Success is said to have a thousand fathers and Daniel Pipes is joining the crowd taking credit for the Freeman takedown. He sent out the following note to his email newsletter mailing list last night:
Dear Reader:
As many of you may know, Charles Freeman has "has requested that his selection to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council not proceed."
What you may not know is that Steven J. Rosen of the Middle East
Forum was the person who first brought attention to the problematic
nature of Freeman's appointment, in a February 19 blog titled "Alarming appointment at the CIA."
Within hours, the word was out; and three weeks later Freeman has
conceded defeat. Only someone with Steve's stature and credibility
could have made this happen.Even those who backed the Freeman appointment acknowledge Steve's leadership in this effort. For example:
- Andrew Sullivan, former editor of The New Republic, calls Steve "the leader of the anti-Freeman brigade."
- The director of policy for the Israel Policy Forum calls him the "quarterback" of the effort.
- Max Blumenfeld of The Nation Institute calls him "leader of the campaign against Freeman's appointment."
I congratulate Steve and am proud of this early achievement by the Forum's newly created Washington Project.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Pipes
Beside getting Max Blumenthal's name totally wrong, this email is pretty spot on. Pipes would seem to have a better claim to success than Schumer or Kirk. They were merely the mob's hired guns, but it has been well established by this point that the campaign to smear Freeman was instigated by Rosen, an AIPAC cast off who has found a home in Pipes's Middle East Forum. As much as one would hope that being under indictment for espionage would ruin Rosen's "stature and credibility" in Washington, clearly it hasn't. Not yet.
Steve Clemons says, "Freeman has been the first big victim in this struggle for the soul of American foreign policy." There are signs that things are changing, but this is a battle that will be fought for a while to come. The Freeman fight brought out some new allies and the constituency that wants to see a change in US foreign policy continues to grow. As Rep. Keith Ellison said last week:
"Where you find a devoted constituency" in a democracy, you will find
action. There is a "strong, active group willing to lobby for Israeli
security… In my opinion what we lack, is a constituency for peace."
That, he said, is what we have to develop.
The fact that Pipes and Rosen were successful this time only reminds us of the task at hand.
(Thanks to Antony Loewenstein, if thanks is the right word, for sharing Pipes's email)
Maybe it was just the right.
Can you take the time remind people that not all organizations and people that are included in the vague description "Israel Lobby" participated in the character assassination described.
Just so that the pendulum doesn't swing to silence a wider swath than necessary.
"I congratulate Steve and am proud of this early achievement by the Forum's newly created Washington Project."
Great work.
I got a kick out of Joe Klein's statement:
"Barack Obama should take note. The thugs have taken out Chas Freeman. They will not rest. Their real target is you, Mr. President."
What a moron.
Steve Rosen is the epitome of the power of the Lobby and Israel advocates generally.
Here is a man indicted for espionage and he has a powerful platform to expound his ideas. If the shoe were on the other foot, and he were not in the Lobby camp and was making criticisms of Israel, he would be vilified to no end due to his indictment (yes, I know, innocent until proven guilty, but the fact is that the normal course for public figures who are indicted on such serious charges is to lay low and wait – certainly not to have such a prominent voice as evidently Rosen does).
Of course, if the shoe were on the other foot, Rosen wouldn't be in his position in the first place, because the only thing that keeps such a man in the position of influence he wields now is his loyalty to Israel.
There is no better example of the immense power of the Lobby in all its various forms, of the incredible shield being an advocate for Israel grants someone from the usual repercussions due to unethical behavior, alleged or proven.
Unbelievable that the media would ignore the fact that Steve Rosen is as we know awaiting trial for passing classified documents to the Israeli government.
Btw Richard, one needn't participate directly to partake in the character assassination described. And it is unfortunately necessary that the pendulum swing very wide indeed if you want the nation to have any hope of survival.
.
Chas Freeman describes what is needed as "a constituency for peace." How about a constituency against the Neocon Lobby. Their lies, conniving, influencing, are enabling the slaughter of children. Yet they continue to get their vile opinions stovepiped to the nation's op-ed pages, with their true nature, or even plain-as-day opposition statements concerning their true nature, studiously ignored and suppressed. What they did to Chas Freeman appears to be a high profile Washington version of what they do to every newspaper person who would report the news, every book editor, every university president and faculty senate.
