to israevil. ross, wolfowitz, perle, ledeen, foxman, lieberman, dershowitz, et als, need to be arrested for being traitors. then executed after a stay in gitmo.
My, my–every USA president since Ike has had to kowtow to the
Hebrew leaders, born into the USA as citizens, with allegiance
to a foreign nation. Actually, considering Truman, Ike was an aberration. Well, not quite, since Ike was responsible for the death and starvation of millions of Germans who had no influence at all
in the NAZI regime…
Fun to watch Christian leaders in the USA consecutive regimes kick the can of justice down each cycle, always towards Israel First agendas.
Zionist tools.
Truman, that little man. The Zionists convinced him he was a new
Cyrus The Great.
And so, each in their own way, all USA Presidents since 1948.
If Germans were Jews, including Americans with German heritage,
this would not be so. Guess who are essential Americans?
Actually, Lincoln also had to kowtow. Rescinding Grant's order, which was based on reality concerning illegal exploitation of Union troops and the Union government during that real CIVIL WAR.
(And, as far as natural justice, how many Jews were at the top of
the Confederate state? Check the proportions relative to demographics.)
HuffPo may raise it, but it doesn't allow discussion of it. They have a cadre of moderators whom I sense are young and well-paid outside HuffPo's walls to mold the conversation.
Posted by: MRW
—–
Absolutely spot on. They are gatekeepers of the worst order. Zsa-Zsa knows on which side her bread is buttered.
It has been fun to watch 'citizen' spiral down the path of rabid antisemite. No longer any need to wonder about his agenda.
If only Weiss were more honest.
chris berel: "rabid antisemite"
When Israel specifically and organized Jewry in general begins to meaningfully address the rabid anti-goyish tendencies within their own ranks, your phrase might gain credibility again.
Your delusions obviously do not require a response.
And, as far as natural justice, how many Jews were at the top of
the Confederate state? Check the proportions relative to demographics.
Well, as a Southerner sympathetic to the Confederacy, I see no shame in that! I'm very proud of the history of Jewish Southerners.
Colin Murray: I try to imagine how the experiences of the 50's may have left an imprint on American Jewish culture. Maybe such memories are more strongly transmitted in Jewish culture than in traditional Anglo-Protestant culture?
Absolutely. Anglo-Protestants have been effectively deracinated and hardly have anything that could constitute a culture or sense of shared history. This was fundamentally their own doing, however much help they received from Jewish intellectual elites (i.e. Frankfurt School, Boasian anthropology, wars against "hate" etc.).
I'm still trying to figure out what motivated WASP culture to "commit suicide," as Paul Gottfried said, at the same time that the relatively unassimilated 2nd wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants moved in to fill the cultural power vaccuum.
Even though the religous knowledge of many secular Jews is quite limited, there is a very strong sense of a shared history of persecution, which is often paranoid in nature. Foxman's (who was protected by Catholics as an infant) apparent belief that seeing *The Passion* would spark pograms is only one example. For many Jews, current events are reified through a fear that any criticism of Jews is a prelude to genocidal anti-semitism.
I agree with the rest of your post. As a confirmed philo-semite, it is incredibly frustrating to watch the Jewish leadership in the world repeat history and provoke worldwide anger while claming to represent all Jews. The Zionists did the same thing, and were actually quite happy to provoke anti-semitism because they thought it would force emmigration to Palistine.
The history of betrayal by their own leaders, and their role in provoking antisemitism is not one that Jewish kids often learn.
It is patently false that the antics of zionist leaders and the antices of Jewish leadership provoke antisemitism.
The antisemites exist and rant and rave whenever anything occurs that awakens their ire. Doesn't matter what the act might be.
Right, anti-semitism springs full-blown out of the head of Medusa, if not Zeus. You know, the goys are lesser souls.