Exclusive: Contrary to common belief, Israel supported Iran’s Islamic Republic for more than a decade in the 1980s before shifting its favors to Saudi Arabia in the 1990s and making sure the U.S. followed suit, recalls Ted Snider.
By Ted Snider
At first, American officials couldn’t believe it. In 1993, the Israelis began pressuring the Clinton administration to view Iran as the greatest global threat. Only a short time earlier, in the 1980s, Israel had been cooperating with the Iranians militarily and selling them weapons to fight Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War.
Iranian women at a speech by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (Iranian government photo)
Back then, the Israelis were Iran’s best lobbyists in Washington, pushing the Reagan administration to talk to Iran, to sell arms to Iran, and even to ignore Iran’s tough talk on Israel. In that process, Israel was aided by a group of staunchly pro-Israeli officials within the Reagan administration whom we now know as the neoconservatives.
In 1981, just months after Iran had held 52 American diplomatic personnel hostage for 444 days, senior State Department officials Robert McFarlane and Paul Wolfowitz were advocating on behalf of the Israeli desire to sell Iran weapons. That initiative, which was continued by McFarlane when he became President Reagan’s National Security Advisor, ultimately led to the Iran-Contra scandal of 1986 when Reagan’s secret approval of U.S. arms shipments to Iran became public.
Yet, even in the wake of that scandal and the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, the neoconservatives who remained influential under Reagan’s successor, President George H.W. Bush, pressed ahead with the goal of getting the U.S. to warm its relations with Iran. Iraq’s defeat at the hands of the U.S. military and its allies in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91 further reduced the Arab threat to Israel’s security and encouraged more thinking about a possible U.S.-Iranian détente.
The Bush-I administration’s 1991 “National Security Strategy of the United States” said the U.S. was open to “an improved relationship with Iran,” a country that a 1991 National Intelligence Estimate said was “turning away from revolutionary excesses . . . toward more conventional behavior.”
However, in 1993, with the Clinton administration in power, the Israelis changed their tune, urging the U.S. government to find Iran lurking behind every terrorist attack, every conflict and every threat.
There appear to have been several factors leading to this Israeli switch – from the fact that the Cold War was over and thus Arab states that had relied on Soviet weaponry were weakened; that Iran-backed Hezbollah was challenging Israel’s military occupation of southern Lebanon; and that Israel could no longer profit from Iran’s desperate need for weapons (with the war with Iraq over and Iran’s treasury depleted) while the Arab oil states offered a more lucrative opportunity for both geopolitical and financial gain.
Hooked on the Money
Israeli leadership had found the billions of dollars from arms sales to Iran useful in maintaining Israel’s large military/intelligence infrastructure as well as Israel’s development of Jewish settlements inside Palestinian territories on the West Bank. With that cash source gone, Israel began recalculating its longstanding Periphery Strategy, which had called for countering Arab pressure from close-in states by cultivating relations with non-Arab regional powers on the periphery, such as Iran and Turkey.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations in 2012, drawing his own “red line” on how far he will let Iran go in refining nuclear fuel.
There were also two other seismic events that altered the geopolitical landscape. The Cold War was over and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had been humiliated in the Persian Gulf War. While the Israelis saw both events as positive, there were unintended consequences. The end of the Cold War meant the exit of the Soviet Union from the Middle East: that left Israel’s traditional Arab enemies even more enfeebled and the U.S. government less worried about losing influence in the oil-rich region. Iran also emerged as relatively stronger than Iraq due to Iraq’s failed invasion of Iran and its catastrophic defeat after its invasion of Kuwait.
Israel’s 1992 elections also brought Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and the Labor Party to power, raising the possibility of finally reaching a peace accord with the Palestinians and thus the possibility of more normalized relations with the Arab world. In turn, that raised the potential for more lucrative arrangements with oil-rich sheikdoms by, in effect, renting out the Israel Lobby to the Sunni-ruled Gulf states so they could push their historic conflict with the Shiites whose power base was Iran.
“There was a feeling in Israel that because of the end of the Cold War, relations with the U.S. were cooling and we needed some new glue for the alliance,” Efraim Inbar of the Begin-Sadat Center told Trita Parsi. “And the new glue was radical Islam.”