It's not just the Democratic party that are a bunch of wimps, but the whole intellectual establishment. And they will be until they stop enabling this bullying. And that means starting to recognize that only those who draw fire from these bullies are pursuing truth, and the rest are just pretending.
A Wapo editorial today call for the dismisal of Rosen and Weissman in the AIPAC espionage trial. There are some fascinating exchanges in the debate. One point is that since all aid to Israel is not audited that probably it is used to bolster campaigns here in the US to uphold Israel's influence.
link to washingtonpost.com
stevieb, witty is more concerned that Israel survive than the USA survive.
Another fascinating commentary on the AIPAC "trial", if you haven't seen it:
link to njjewishnews.com
I LOVE Daniel Pipes!
I'm glad this nasty fight between Islamist sympathizers and pro-Western forces is out on the table. It was long coming. Let's settle it once and for all.
RIchard Witty wrote:
"Can you take the time remind people that not all organizations and people that are included in the vague description "Israel Lobby" participated in the character assassination described."
I think this is spot on. This went beyond mere the "mere" lobbying and etc. that "the lobby" ordinarily engages in. It was in essence nothing less than an operation of a smaller cabal, who see themselves as soldiers essentially willing to engage in war-like tactics against even the most obvious American patriots and interests.
And people should recognize this; because they do see themselves as soldiers they didn't really care about their weapon, which is why they mostly tried to smear Freeman with allegations not connected to Israel, like his supposed fealty to the Saudis or the Chinese. They had a mission, and arguments or facts or whatever were totally irrelevant to them, like arguments and facts are to bullets. And every American, no matter how patriotic, ought to now know that they are threatened too. Indeed, making that threat as manifest as possible was no doubt another intended goal of the mission.
"They had a mission, and arguments or facts or whatever were totally irrelevant to them, like arguments and facts are to bullets. "
I can't believe you could write this with a straight face seeing how accurately it describes Phil and his phools.
What on earth is "pro-Western" about you lot?
"What on earth is "pro-Western" about you lot?"
Certainly nothing that would ever appeal to an anarchist. :-)
Anti-Israeli aggression advocates must begin using the same tactics as pro-Israeli aggression advocates. Daniel Pipes needs to be portrayed with the same smears that he uses to degrade his opponents. Rahm Emmanuel needs to be outed to the public as an illegal Israeli combatant, who deserves the same treatment John Walker Lindh received. Every response to the president's timidity to Israel must be greeted with shouts of Freeman and Wright.
@Suzanne
"I LOVE Daniel Pipes!"
DKOS:
"Nobody can ever blame Daniel Pipes of being reasonable or well informed with regard to the conflict in the Middle East. Professor Pipes, besides being a knee-jerk "Israel is always right" advocate of Zionism and opponent of Palestinian self-determination, is also the founder of the neo-Stalinist Campus Watch Web site, which "monitors" (what it perceives to be) anti-Israel sentiment written by academics…"
More on Suzanne's love:
link to dailykos.com
oh, I'm an anarchist now, am I? that's a definite improvement on what I thought you would call me ;-)
I have to agree with Julian about Joe Klein's statement, "Barack Obama should take note. The thugs have taken out Chas Freeman. They will not rest. Their real target is you, Mr. President." Obama is not a threat to the zionists the way Freeman was, because Obama, as I often remind people, is just an actor, like a stage and screen actor, but of a particular specialised sort who perform supposedly solemn and significant political figurehead roles. hence the need to either sanctify or vilify him.
Obama is not a threat to the zionists the way Freeman was, because Obama, as I often remind people, is just an actor, like a stage and screen actor, but of a particular specialised sort who perform supposedly solemn and significant political figurehead roles. hence the need to either sanctify or vilify him.
Well, he does still have ultimate decision-making authority, so if he wanted to become wayward and start doing things that were actually in the interests of America and the majority of Americans, as opposed to doing things in Israel's interests and the interest of a financial elite, then he certainly has the power to do so.
I suspect he doesn't want to take his life in his hands like that, however.
"Obama, as I often remind people, is just an actor, like a stage and screen actor"
They all are, nearly all members of the two-party regime. They pretend to understand your plight, represent your interests and "feel your pain" — until they can slip out the back to get a lewinsky.
Rahm Emmanuel needs to be outed to the public as an illegal Israeli combatant, who deserves the same treatment John Walker Lindh received. Every response to the president's timidity to Israel must be greeted with shouts of Freeman and Wright.
