Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is dangerous, intelligent — and a favorite of the pro-Israel, pro-war-with-Iran lobby. He’s just successfully played the New York Times editorial page for chumps, and he’s moving steadily forward with what will likely be a run for the presidency in 2024. He bears watching.
The 43-year-old Cotton is actually what Donald Trump in private moments probably would like to be. Cotton graduated from Harvard and Harvard Law School, then served 5 years in the U.S. army, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. After a stint in the House, he was elected to the Senate from Arkansas in 2014, and for a time was the youngest member of that body; this year he is running for reelection unopposed.
In The Nation, Jeet Heer did a quick, valuable report, saying that Cotton “is a master of trolling the media and could unite the Republican Party.” Heer warned, “That would make him much more dangerous than Trump.”
What’s insufficiently emphasized in Heer’s warning is Cotton’s connection to a key segment of the Israel lobby. This site, way back in March 2015, pointed out that “Cotton’s rise was fueled” by rightwing pro-Israel money. Bill Kristol’s Emergency Committee for Israel raised nearly $1 million in the closing days of Cotton’s 2014 campaign, and he also got significant donations from other big pro-Israel donors, including hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer and the gambling magnate Sheldon Adelson.
Cotton repaid those donors almost immediately. He drafted a letter trying to undermine the Obama administration’s pending Iran deal, and got 46 other Republican senators to sign it. The letter itself was shocking — it directly addressed Iran’s leaders, threatening them that the Obama deal would be invalid unless Congress also approved it. Critics said the Cotton letter may have violated the Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from interfering in U.S. foreign policy.
A (rare) New York Times report on pro-Israel money in U.S. politics noted that “it is highly unusual for a freshman senator to take a bold step like his [Cotton’s] Iran letter, and then persuade dozens of colleagues to endorse it.” (That article included an amusing aside: “A spokesman for Mr. Cotton said the senator had written the letter himself, although Mr. [Bill] Kristol said he had had a conversation with him about it.”)
(For now, Bill Kristol may be mildly uncomfortable. He’s part of the Never Trump group, even though Cotton remains one of the president’s strongest Senate allies. But that difference didn’t prevent Cotton in June 2017 from picking Kristol’s son, Joseph, as his legislative director.)
Tom Cotton’s enthusiasm for Israel and hatred for Iran are no doubt genuine. But surely his financial ties to a wealthy segment of the Israel lobby are also relevant, especially if he starts his run for the presidency.
Must read:
“Israel Loses Its Best—An Analysis” (8 June 2020) by Professor Lawrence Davidson (Blog: http://www.tothepointanalyses.com)
EXCERPT:
Part I—Emigration
“In 2012 the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on a poll suggesting that at least one-third of Israelis would consider emigrating abroad if the opportunity presented itself. This was not to be temporary phenomenon. An updated 2018 Newsweek article stated that ‘Israel celebrates its 70th birthday in May with the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Yet the country is grappling with an existential crisis. … Spurred by the high cost of living, low salaries, and political and demographic trends, Israelis are leaving the country in droves.’ Given the fact that ‘Israel has one of the highest poverty rates and levels of income inequality in the Western world,’ you can see why the notion that Israel is ‘absolutely essential … to the security of Jews around the world’ is up for debate among Jews themselves.
“While economics is certainly playing a role in this emigration, it is not the only factor. There is also a question of conscience. Particularly noticeable among those leaving are numbers of intellectuals and academics. And among this group are some of Israel’s most ethical citizens. Here we can again turn to Haaretz.
“On 23 May 2020 the newspaper published a series of interviews with some of the activists and scholars despairing of enlightened change and therefore choosing to leave the country. Here are a few examples:
—“Ariella Azoulay, an internationally recognized curator and art theoretician and her partner, philosopher Adi Ophir, who was among the founders of the 21st Year, an anti-occupation organization.”
—“Anat Biletzki, a former chairwoman of B’Tselem — the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.”
—“Dana Golan, former executive director of the anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence.“ (cont’d)
Intelligent? Don’t stick your neck out for him – that job is taken.Cotton is a spokesman/lobbyist for the weapons/war industry and nothing more. I have yet to hear of him speaking up on behalf of his state or constituency. Corrupt to the core and with his head clear up Israel’s backside. Money money money put him where he is and don’t forget it. Ideology “trumps” intelligence every time. He is a disgrace to America
Prof. Davidson cont’d:
—“Yonatan Shapira,…who initiated the 2003 letter of the pilots who refused to participate in attacks in the occupied territories.”
—“Neve Gordon, political scientist, who was director of Physicians for Human Rights & active in the Ta’ayush Arab Jewish Partnership.”
“And the list goes on for quite a while. According to the article, ‘the word that recurs time & again when one speaks with these individuals is ‘despair.’ Percolating despair, continuing for years.” That is, despair among those people trying to build a society where Israeli Jews & Palestinians could live in harmony as equals. It has gotten to the point where such a humanitarian stance can result in being ‘forced out of their jobs because of their political beliefs & activities’ &/or the realization that ‘they could no longer express their views in Israel without fear.’ Those with children expressed concerns about raising them within the political & social climate that now dominates Israel.
“Part II—Empowered Fanaticism”
“It is to be expected that each of these expatriates has mixed feelings about leaving Israel. After all, they leave not only a suffocating political & social climate, but also their community & a Hebrew language that many find personally enriching. Unfortunately, empowered fanaticism puts at risk all that is culturally & socially positive.”
“And empowered fanaticism is what you get when nationalism merges with an exclusive tribalism characterized by racism and religious zealotry. Eitan Bronstein, an Israeli activist now living abroad, gives a sense of this when he observes that ‘There is something quite insane in Israel.’ To grasp it fully an Israeli must learn to see it from the outside— ‘to look at it from a distance is at least a little saner.’ (Please read entire article at http://www.tothepointanalyses.com)
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Tom Cotton indeed is an aggressive proponent of yet more stupidity by the US in its attitude toward Iran. More war. Endless war, to protect Israel.