But it was a very selective kind of radical Islam: not the kind Saudi Arabia was financing and exporting through Wahhabi fundamentalism and violent jihadists like those in Al Qaeda, but Iran’s radical Shiite Islam. Selling Iran as the number one global terror threat gave birth to a new Middle East enemy that replaced the Soviet Union and reinflated Israel’s value to the U.S. in the region. “Iran,” Inbar went on to explain, “was radical Islam.”
A New Alliance
For the first time, an alliance between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States became possible with Iran as the designated enemy. The Israeli-Saudi relationship has evolved mostly in secret over the past couple of decades but has popped into view in recent years as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his inner circle have emphasized the common interests – especially animosity toward Iran – that they share with Saudi Arabia.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia and his entourage arrive to greet President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 27, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Netanyahu has recently referred to this Israeli-Saudi alliance when he said that Iran was driving Israel into cooperative arrangements with what he called “the modern Sunni states.” He referred to “a new alliance between Israel and Islamic states. … The good news is that the other guys are getting together with Israel as never before. It is something that I would have never expected in my lifetime.”
Nine months ago, Netanyahu delivered the same message when he said “for the first time in my lifetime, and for the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy, but, increasingly, as an ally.”
Though the Israeli-Saudi relationship is rarely spoken of out loud, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz admitted recently that Israel “has ties that are . . . partly covert with many Muslim and Arab countries.” Saudi Arabia was the only one he specifically named. According to Reuters, he said those ties are fueled by “common concerns over Iran.”
But there are other foundations for this relationship. For years, Saudi Arabia sought to buy influence in Washington’s policy circles regarding the Middle East but was largely unsuccessful because Israel had cornered that market and Israel’s influential American supporters demonized lobbyists, academics and others who took Saudi money. Eventually, it became clear to Saudi Arabia that it made more sense to rent out Israel’s sophisticated lobbying apparatus rather than to fight it.
Investigative journalist Robert Parry reported that Saudi money helped seal this Israel-Saudi alliance, with the Saudis giving Israel billions of dollars and Israel reciprocating by giving Saudi Arabia added influence in Washington.
But Official Washington was surprised in the 1990s when Israel’s turnabout began — and Iran went from being a misunderstood nation tilting toward moderation to the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. Despite some bewilderment, U.S. policymakers soon readjusted their rhetoric as the legendary Israeli influence operations carried the day. Shiite Iran became the new terror threat, even after the 9/11 attacks that were organized by Al Qaeda, a Sunni fundamentalist group associated with Saudi Arabia.
The Islamic State
The gap between the facts on the ground – the recognition that Al Qaeda and Islamic State remain the real chief terror threats from radical Islam – and the propaganda of principally blaming Iran for terrorism has led to a quandary for U.S./Israeli propagandists. They want to focus Americans’ fury on Iran and its allies, Syria and Hezbollah, but it is Saudi-and-Gulf-connected terror groups, such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State, that were chopping off heads of innocents and sponsoring terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Europe.
Journalist James Foley shortly before he was executed by an Islamic State operative in 2014
That disconnected reality explains why America’s response to the emergence of the Islamic State can best be characterized as confused and bizarre. Though the Obama administration claimed it was taken by surprise by the Islamic State’s emergence in Iraq and Syria, it really wasn’t. Rather, policymakers had sought to persuade the American public on the need for a “regime change” conflict in Syria, an Iranian ally. This strategy went back years.
A WikiLeaks-released cable dated Dec. 13, 2006, and written by the charge d’affaires of the U.S. embassy in Damascus to the Secretary of State recommended that the U.S. “coordinate more closely with” Egypt and Saudi Arabia in a policy to weaken President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria and “to play on Sunni fears of Iranian influence.” The cable also recognized that Islamist extremists were “certainly a long-term threat” to the Syrian government.
Over the years, there was little change in this inconvenient truth that jihadists were playing a crucial role in achieving these geopolitical goals. For instance, in a December 2009 cable, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that “Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban . . . and other terrorist groups.”
By Aug. 12, 2012, the U.S. government knew explicitly that Islamic extremists were the engine in the Syrian insurgency. A classified Defense Intelligence Agency Information Intelligence Report unambiguously declares that “The salafist [sic], the Muslim Brotherhood, and AQI [al-Qaeda in Iraq, later ISIS and the Islamic State] are the major forces driving the insurgency in Syria.”
Section 8.C. of the report astonishingly predicts that “If the situation unravels there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared salafist principality in eastern Syria.” Section 8.D.1. of the report goes on specifically to say that “ISI could also declare an Islamic State through its union with other terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria.”
