The Washington Post is reporting that a recent letter to Obama on the peace process (saying we're on Israel's side and Palestinians have to build institutions to allow a "viable" state), signed by congressional leaders Steny Hoyer and Eric Cantor, which AIPAC lobbied for other congressmen to sign on to, has the lobby's fingerprints. "Curiously, when we opened the attachment, we noticed it was named 'AIPAC Letter Hoyer Cantor May 2009.pdf.'" Here's that letter.
The Post's Al Kamen asks, "Is that how this stuff works?" This is insulting, and disingenuous. Insulting because the issue of how policy is made is so important.
Yglesias is on this, too: "the substance of this letter is to try to make people think there will
be a domestic price to be paid for any serious effort to push for a
solution." Smart.
Why isn't this a big story? Because it's never a big story. The big papers ignore it or smear the discussants. And the State Department says that to talk about this stuff is anti-Semitic.
The Post's Al Kamen asks, "Is that how this stuff works?" No doubt the Post is shocked, shocked! to find the Israel lobby behind a piece of propaganda circulated throughout Congress and regurgitated by its members. Yes, that's how this stuff works. And the Washington Post should know. It's been part of the Israel lobby's hasbara for years.
It works like that in the whole polite society, I have absolutely no doubt, dear Ed. But in our context obviously the "Jewish Lobby" surfaces. Here is a site of all known cases of employees from the German industry listed according to the Ministry for which they work. Obviously as Lobbyists. It seems the US is a bit better on the issue. But then we also lately see the phenomenon of the revolving door issue – people from the government changing over into the industry and back. That complicates matters a bit.
this has the torture story beat by a mile in terms of understandabilty and I care ablity but agree the press knew without the computer file who wrote it and thus will stay away. it's almost like a cry for help like "LOOK who is making us send this moronic letter PLEASE"
Note that at the bottom of the WP page they have a section called "Understand more about.." and they list topics mentioned in the section. AIPAC appears to be missing. The MSM shows its hand again.
Poor, dearest LeaNder, forever auditioning for a role in the sequel to Schindler's List as the female apostate Catholic wailing over how much more she could have done for the Jewish lobby, even as the Zionist state slaughters the innocent in droves. How courageous.
RE: "Lobby's fingerprints are on congressional letter." GOMER PYLE: "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" WIKIPEDIA: …Wide-eyed and slack jawed, Gomer provided much of the comic relief during his two-year stint on The Andy Griffith Show. He was often awestruck by the simplest of things, resulting in the exclamation of his catchphrases, "Shazam!", "Gaaw-aawl-ly" and "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"… PS. Hoyer deserves primary opposition.
Quoting from the letter: "The United States must remain a trusted mediator and a devoted friend to Israel." Can anyone imagine an arbitration process where the mediator is a "devoted friend" to one of the parties in the dispute? Are these people stupid or do they think we are? Never mind. Don't answer that.
AIPAC and other Jewish lobby groups have a stranglehold on our Congress, everyone knows. Why is this a news? Senators and Congressmen and women have sold out to the Israel Lobby for the last 30 years! The entire world knows that we were attacked on 9/11 primarily for our support of Israel. Even Bin Laden repeated that many times in videos and audios. But none of our brave Senators and Congressmen dare say that. Why? For fear of the Jewish Lobby. The Senators and Congressmen are not afraid of the Jewish vote. The Jewish vote is so tiny, it will not make a difference (the jews are less than 2% of US population). They are mainly afraid of losing campaign donations from Jewish groups and are fearful of the jewish editorial writers and columnist in newspapers and TV talking heads.
it's almost like a cry for help like "LOOK who is making us send this moronic letter PLEASE" Let's say it is first an easy to explain mistake than can happen everywhere. I am assuming that from now on people will take care to forward files with a name fitting the context and not hinting at sources, if the sources don't want or shouldn't be recognizable. It surely was a snare. The question is, is this the file-name routine, or were, how and why was it suspended. In other words classic risk management.