What are we to make of Obama's replacement of General Jim Jones, the national security adviser who regarded Israel/Palestine as the big enchilada, by his deputy, the very political Thomas Donilon? The question was asked of Chas Freeman, author, ambassador and former Obama intelligence nominee, and he responded in the following email to a few friends. He gave our site permission to publish:
. . . there's a broader issue with the appointment of Tom Donilon, a creature of Congress whose professional formation has taken place entirely within the Washington bubble. Nothing in his background as a lawyer or aide to elected officials and political appointees hints at any skill at strategic thinking, foreign policy formulation, or diplomatic maneuver that is directed at anyone other than domestic constituencies. He gives every sign of faithfully reflecting the political risk aversion, venal deference to campaign contributors, and constipated strategic imagination of the Washington establishment. We Americans have spawned our own version of the eunuchs of old, who flourished inside the walls of the Forbidden City or Topkapi/Dolmabahçe Palace. Their counterparts now practice the arts of the courtier within the Beltway at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. (It is said that Afghanistan has jirgas to make village-level decisions and loya jirgas to decide things at the national level, while Washington now makes decisions in circle jirgas.) Donilon is exhibit A of this archetypal Washington type; his presumed successor, Denis McDonough, is exhibit B. (For the opposite -- optimistic -- presentation of essentially the same judgment, see Steve Clemons).
Note that the principal argument for Donilon and McDonough is not their competence or mastery of the subject matter of national security affairs in its diplomatic, intelligence, and military dimensions, but the trust the president has in them. To me, this underscores that American politics has become entirely self-referential and solipsistic. We have evolved the world's most militarily powerful autistic government. The Obama Administration is practicing non-partisanship by carrying on the foreign policy of its predecessor. Mr. Magoo is still at the helm, as I discovered he was years back. See: "America in the World - Magoo at the Helm" -- , now a chapter in the book Just World Books just brought out, "America's Misadventures in the Middle East." )
Jim Jones's retirement (like that of his colleague Denny Blair) reflects the distaste of the White House inner circle (the "water bugs") for politically inconvenient and annoyingly intractable foreign realities that refuse to conform to the domestic political will as defined by the interest groups to which it has been franchised. This appointment is, in my view, a vindication of the Tea Party crowd's perception that Washington is self-referential, dominated by special interests (i.e. groups with which the disparate dissatisfied do not identify), manipulative rather than empathetic, and out of touch. At the same time, in relation to foreign policy, it represents a bow to the sort of American parochialism and solipsism that tea partyers exemplify. While I agree that the Middle East is the most consequential arena for American policy failures at present, this appointment belies hope that the many other challenges before our country will be imaginatively and effectively addressed before they become incorrigible.
Not that any MSM pundit will pick up Mr. Freeman’s perspective, or even mention it at all, but if one did he/she would of course take, or heavily suggest, the angle that Mr. Freeman is a disgruntled former employee of Uncle Sam. Additional attack on the source would inclue Mr. Freeman is an “Arabist.”
Don’t remember any of the talking heads even mentioning Charles Freeman was being rail roaded by Senator Schumer and the rest of the vicious I lobby team. Not a mention. Chris Matthews did not even have Freeman on. Worried about those paychecks.
The only one who will even get close to this issue is Dylan Ratigan
Ratigan and Greenwald on the MSM ignoring the constant bombardment of fear apropos Iran even though they presumably know better: link to taylormarsh.com
Have the deepest respect for both Charles Freeman and Jim Jones. Every time I have read their writings or heard them speak at conferences etc both seem well reasoned, fact based and relatively straight forward.
Was disappointed to hear Jones was leaving the Obama administration
Freeman’s opinion of this changing of the guard does not sound good. In fact sounds depressing. But when you have Dennis Ross in there working for Israel and it sounds like Hillary Clinton is following I lobby orders..not looking good.
Charles Freeman “Note that the principal argument for Donilon and McDonough is not their competence or mastery of the subject matter of national security affairs in its diplomatic, intelligence, and military dimensions, but the trust the president has in them. To me, this underscores that American politics has become entirely self-referential and solipsistic. We have evolved the world’s most militarily powerful autistic government. The Obama Administration is practicing non-partisanship by carrying on the foreign policy of its predecessor. Mr. Magoo is still at the helm, as I discovered he was years back. See: “America in the World – Magoo at the Helm” — , now a chapter in the book Just World Books just brought out, “America’s Misadventures in the Middle East.”
Had to look up “solipsistic”
link to merriam-webster.com
This is part of the concentration of the WH into the political realm, from which all else will emanate. There is only one question: what effect will it have on the reelection?
Not a mention about the Palestinian boy being hit by illegal Israeli settler on BBC world news this morning not a whisper. Can you imagine if a Palestinian had hit an Israeli boy and drove away? Rachel Maddow and the rest of the talking heads would be all over the story.
Illegal Israeli settler who hit the Palestinian kid and drove away is allegedly David Be’eri
link to telegraph.co.uk
More about David Be’eri
link to time.com
“The story begins with a right-wing Jewish settler organization called Elad, but also known as the Ir David Foundation, which for the past four years has exerted control over most of the holy city’s excavations. Led by David Be’eri, an ex-Israeli commando who used to disguise himself as an Arab for undercover missions in the Palestinian territories, Elad now has the backing of the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, the municipality, and the vaunted Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which monitors all archaeological work in the country and which Elad helps finance. Elad’s own funding comes through unnamed private donors. (Israeli newspapers have reported that a few Russian-Jewish oligarchs, including Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, attended a 2005 Elad fundraiser.) The organization’s aim is best expressed in a religious website’s 2007 interview with development director Doron Speilman. He gestures toward Silwan, an Arab neighborhood that spills down from the Mount of Olives, and says: “Our goal is to turn all this land you see behind you into Jewish hands.”