So, the U.S. government knew that the Islamic extremists drove the Syrian insurgency that Washington and its regional allies were supporting. U.S. intelligence analysts also had a surprisingly good idea what the possible outcome of that support was.
Yet, to advance the regional goals of the Israeli-Saudi tandem – i.e., the overthrow of the Syrian government because of its ties to Iran – the U.S. government was, in effect, supporting the very terrorists the war on terror was meant to eradicate.
Selling Al Qaeda
At times, senior Israeli officials made clear their preferences for Sunni extremists over more moderate Arabs associated with Shiite-ruled Iran. For instance, in September 2013, then-Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel favored the Sunni extremists over Syria’s largely secular President Bashar al-Assad.
Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States.
“The greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc,” Oren said in the interview. “We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.” He said this was the case even if the “bad guys” were affiliated with Al Qaeda.
Oren reiterated this position in June 2014 at an Aspen Institute conference. Speaking as a former ambassador, Oren said Israel would even prefer a victory by the Islamic State, which was then massacring captured Iraqi soldiers and beheading Westerners, than the continuation of the Iranian-backed Assad in Syria.
“From Israel’s perspective, if there’s got to be an evil that’s got to prevail, let the Sunni evil prevail,” said Oren, who is now a member of the Knesset and part of Netanyahu’s government.
Other senior Israelis have expressed similar sentiments. Sima Shine, who is in charge of Iran for Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, urged Assad’s removal even if that might turn Syria over to extremists. “The ‘devil we know’ is worse than the devil we don’t,” she said in June 2013. “If Bashar remains in power, that would be a huge achievement for Iran.”
So, in 2014, when Islamic State jihadists advanced through Syria and Iraq and knocked on the door of Lebanon, their success should not have come as a surprise to President Obama and other U.S. policymakers. Today’s Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have in common that they are Iran’s three principal allies in the region.
In other words, the Islamic State’s interests largely corresponded to those of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the U.S.: isolating and weakening Iran. Only the Islamic State’s shocking excesses of videotaped beheadings of Americans and other captives – as well as its military successes inside Iraq – forced President Obama’s hand in committing U.S. forces to stop the Islamic State onslaught.
Obsessed with Assad
Still, America has long been bent on removing Assad from Syria. The coincidence of Islamic State and American interests in this regard is revealed in section 8.C of the DIA report: “there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared salafist principality in eastern Syria (Hasaka and Der Zor), and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia expansion (Iraq and Iran).”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
So, the Islamic State’s advance into this region was consistent with American (and more to the point, Israeli and Saudi) interests because these Sunni extremists would block the supply lines from Iran to Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Thus, initially at least, the U.S. government acquiesced to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front taking the lead in damaging or destroying Iran’s allies in Syria.
And Iran suspected as much. According to Iran expert Trita Parsi, the Iranians believed that the initial relaxed approach by the U.S. government toward the Islamic State and Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front was because those militants were the point of the spear against pro-Iranian Shiite influences in not only Syria but Iraq and Lebanon as well.
So, the Saudi government provided the “clandestine financial and logistic support to Isis and other radical groups in the region,” according to a leaked Hillary Clinton email on Sept. 17, 2014.
Less than a month later, on Oct. 2, 2014, Vice President Biden told a seminar at Harvard’s Kennedy School that “the Saudis, the emirates … poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of military weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad except that the people who were being supplied were Al Nusra and Al Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis.”
The DIA report also named the Gulf States as among the “supporting powers” of the Syrian opposition. And at a May 2015 meeting between President Obama and the Princes of the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to David Ignatius of the Washington Post, “Obama and other US officials urged Gulf leaders who are funding the opposition to keep control of their clients, so that a post-Assad regime isn’t controlled by extremists from the Islamic State or al-Qaeda.”
However, with the Israel lobby redirecting Official Washington’s ire toward Iran, more political space was created for these Saudi-connected terror groups to carry out the regime change missions in Syria and elsewhere.
And Israel didn’t just prefer a victory in Syria by the extremists of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. United Nations observers in the Golan Heights reported witnessing cooperation between Israel and Syrian rebels, and Israel has frequently bombed Syrian targets (and here and here).
Netanyahu also reported that Israel has hit Hezbollah forces fighting against the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in Syria dozens of times. Recently, it has been revealed that Israel also provided funding, food and fuel to Syrian rebels fighting Assad.
