by Benjamin Merhav
As I have indicated earlier in this series, Noam Chomsky has been a zionist all his life, as well as a supporter of USA imperialism. This correlation between his more obvious zionist loyalty and his well hidden support for the USA ruling class has come to the fore in recents months with his downplay and ridicule of the Mearsheimer and Walt paper ,which exposed the zionist lobby's influence in Washington. Yet ,Noam Chomsky continues to masquerade as "champion of peace and justice", and as "anti-imperialist guru of the Left", thus misleading many people into trusting his books and articles which are no more than traps for the unwary.
The following article was emailed to me today by "Sadanand, Nanjundiah (Physics Earth Sciences)"
"30 Jun 2007 12:37:31 -0400
From: "Sadanand, Nanjundiah (Physics Earth Sciences)"
Paul Findley: Subservience To Israel, from the sinking of the
Liberty to now
June 8, 2007
In the greatest service of his long public life, former President Jimmy
Carter warns of the grave consequences of America's phenomenal
subservience to Israel. In his latest book and recent lectures, he
focuses on how Israel's cruel occupation, made possible by massive and
unconditional U.S. support, has subjected the Palestinian people to
terrible suffering for forty long years. Beyond that grave human
tragedy, candid observers must cite U.S. complicity in Israeli
lawlessness as the major factor that prompted the horror of 9/11 and
lured America into launching three costly, wrong-headed, and failing
wars, - Afghanistan, Iraq and the War on Terror.
The linkage is easily identified.
America's support of Israel's brutality was the main motivation for
9/11. It was the ultimate expression of Arab fury over America's
double standard that routinely ignores Israeli violations of Arab human
rights. Nine-eleven would not have happened if any U.S. president in
the last forty years had refused to finance Israel's humiliation and
destruction of Palestine. Michael Scheuer, a former CIA analyst now a
consultant to CBS News, recently told a congressional committee that
"our unqualified support of Israel" was the main reason for 9/11.
Marine General Anthony Zinni, President George W. Bush's first special
envoy to the Middle East, has stated that the United States invaded Iraq
for Israel and oil. Osama bin Laden repeatedly said it was payback for
U.S. support of Israel's brutal treatment of Palestinians and other
Arabs and for U.S. complicity in 1982 when Israeli forces used
U.S.-donated munitions to massacre over 18,000 innocent Arabs in Lebanon.
The U.S. acts of war in Afghanistan and the War on Terror were President
Bush's retaliation for 9/11. Israel-and only Israel-urged the United
States to invade Iraq. Israel's lobby in Washington pushed hard and
prevailed. To our foreign critics, these wars focus on killing people
outraged by our pro-Israel bias. Our government has done nothing to
redress the grievances of Israel's victims.
Despite this grim record, U.S. subservience to the wishes of Israel''s
leaders does not change. Unconditional aid to Israel keeps flowing, as
does Israel's savage treatment of Palestinians and other Arabs.
Moreover, the Bush administration is fully and openly pledged to do
whatever is necessary---even acts of war--to halt Iran's nuclear
program even if its projects are lawfully limited to peaceful purposes.
Israel is the only nation urging the United States to attack Iran.
The lobby is pushing hard again. If the U.S. assaults Iran it will be on
Israel's behalf.
Congress, like the rest of America, is totally devoid of debate on the
amazing role of this small nation in critical U.S. policy. Members are
fulsome in public praise of the Jewish state, but no politician mentions
the illegal behavior of Israel or the staggering burden it imposes on
our country.
How did Israel gain this influence?
It all started 40 years ago. On June 8, 1967, the U.S.
commander-in-chief, President Lyndon B. Johnson, turned his back on the
crew of a U.S. navy ship, the USS Liberty, despite the fact that the
ship was under deadly assault by Israel's air and sea forces. The
Israelis were engaged in an ugly scheme to lure America into their war
against Arab states. They tried to destroy the Liberty and its entire
crew, then pin the blame on the Arabs. This, they reasoned, would
outrage the American people and immediately lead the United States to
join Israel's battle against Arabs.
The scheme almost worked. It failed because, despite the
carefully-planned multi-pronged assault, the Liberty crew managed to
broadcast an SOS over a makeshift antenna. When the appeal reached U.S.
aircraft carriers nearby, the commanders immediately launched fighter
planes to defend the ship. Informed of the launch, President Johnson
ordered the rescue planes to turn back immediately.
For the first time in history, forces of the U.S. Navy were denied the
right to defend a Navy ship under attack. Johnson said, "I don't care
if the ship sinks, I am not going to embarrass an ally." Those were his
exact words, heard by Navy personnel listening to radio relays. The
ally Johnson refused to embarrass was Israel. To him, saving Israel
from embarrassment was more important than saving the lives of the
Liberty crew.
