By Melissa Rossi
Posted February 6, 2009 | 05:59 PM (EST)
Courtesy Of The Huffington Post
I'd thought it would just be a breezy Friday afternoon, when I clicked on today's post of M.J. Rosenberg, here on Huffington Post.
Director of Policy for the Israel Policy Forum, Mr. Rosenberg's blog entry concerns the upcoming Israeli election -- and he tells us the outcome is "really not our business." After all, he blithely notes, "As Americans, our job is to promote policies that are best for America, and for Israel."
There weren't comments when I started reading -- but by the time I read through his post and hit the reply button, there were already five comments and more pending. All of them saying the same thing -- no, Mr. Rosenberg -- our job is to promote policies that are best for America. PERIOD.
I am truly alarmed at the idea that Israel is indeed our 51st state -- falling, apparently between Indiana and Kansas -- but this idea is fairly entrenched in US foreign policy. After all, unbeknownst to most Americans, Israel -- an affluent country -- receives more US foreign aid than ANY other country in the world -- and the bulk of it goes for arms, a result of the 1979 Camp David Agreement that brought Israeli-Egyptian peace, as I note in this entry.
Thus, everytime Israel makes a military move, it reflects on the US -- since they're using our freebie arms, as I note here.
The neocons who dominated both the Bush administrations, son's and father's, adopted the idea that what's good for Israel is good for the US, and there are those that argue that in fact our 2003 march into Iraq was more about conquering a threat to Israel than destroying a threat to the US.
And certainly, if Israel makes a move on Iran -- which remains a distinct possibility whoever wins the election -- and perhaps even before, as I discuss here -- it will not only reflect on the US yet again, it may pull us directly or indirectly into the ugliest war we've yet seen in the Middle East.
So, sorry, Mr. Rosenberg, it is our business who wins the elections in Israel -- nevertheless, Israel is not our latest state. And Mr. Rosenberg, I will be happy to debate you on this issue is any forum you name.-- Melissa Rossi is the author of What Every American Should Know about the Middle East
(Plume/Penguin, Jan. 2009)
NOTE: I've taken the liberty to include some sobering & accurate comments that were posted on the Huffington Post, in response to Melissa's article:
1. justice2al:
Israel pulling us into a war with Iran,,wow,,that is one disturbing thought (but as you point out a very real one)!
2. photog606:
Israel To U.S.: Don't Delay Iraq Attack
Sharon Government Urges Prompt Action Against Saddam
JERUSALEM, Aug. 16, 2002
(CBS) Israel is urging U.S. officials not to delay a military strike against Iraq's Saddam Hussein, an aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday.
Israeli intelligence officials have gathered evidence that Iraq is speeding up efforts to produce biological and chemical weapons, said Sharon aide Ranaan Gissin.
"Any postponement of an attack on Iraq at this stage will serve no purpose," Gissin said. "It will only give him (Saddam) more of an opportunity to accelerate his program of weapons of mass destruction."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/18/world/main519037.shtml
3. photog606:
Israeli Subcommittee Faults Intelligence on Iraq:
The subcommittee found that Israeli intelligence agencies used information from foreign intelligence services without recognizing that the other states obtained the data from Israel in the first place.
http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004_05/newsbriefs
"Other states [meaning the US] obtained the data from Israel in the first place"
Israel linked to Iraq intelligence failure, general says:
Israel was a "full partner" in American and British intelligence failures that exaggerated former president Saddam Hussein's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs before the US-led invasion of Iraq, a report by an Israeli military research centre has alleged.
"The failures of this war indicate weaknesses and inherent flaws within Israeli intelligence and among Israeli decision-makers," Brigadier-General Shlomo Brom wrote in an analysis for Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Centre for Strategic Studies...
http://www.theage.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2003/12/05/1070351789502.html
4. hacksaw:
Israel urges U.S. to attack Iraq sooner rather than later
Saturday, August 17, 2002 at 10:00 EST
JERUSALEM " Israel is urging U.S. officials not to delay a military strike against Iraq's Saddam Hussein, an aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday.
Israeli intelligence officials have gathered evidence that Iraq is speeding up efforts to produce biological and chemical weapons, said Sharon aide Ranaan Gissin.
"Any postponement of an attack on Iraq at this stage will serve no purpose," Gissin said. "It will only give him (Saddam) more of an opportunity to accelerate his program of weapons of mass destruction."
The United States has been considering a military campaign against Iraq to remove Saddam from power, listing him as one of the world's main terrorist regimes. However, there is considerable world opposition to a U.S. strike.
5. Rondog699:
If Israel were so concerned about its survival, maybe they should try spreading some goodwill toward their neighbors instead of attacking anything and everything that moves. I wouldn't mind that the US supported Israel with $3 billion/year if I knew that most of the money was going toward humanitarian efforts to stabilize the region. Why should we continue giving them more and more money if their just taking it and escalating their conflict even more (Iran 2009? Anyone??) Israel claims that they are only fighting for their survival. Well guess what... the Palestinians are also fighting for their survival... LITERALLY!! Enough of the killing. Oh, and Israel: When are you going to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? Iran is a signatory. Tell me again who's not playing by the rules??
6. musings2:
It just seems that Israel, far from being confident in having a friend in the US, seems to need to create this myth that nobody likes them, they are going it alone. That reminds me of someone in my family, for whom you knock yourself out, getting her through every difficult patch, and then you hear it again "I'm on my own. Nobody cares. It's me against the world." This is not only neurotic, it also seems to excuse every act of aggression on her part against ex's, employers, her child's teachers. But it looks like Israel does to me, with her refusal to consider that aggression never has any outcome but conflict.
Where is the maturity?
For our part, the taxpayers that is, who must do without so that the military contractors will get paid and so that nations like Israel can be armed, and regime change go forth which must be primarily for her benefit, certainly not ours, it resembles the situation of taxation without representation. Where is our lobby? Where is our voice in our Congress on these matters? Do we have a right to a seat in the Knesset? How do the settlers in Israel affect us, encouraged as they are to multiply while we practice birth control. We idealize ethnic equality while they shamelessly seek the opposite.
We revolted against an England which taxed us for its endless wars with France.
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, and its leaking our money.
7. flipbiscut24:
Thank you for posting this article.
It's time US aid (3 billion?) to Israel is ended.
What's good for Israel is not what's good for the US. Religious fundamentalism (Christian) should be put in check and their perverted version of prophecy and the Bible addressed.
Israel has a right to exist on their own, without US taxpayer money.
Walt and Mearsheimer were right.
8. foolwriter:
As a U.S. taxpayer, I can unequivocally state that if Israel wants to continue the cycle of violence in the Middle East, I'd rather they didn't do so with weapons I've helped buy them.
That makes me feel dirty.
9. BillZBubb:
Israel fights its wars on our dime--and we always get the inevitable backlash. If we could get rid of AIPAC, we might actually begin to develop a sane, even-handed Middle East policy.
10. mommadona:
"After all, unbeknownst to most Americans, Israel -- an affluent country -- receives more US foreign aid than ANY other country in the world -- and the bulk of it goes for arms, a result of the 1979 Camp David Agreement that brought Israeli-Egyptian peace, as I note in this entry.
Thus, everytime Israel makes a military move, it reflects on the US -- since they're using our freebie arms, as I note here."
BINGO!
She's rich.
She's over 50 years old.
Time the lady was on her own.
11. TruthSeeker200:
Thank you for speaking up.
I am happy that we finally start to read more articles critical of Israel. I hope this would move on to include TV news shows too.
Israel has been following a dangerous path and we need to put a stop to that.
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