Lebanon’s Crisis
But the Syrian “regime change” strategy didn’t work. With help from Iran and Hezbollah and Russia’s intervention in 2015, Assad and his army not only survived but routed the Islamic State, Al Qaeda’s Nusra and other jihadists from major urban strongholds. Instead of Iran losing an ally in the region, Iran emerged with a stronger alliance and greater influence.
A Russian orchestra performing at Palmyra’s Roman theater on May 5, 2016, after Syrian troops, backed by Russian air power, reclaimed the ancient city from the Islamic State. (Image from RT’s live-streaming of the event.)
This setback, however, has not changed the Israeli-Saudi priorities; it has only made them more intense. As the outcome in Syria became more apparent, the anti-Iran gun sight pivoted to Lebanon. The recent confusing events in Lebanon, like the earlier ones in Syria, are best made sense of by looking through the gun barrel that is targeted on Iran.
On Nov. 4, after being summoned to Saudi Arabia, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri unexpectedly and mysteriously resigned. Hariri’s resignation came just one day after a meeting in Beirut with Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior foreign policy advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, that was reportedly very positive. Velayati praised Hariri and reaffirmed Iran’s support for his coalition government.
Yet, a day later, speaking from Saudi Arabia, Hariri claimed his resignation was catalyzed by fear of an Iranian-Hezbollah assassination. But the Lebanese army said “it had not uncovered any plans for assassinations in Lebanon.” Neither had the army. So, why resign?
The clue may be provided by Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs, Thamer al-Sabhan, who expressed Saudi Arabia’s desire for “toppling Hizbullah.” He promised that “The coming developments will definitely be astonishing.” He said the desire was not just his own, and that people “will see what will happen in the coming days.”
The Saudis said Hariri resigned because Hezbollah had “hijacked” his coalition government. Al-Sabhan called Hezbollah “the Party of Satan.”
Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, said that the resignation was “imposed on Prime Minister Hariri” by the Saudis. Nasrallah said Hezbollah did not want Hariri to resign, having been a part of Hariri’s coalition government for almost a year. Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, seemed to share Nasrallah’s suspicion, insisting that he would not accept Hariri’s resignation until Hariri returned to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia because his “resignation must be voluntary.”
In Lebanon, there was the suspicion that Hariri was held under house arrest. On Nov. 10, President Aoun told a meeting of foreign ambassadors that Hariri had been “kidnapped.”
Now, having finally returned to Lebanon after a French intervention brought him to Paris, Hariri met with President Aoun who asked him “to temporarily suspend submitting [his resignation] and to put it on hold ahead of further consultations on the reasons for it.” Hariri agreed.
Israel seems to have applauded Saudi Arabia’s Lebanese action and reaffirmed the Iranian motivation behind it. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that “The resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri and his statements are a wake-up call for the international community to act against Iranian aggression.”
Netanyahu also made a rare public acknowledgement of the Israeli-Saudi alliance when he said that Iran was driving Israel into cooperative arrangements with what he called “the modern Sunni states,” referring to “a new alliance between Israel and Islamic states.” According to reporting by Israel’s Channel 10, a leaked classified cable from the Israeli foreign ministry to Israeli ambassadors reveals that Israel ordered them to support Saudi Arabia’s efforts and to rally support for Hariri’s resignation.
Iran has also suggested that President Trump and the United States approve of this Lebanese intervention. The resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister came days after Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Saudi Arabia on a trip that was not made known publicly.
Yemen’s Tragedy
While this new alliance took aim at Iran by targeting Assad in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon, it also has targeted a Shiite spin-off sect, the Houthis in Yemen. Since 2015, the Saudis have been bombing and blockading Yemen, the Middle East’s poorest country. But on Nov. 5, Saudi Arabia expressed outrage after intercepting a ballistic missile fired by Houthi forces in Yemen toward Riyadh. The Saudis accused Iran of providing the missile and ordering the attack – and called this an “act of war” by Iran and Hezbollah.
A neighborhood in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa after an airstrike, October 9, 2015. (Wikipedia)
General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, called the charge against Iran “baseless,” as did Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gholamali Khoshroo. Even Saudi officials were calling the missile a Yemeni Burqan 2H missile when it was intercepted. The Houthis said they fired the missile in response to the long-running Saudi bombardment that included a recent attack that killed 26 people.