The day yielded infamy, - deceit, lies and cover-up at the highest level.
When the SOS reached the top military commanders in Israel, they
immediately canceled the assault, claiming it was a case of
mistaken identity. At the White House, Johnson accepted
Israel's claim, even though he knew it was a lie. Then Johnson
magnified the day's infamy by ordering a cover-up of the truth.
Liberty survivors were sworn to secrecy. Even those in hospital beds
and badly wounded were threatened with court martial if they told anyone
what actually happened. The cover-up has been continued by every
administration since Johnson's.
It proved to be a fateful turning point in Israel's power over U.S.
foreign policy. The Liberty experience convinced Israeli officials that
they could get by with literally anything---even the murder of U.S.
sailors--in their manipulation of the U.S. government. Financial aid to
Israel began to pour like a river, all of it with no stings attached.
According to The Christian Science Monitor, this outpouring has now cost
U.S. taxpayers over $1.4 trillion.
Costs go far beyond money.
Thousands of American families are blighted forever, with America's
once high moral standing in shambles. Because of its unqualified
support of Israel, Washington is hated worldwide as never before.
The principal source of Israel's influence is the fear it seems to
instill in every sector of our society. The most effective instrument
of intimidation employed by its lobby is the reckless accusation of
anti-Semitism, often leveled at anyone criticizing any aspect of Israeli
behavior. Several organizations, fundamentalist Christian as well as
Jewish, lobby for Israel, but the principal one is the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC]. I can personally certify that for
many years it has cast a blanket of fear over Capitol Hill and blocked
any semblance of unfettered discussion.
I unintentionally contributed to that fear in 1985 when my book, They
Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby, was
published. It reports in detail the efficiency of Israel's U.S. lobby,
its history and tactics. Most of the text arose from my personal
experience as AIPAC''s prime target during my last five years as a
Member of Congress. It also details the lobby's important role in
the defeat of Senators Charles Percy and Adlai Stevenson, and U.S. Rep.
Paul "Pete" McCloskey. In a rare burst of public candor about its
partisan activities, AIPAC claimed credit for defeating re-election bids
by myself in 1982 and Senator Percy in 1984.
My book became a bestseller. I hoped it would inspire public officials
and other citizens to revolt against the lobby's influence on U.S.
policy, but several of my former colleagues told me it had the opposite
effect. One said, "After what AIPAC did to you and Percy, I vote with
the lobby every time."
Israel's grip on America seems impervious. Two distinguished political
scientists, John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen
Walt of Harvard, strode resolutely into the Middle East minefield a year
ago by co-authoring a paper on Israel's lobby. More recently,
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, a book written by former President
Carter, revered worldwide for his effective work on international
conflict resolution, was published.
These brave statements should have produced a groundswell of public
protest demanding America's liberation from Israel. Although the
professors and Carter have pursued the lecture circuit, no tide of
outrage has developed. With few exceptions, America's major editors,
producers, commentators, academics and politicians have given these
courageous initiatives the silent treatment. Democratic leaders on
Capitol Hill simply said, "Carter doesn't not speak for the Democratic
Party."
Nationwide, the lobby's influence is pervasive, sustained and deep, a
phenomenon unprecedented in U.S. history. Because of that power, the
"other" Israel is almost never discussed openly and candidly any place
in America, even in private conversation. It is impossible to explain
the silence except as a reflection of profound fear.
The situation is highly dangerous. America has already paid a towering
price for our subservience to Israel, and great additional burdens seem
inevitable. If the United States is involved in acts of war against
Iran, anti-American protest will rise to new heights, especially
throughout the Islamic world. It will inevitably deepen the widely-held
belief among Muslims that America seeks to undermine Islam.
The outlook for reform is grim. Elected officials of both major
political parties in Washington seem hopelessly captured by Israel's
agents. So does every serious candidate for the presidency in 2008. A
senior U.S. Senator told me recently that Israel cannot expect to
experience true security until Palestinians are secure in an independent
state of their own, but he spoke off the record and has not made that
wise declaration in public.
All U.S. citizens must accept a measure of responsibility for Israel's
grip on America. Those of us who knew what was happening did not
protest with sufficient force and clarity. Those who did not know
should have taken their responsibility as citizens more seriously. They
should have informed themselves.
The scene is likely to improve only if U.S. elected officials are
criticized so forthrightly from home that they fear a constituent revolt
more than they fear Israel's lobby. This, of course, will not happen
until the countryside benefits from a rigorous and edifying public
debate about Israel's role in our national life."
(Emphasis added- B.M.)
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