Read more: link to time.com
Speaking of settlers, it’s deja vu Groundhog Day all over again:
Right — you keffiyeh-clad lot just concede everything up front, then we’ll ‘negotiate’ the sequence of your unconditional surrender and expulsion.
It’s really time for Israel to be called out on this odiously racist formulation, which is basically a mirror image of David Duke’s drive for the US to officially constitute itself as a ‘white European Christian’ state.
It takes real chutzpah for pro-Israel US Jews to support a tolerant, multiethnic society at home, while giving unqualified support to a militantly asserted, ethnically exclusive state abroad. No discernible principle links these two stances other than ‘Is it good for the Jews?‘ And I’d argue, in the case of an ethnically-exclusive Israel, that it’s not.
Sent out the story about the Palestinian boy being hit by David Be’eri to Diane Rehm and many other blog sites. Let’s watch who touches this story
Here’s the video Fox News played of the incident. It played behind a couple of talking heads while they talked. They didn’t make any specific comments on the video as to place, circumstances, or what was going on at the time. My impression at the time was they just used it as background to show the audience the I-P conflict was still going on and all Israel wants is peace. link to gatewaypundit.firstthings.com
Sent this story and links to Huffington post, Firedoglake, Salon, Raw Story, Washington note, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, Crooks and liars (seldom if ever touch the I/P conflict) and a few more.
Will be interesting to see who touches it. More than likely none of these
Masked Palestinian protester charged the car. What a bunch of bull. A boy throwing rocks at a moving illegal vehicle with an illegal and radical Israeli settler selling land that belongs to Palestinians. What a bunch of hogwash
But at least Fox News touched the story. More than Rachel Maddow and the MSNBC crew will
“A masked Palestinian protester is hit by a car while throwing rocks in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, Friday, Oct. 8, 2010. On Friday clashes erupted in Silwan, a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem that is also home to families of Israeli settlers. One Palestinian boy throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles was lightly injured after being hit by a car he charged. The car was driven by the head of a settler organization that buys up property for Jews in Silwan, Israeli media reported. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said he could not identify the man but said he was being questioned. (AP Photo/Moammar Awwad)
What a bunch of bull. A boy throwing rocks at a moving illegal vehicle with an illegal and radical Israeli settler selling land that belongs to Palestinians.
You are a poster child for left wing nutjobs. Reality has never been your strong suit has it Kathleen. More non-violent protest huh?
Laughable.
40,ooo and counting watches. Keep spreading
link to youtube.com
Lots more than that Kathleen, this longer clip has 365,000 views:
link to youtube.com
The terrible thing is many people commenting on these clips are celebrating it. I guess this is the same lot who were opposed to civil rights in the 50s and 60s, or who were happy to see Europe’s jews killed in the 30s and 40s.
this little ditty sure makes people less likely to access
“This video or group may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube’s user community.”
Very sick about the comments.
Wow, what a way to backhand the crumbs off the table. Flick. Flick. And “circle jirgas?” LOL. I wouldn’t mind having an email buddy that amusing and erudite.
“…while Washington now makes decisions in circle jirgas.”
LOL.Who knew that Freeman had such a sense of humor? Unfortunately, he’s quite accurate in describing the Washington bubble.
Chas Freeman’s main claim to fame with me is that at 27 he translated between Nixon and Mao.
I knew he was a good linguist, but besides “solipsistic,” which I too have to look up, and “constipated strategic imagination,” the concept of “circle jirgas” taking place in DC is special.
More seriously, in the debate as to whether it is corporate imperialism most responsible for the US/Israel situation or the lobby, note that Freeman was a competent functionary on the imperial side of things, but when he said the wrong things – I mean the right things – about Israel, it was the lobby that had the trump card.
It’s a shame many of the commenters here had to look up ‘solipsistic’, but it is a good example of how most Americans view the rest of the world through an American-made lens (that is, if America is still able to make lenses).
The constant discussion and comparison of American TV and MSM newspaper talking heads (Dylan Ratigan, Rachel Maddow, Ethan Bronner, etc) is too typical of this blog, and one of its (few) faults.
The over-emphasis on the effects the I/P ‘problem’ has on American internal politics reflects this solipsism to a T.
After all, it is the US that is propping up the Palestinian quisling, Muhammed Abbas, and who sent in Gen Dayton to train his ‘security’ thugs. It was the US that suborned the Jordanians to assist in this. It is America who refuses discussion with Hamas, the overwhelmingly elected rulers of what is left of Palestine.
The whole current situation of the so-called ‘peace talks’ is intimately related to the Democratic party’s chances in the coming elections, not to a real solution of the I/P confrontation.
Not a single one of America’s dumb voters would be in the least impressed by a ‘breakthrough’ in the I/P ‘negotiations’. They are more concerned (rightly) with unemployment, home foreclosures, and the multiple robberies by ‘Wall Street’. So what is the point of Nobel Peace Prizer Obama kow-towing to that little self-satisfied shit, BYahoo?
Bringing up Rachel Maddow etc and how these talking heads ignore the most critical issues in the middle east and how this decades long conflict is not only illegal and immoral but is a serious threat to U.S. National security
“Not a single one of America’s dumb voters would be in the least impressed by a ‘breakthrough’ in the I/P ‘negotiations’”
More and more people are becoming aware of what is really going on in this conflict. They are realizing that Israel has never stopped building or expanding illegal settlements …never.
The callers into C-span’s Washington Journal bring this critical issue up more than ever before.