Despite these denials of Iranian responsibility and the context of Saudi Arabia’s air war, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Nikki Haley called on the U.N. to hold Iran accountable for violating U.N. Security Council resolutions by supplying the missile. She called on the U.N. to take “necessary action” against Iran.
The U.S. government has consistently rationalized the Saudi bombardment of Yemen as necessary to thwart Iranian influence in the Persian Gulf. U.S. accusations about Iran allegedly supplying the Houthis with weapons hang precariously on an “assessment” that Iran has used fishing boats to smuggle weapons into Yemen.
However, according to investigative journalist Gareth Porter, the U.S. was never able to produce any evidence for the link between Iran and the Houthis because the boats were stateless, and their destination was Somalia, not Yemen. An earlier ship was, indeed, Iranian but was not really carrying any weapons.
The Houthis also are allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who maintains control over the army, so the Houthis could get all the weapons they need from local arms supplies, including military bases stocked with American-made weapons.
And just as Iran does not substantially arm the Houthis, so it does not control them. In fact, they have proven to be beyond Tehran’s efforts to influence them. In 2014, the Iranians specifically discouraged the Houthis from capturing the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. However, the Houthis captured the city anyway, demonstrating Iran’s lack of control.
A U.S. intelligence official told The Huffington Post that “It is wrong to think of the Houthis as a proxy force for Iran.” Yemen specialist Gabriele vom Bruck has called Iran’s influence over the Houthis “trivial.” She said the Houthis want to be independent, not controlled by Iran: “I don’t think the Iranians have influence in their decision-making.” To the extent that Iran is involved in Yemen at all, that involvement came as a result of the devastating Saudi air war.
Dating back to the Obama administration, the U.S. government has made the Saudi aerial bombardment of Yemen possible. The U.S. refuels the Saudi bombers in flight, supplies the bombs and provides targeting intelligence.
This U.S. complicity in what is widely regarded as a humanitarian catastrophe has continued into the Trump administration. A White House statement as recently as Nov. 24 reaffirmed U.S. support for Saudi Arabia, declaring: “We remain committed to supporting Saudi Arabia and all our Gulf partners against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aggression and blatant violations of international law. Backed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Houthi rebels have used destabilizing missile systems to target Saudi Arabia.”
The statement again reveals, not only the alliance with Saudi Arabia and the silence about its devastating bombing attacks, but the strategy of turning Yemen’s human tragedy into another excuse to blame Iran. The Iranian foreign ministry said the White House statement “clearly and without question proves America’s participation and responsibility in the atrocities committed by Saudi Arabia in Yemen”.
Bahrain & Qatar
Washington’s Saudi-Israeli-supplied blinders on the Middle East carry over to other regional conflicts, too. For instance, in 2011, protesters in Bahrain demanded a true constitutional monarchy, the resignation of the Prime Minister, greater civil liberties and a real elected parliament. Though Bahrain has a parliament, it is actually governed by the U.S.-backed dictator, King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, whose family has ruled Bahrain for over 200 years. The prime minister, the king’s uncle, is the longest reigning prime minister in the world, in power now for nearly 40 years.
Saudi King Salman bids farewell to President Barack Obama at Erga Palace after a state visit to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 27, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Bahrain’s population is about 70 percent Shiite, though the ruling family, the government, the army and the police are all Sunni. The Shia have long been victims of discrimination. And the government maintains its control through repression, including the use of torture. Bahrain is located between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran and is seen by the U.S. as a strategically located check on Iranian influence and power.
Though the Obama administration touted itself as a big proponent of the “Arab Spring” and its promised democratization, Washington sided with the Bahraini dictators against the majority of the Bahraini people.
Days after mass arrests and beatings of protesters, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, went through with his planned visit to Bahrain where he reaffirmed the U.S.’s strong commitment to its military relationship with Bahrain and called Bahrain’s response to the protests “very measured.” Mullen stressed the U.S.-Bahrain “partnership” and “friendship.”
On the same day, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also gave full support to the Khalifa dictatorship. The U.S. continued to support the regime and to call for “stability” and “reform”: two words that are code for standing by dictatorships.
To help put down the protests in Bahrain, 1,000 Saudi troops invaded Bahrain across a causeway that connects the countries. The Obama administration remained silent.
Qatar also has suffered under the new Saudi-Israeli alliance because Qatar has pursued a more independent foreign policy than Saudi Arabia likes and now faces a Saudi-led siege as a consequence. Former British diplomat Alastair Crooke explained that Qatar’s principal sin is seeking peaceful coexistence with Iran.