Wait a minute, tommy, do you know more than I know? The only connection I remember to Rahm Emmanuel so far is that Steve Israel spoke with him directly:
Do you have any evidence that shows that Emmanuel then pressured Freeman to resign? Am I missing something? We don't even know what Emmanuel thought about Israel's allegations. Do we?
Obama is not a threat to the zionists the way Freeman was, because Obama, as I often remind people, is just an actor, like a stage and screen actor, but of a particular specialised sort who perform supposedly solemn and significant political figurehead roles. hence the need to either sanctify or vilify him.
The title of Erving Goffman's Presentation of Self in Everyday Life was changed in the German translation into: We all play theater. I can recommend him without any hesitations on the issue. A politician as other public personas are on a stage every step they take. That's why I don't envy them.
Hmm? I would have used personae.
Well, he does still have ultimate decision-making authority, so if he wanted to become wayward and start doing things that were actually in the interests of America and the majority of Americans, as opposed to doing things in Israel's interests and the interest of a financial elite, then he certainly has the power to do so. I suspect he doesn't want to take his life in his hands like that, however. Posted by: Dan Kelly | March 11, 2009 at 02:47 PM
You mean, like Henry Fonda in Fail Safe? Great movie, by the way. It makes Dr Strangelove look merely silly.
there were certainly things about Freeman that I didn't like. However I dislike the inhumane murderous state that Israel has become even more (not to go into whether it was really always like that and just has the power to express itself freely). Sabra and Shatilla not to mention the invasion of Lebanon itself. Any of the times, but the last one was the worst. The attack on Gaza was carried out in a manner that was indefensible. A counter balance to the Israeli influence (now too weak a word to use) on american Middle East policy was needed. The attack against Carter and Mearsheimer and Walt and the Jewish professor…. shows how lopsided is the debate. What the Jewish cabal dont understand is that with quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan coupled with the economic meltdown, a scapegoat will be looked for. Any guesses what group of people has historically been chosen?
I don't know which group has been historically scapegoated, but I do know the minority group that has historically brought a lot of misery down on its own head by producing a corrupt, greedy and murderous leadership that waged overt and subvert wars against the majority's interests. It's a pity more Jews don't speak out against their corrupt and malicious leadership's ways; it's a pity more Jews don't want to. But that’s not the fault of the gentile majority.
"What the Jewish cabal dont understand is that with quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan coupled with the economic meltdown, a scapegoat will be looked for. Any guesses what group of people has historically been chosen?"
If I were Muslim, I'd start worrying about being the next scapegoat. I seriously hope it doesn't come to that, or any ill-placed scapegoating.
In any case, it looks like we'll probably bypass a Depression–and certainly not sink further than that. Speaking of which, Jews didn't suffer any particular blame for the 1930s Depression in America.
The US is not Europe. I'll fathom to guess that NONE of Britain's former colonies will ever behave like Russia or 1930s Germany. :-)
The only organized groups to orchestrate violence against Jews or anyone else are Phil's buddies at Stormfront, and their loose alliance with other white supremacist thugs.
They'd have to face the military and would likely be shot down like dogs.
The logistics are simply not in place for the phools' phantasies to materialize.
Sorry to burst your fragile bubbles….:-)
"shot down like dogs"
We musn't forget our place and we must keep our mouth shut in this land of the brave and the land of the free…..
Where is Chris Berel?
Phil and Adam – When over the top accusations fly about "buddies at Stormfront" and "other white supremacist thugs," isn't it time to lose these clowns permanently?
This sort of rhetoric is like letting a guest in your home crap on your carpet and not show them the door. Those who appreciate your site know that you fully welcome voices of opposition; but this is re-goddamn-diculous.
Suzanne demonstrates the stereotypical arrogance of the Zionist. Never say never. That's something the very arrogant never learn.
This sort of rhetoric is like letting a guest in your home crap on your carpet and not show them the door. Those who appreciate your site know that you fully welcome voices of opposition; but this is re-goddamn-diculous.
I wouldn't like gems like this, Lance:
That's the most interesting part of the larger scenario. Feeding the hate and indeed providing easy connectivity to the Neo-Nazi mindset over here.
Sorry, was a bit too fast.
I wouldn't like to miss gems like this.
