If anybody wanted to know if the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Zionist Lobby in the US, would be any different under the Obama administration, then the answer came when Charles W. ("Chas") Freeman last week 'withdrew' his appointment to the post of chairman of the US National Intelligence Council under pressure from the lobby.
The Israeli Lobby specialises in character assassination, willful distortion of facts, half truths, vilification and outright lies among other insidious acts. Freeman's 'disqualification' came about because of his reputation as a man of honour - a man who believes in justice and fair play. Not quite the qualifications that would endear him to the Zionist lobby.
He was selected by National Intelligence Director Admiral Dennis Blair to serve as chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC).
The NIC is the think-tank of the US intelligence community that guides the administration on matters important to US interests in the world.
The Zionist lobby backed by Fox News, owned by the neo-con media magnate Rupert Murdoch, campaigned heavily against his appointment claiming he had close ties with the Arabs and the Chinese. As if such contacts were acts of treachery.
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| Freeman: Withdraws under Zionist pressure |
Leading the pack of hounds in the ugly war against Freeman was Steven J. Rosen who is currently on trial in the US on espionage charges.
He is alleged to have passed sensitive and classified information to Israel. What a state of affairs. On the one hand, the state is prosecuting a pro-Israeli American citizen for spying for Israel. On the other, is bowing to his dictates aimed at quashing the appointment of a man who has served the nation loyally and uprightly. It's true what they say, America leads the way.
Backing the AIPAC euphemistically called 'special interest group' was Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer whose loyalty to Israel is more widely known than his loyalty to the US. After Freeman's withdrawal he bragged he had urged the White House to reject Freeman's appointment and that he was 'glad they did the right thing'.
It is widely believed the anti-Freeman campaigners got valuable support from Rahm 'our man in the White House' Emmanuel who is the White House chief of staff.
Emmanuel is an Israeli citizen who took the first flight home when the Jewish state began its bombing blitz on Lebanon in 2006 saying he wanted to help his country in anyway he could.
Charles Freeman's undoing was that he was a strong critic of the special US-Israeli relationship. What frightened the neo-con Zionists was that his views were popular with certain sections of Americans who felt that Israeli interference was all too pervasive in the domestic and foreign affairs of their country but were too afraid to speak out.
The lessons of Sen. Paul Findley, who was brought down by the Jewish lobby, were still fresh in their minds as was the example of Cynthia McKinney. They had chosen to speak out for the Palestinians in the interests of US foreign relations with the Muslim world
Freeman was US ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War and has vast experience in Latin America, Asia and Africa. With a resume like that you would expect the Obama administration to grab him as an irreplaceable asset. Obama could have used Fox News' 'accusation' of his 'Chinese contacts' to engage China in a way to help ease the Global Economic slump. Besides, Freeman could have contributed enormously in improving China-US 'connections' with his fluency in Mandarin Chinese. But sadly US interests don't matter in the US. Israeli interests do.
Obama came to the White House promising change. But it seems that more things change the more they remain the same.
* The writer is the vice president of the Sri Lanka-Palestine Solidarity Movement |
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