When Washington asked Saudi Arabia to make reasonable proposals for the termination of the siege, Saudi Arabia included the demand that Qatar break all ties with Iran.
In other words, many of the most important events of the past several years are best explained as attempts to weaken Iran by weakening its proxies or allies or by setting up situations that appear to implicate Iran to justify hostility toward Iran.
A problem, however, has been that the major terrorist groups that have infuriated the American public are not Iranian-linked Shiites but rather Saudi-connected fundamentalist Sunnis. Still, the claim that “Iran is the chief sponsor of terrorism” has become a rote and routine refrain from both Republicans and Democrats – as well as the U.S. mainstream media.
Much as Russia now gets blamed for every negative turn in Western democracies, Iran is the all-purpose villain whenever anything goes wrong in the Middle East. Yet, to understand these conflicts and crises, it is best to view them through the perspective of the hostility that the Saudi-Israeli alliance directs toward Iran and the acquiescence of U.S. governments, regardless of which party is in power.
Ted Snider writes on analyzing patterns in US foreign policy and history.
for the record, On (or about) December 7, 2017 – United States President Donald Trump “Shocked The World!!” when he Enunciated His Decree that The United States of America would build an Embassy in The New Capitol, Jerusalem.
Before that, President George W. Bush and Dick Chaney commandeered an extensive swath of territory in Iraq, that served, (all intents & purposes) as A United States Fort / Hostile Takeover / Regime Change / Kill and Destroy Mission to Repeal and Replace Saddam Hussain. Chaney was a Brilliant swindler / Con Man / Smooth Operator who’d MAPPED OUT THE OIL FIELDS OF IRAQ WITH MULTIPLE OTHER EXTRACTION ELITES WHO PUT TOGETHER ELABORATE SCHEMES AS A WAY TO LEGALLY EXTORT.
It all emanates from an initiative of cunning desire. (ESAU) ( “the love of money is the root of all evil” )
The real enemies are the Pharmacies who feed off sales of experimental “medications”/drugs/chemicals-death enhancers/enablers/extractors of Life.
and
Sorcerous beguilers who deceive who entice who entrap.
Like Purdue Pharma, Manufacturers of Horrible Drugs
That LEAD to and ENTRAP into MORTIFYING ADDICTION
. . . {during commercial timeout, we should remember Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian Refugee Camps – where he ruthlessly / mercilessly murdered peace seeking humans who’d lived, Ismael and Isaac, peaceably , on the lands for hundreds of years after the Expulsion of Israel’s 10 Northern Tribes (kicked out of) by reason of (essentially) ‘treason’ against God and his Essentials of Life, and (a secure) Existence of Life on Earth.
Trump is the new Star Trek. Where Verdant Culture collides with the Here and Now threats to survival under a President that we watched have a neurological meltdown speaking that final word of his Enunciation.
December 7th? – That Day That Will Live In Infamy?
Please Find and read the ROBERT B. STINNETT book;
“DAY OF DECEIT – The Truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor”
.
Then consult history books beginning in 2030 when it will be approved to lie about the Actual Number of Palestinians that’ll be mowed down or imprisoned ( just as those human beings slaughtered or deprived in Yemen, ONE OF THE WORLDS POOREST COUNTRIES,and, Please Record the Equal Number of Murderous Deaths Are Suffered by The INDIGENOUS PEOPLE///
Profit and Loss. / What equality can be possible when The Zionist Rule The World and the Talmud is their guide… ?
The indians lost, get over it. The japs and germans lost, get over it. It has been a long time, snowflake!!! It has happened to every culture since the beginning of tim3
Very interesting article.Iran has a long history and culture dating back to King Xerxes. It’s a consistent society whereas the Saudis and Emirates were an illiterate bunch of goatherds and camel drivers before the oil era.They shouldn’t forget that.
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. The advent of writing in Elam was paralleled to Sumer, and the Elamite cuneiform was developed since the third millennium BC.
The territory of present-day Iran was home to several civilizations dating back to Bronze Age, including Elam, Jiroft, and Zayanderud. Elam, the most prominent of these civilizations, developed in the southwest alongside those in Mesopotamia, and continued its existence until the emergence of the Iranian empires.
First unified by the Iranian Medes in the seventh century BC, Iran reached its greatest extent during the Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus the Great in the sixth century BC, stretching from Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley.