"That's the most interesting part of the larger scenario. Feeding the hate and indeed providing easy connectivity to the Neo-Nazi mindset over here."
English is obviously not your first language–and given that you're not in the post 9/11 States, you have both linguistic and cultural barriers.
Please don't intentionally misinterpret my post for your own political motives. thank you.
It's interesting how Leander wades past all the talk of Jewish scapegoating (which he loves the idea of) and when someone suggests that the climate in the US might instead lend itself to Muslim scapegoating– if indeed there is ANY scapegoating–the little pisspot gets worked up.
What a curious little nazi he is. :-)
ugh…I've wasted enough time responding to the stupidity here today…should have my head examined.
Am I missing something?
All dual loyalty Americans should be exposed, especially ones serving the president directly. They don't have to have participated in the Freeman disappointment to bring the same amount of scrutiny to their compromised loyalty. Americans who have served in the Israeli military should not be serving American presidents, they should be in prison.
@ Suzanne: "They'd have to face the military and would likely be shot down like dogs. The logistics are simply not in place for the phools' phantasies to materialize."
"…should have my head examined."
–
Something Suzanne and everyone else on this site finally agree on.
Sorry, Suzy, there will be no anti-dissident Red Army orchestrated assassinations in America any time soon, as much as that upsets you're own Zionist/neo-Bolshevik fantasies. (You and Thomas Friedman really ought to get together. He regularly builds up straw men followed by violent Trotskyite fantasies in print as well.)
@ Suzanne
(To LeaNder): "English is obviously not your first language–and given that you're not in the post 9/11 States, you have both linguistic and cultural barriers.
Please don't intentionally misinterpret my post for your own political motives. thank you."
English is my first language, German my second (college, plus I lived there for awhile). LeaNder interpreted Suzanne acutely well.
Next!
You and Thomas Friedman really ought to get together. He regularly builds up straw men followed by violent Trotskyite fantasies in print as well.
The parallel is uncanny.
leaNder – I stand corrected. It seems to me more like combing through a pile of manure looking for a pony…but I suppose she's good for the occasional 'gem' despite herself.
I guess the analogy is someone crapping on your carpet….but that it is of such a size, composition, or of other unique properties that it defies belief that it came from the anus of an actual human being….that the thing is a wonderment to behold in and of itself.
Maybe the appreciation of such is not so unusual as I have a dinosaur poop carved into the shape of a heart on my bookshelf.
Suzanne can carry on with her poo flinging for the amusement of all, if that is the consensus.
hmmmmm…just occurred to me: Is Pipes' email to his subcriber list THE TRACEABLE EMAIL that indicts the Lobby?
That would be hilarious! lol!
I don't find Suzanne and her coprophilia very interesting, but I'm glad she is childless. cf: Zeev Sternhell
"This is not a matter of our image abroad and relations with the United States, but rather of our children's souls."
link to jewishpeacenews.blogspot.com
thanks for the support citizen, but she is correct about this:
Feeding the hate and indeed providing easy connectivity to the Neo-Nazi mindset over here.
I was fully aware I choose a peculiar linguistic hybrid with several things in mind:
a) Niklas Luhmann systems theory generally
b) his term Anschlußfähigkeit more specifically (capability to connect; connection capability)
and
c) connectivity – Mergers theorem
Anschlußfähigkeit is both used as an everyday term, for which there doesn't seem to be an English term, but has also a very specific definition in Luhmann's system. To read Luhman you always need a Luhman dictionary somehow similar to Heidegger.
I could have simply written–especially since Luhmann usually makes my brain emit fumes–That's a scapegoat scenario the extreme right over here would gladly embrace.
**************************************************************************
Lance, I understand you, but the lady seems to be the most relaxed of all, thus she provides the occasional insight into the basic mindset. There is even one basic agreement she has with Phil. American Jews are not in danger.
I think I see your point. I am often amused by the antics of Homer Simpson as a great negative example for proper behavior.
Carry on.
Least we forget.
The zionists,for example in Germany in the 30's,made cozy with the Nazis,for the purpose of "transfering" Jews to Palestine.
Fast forward to recent elections for mayors of Rome and London,
and we see alliances forming between the zionist establishment lobbies of both cities and the far right neofascist elements…like the Northern Alliance of Italy..
Seems being angry at Nazis,goes on the back-burner when power is at stake..
maybe its just a convenient mantra to be used to frighten liberals..