At its greatest extent, the Achaemenid Empire included territories of modern-day Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan (Arran and Shirvan), Armenia, Georgia, Turkey (Anatolia), much of the Black Sea coastal regions, northeastern Greece and southern Bulgaria (Thrace), northern Greece and the Republic of Macedonia (Paeonia and Macedon), Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, all significant population centers of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya, Kuwait, northern Saudi Arabia, parts of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and much of Central Asia, making it the first world government and the largest empire the world had yet seen.
It is estimated that in 480 BC, 50 million people lived in the Achaemenid Empire. The empire at its peak governed 44% of the world’s population, the highest such figure for any empire in history.
The Achaemenid Empire is noted for the release of the Jewish exiles in Babylon, building infrastructures such as the Royal Road and the Chapar (postal service), and the use of an official language, Imperial Aramaic, throughout its territories. The empire had a centralized, bureaucratic administration under the emperor, a large professional army, and civil services, inspiring similar developments in later empires.
Eventual conflict on the western borders of the Achaemenid Empire began with the Ionian Revolt, which erupted into the Greco-Persian Wars and continued through the first half of the fifth century BC. The Iranian realm fell to Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC, but reemerged shortly after as the Parthian Empire, followed by the Sasanian Empire, which became a leading world power for the next four centuries.
Arab Muslims conquered the empire in the seventh century AD, ultimately leading to the displacement of the indigenous faiths of Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism with Islam. Iran made major contributions to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential figures in art and science.
After two centuries, a period of various native Muslim dynasties began, which were later conquered by the Turks and the Mongols. The rise of the Safavids in the 15th century led to the reestablishment of a unified Iranian state and national identity, which followed the country’s conversion to Shia Islam, marking a turning point in Iranian and Muslim history.
By the 18th century, under Nader Shah, Iran briefly possessed what was arguably the most powerful empire at the time. The 19th-century conflicts with the Russian Empire led to significant territorial losses. Popular unrest culminated in the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a constitutional monarchy and the country’s first legislature. Following a coup instigated by the United Kingdom and the United States in 1953, Iran gradually became closely aligned with the West, and grew increasingly autocratic. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, which followed the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
I found these interactive maps[1] helped me to visualize the time line.
[1] Interactive World History Atlas since 3000 BC
http://geacron.com/home-en/
They do have that…. And then islam came along and ruined that once grat civilisation and culture. Only remnants remain and i dont see what that has to do with modern day disputes between iran and saudi arabia
Trying to untangle the security, political, and cultural complexities of the Middle East is a Gordian knot. For the sake of the millions upon millions of innocents that are trapped in the middle. One can only hope that cooler heads prevail in that region.
Only if you pretend that something is “complex” or “complicated” with Israel’s relentless campaign to steal all the land in Solomon’s imaginary empire.
Clapping seals. Anyone remember that? 29 standing ovations–in CONGRESS. Who owns who?
Let me see if I can imitate an Israel Propagandist in making a suitable reply.
1. You must be an anti-Semitic b i g o t.
2. Didn’t happen. Stop telling falsehoods.
3. Everybody Does It!.
4. You oversimplify an extremely complicated situation.
5. “I am also amazed since coming to this site how many commentors view things in black and white terms.”
:D
Yeah but I didn’t see one of them balancing a ball on the end of their nose. They ain’t all that and BIBI didn’t get what he wanted (Yet) but those federal politicians can clap and give standing Ovations pretty well, got to hand it to them
There’re many comments here suggesting that Israel somehow dictates US foreogn policy regarding the middle East. Chomsky has often said that the US is analogous to a mafia don, with various “soldiers” at its disposal to “keep the don’s prints off the gun.” With the advent of the internet, and the ability to share information instantaneously, such obfuscation has become increasingly difficult to pull off, however.
That Israel somehow directs US policy in that region may be indirectly true; in the book Gaza In Crisis, Ilan Pape lays out a convincing argument that a generations-old clique of “Christian Zionists” may in fact be responsible for the seeming US subservience to Israel (rather like the disinformation campaign around Area 51); these are old-time gospel types, complete with ironclad acceptance of all the doomsday prophecies in the New Testament who somehow think establishing “Eretz Israel” will bring about the rapture…or its thermonuclear equivalent.
At any rate, this an excellent analysis that is sure to accelerate the rush to limit access to this sort of information; the Lords of Capital can’t handle the mob knowing the truth, now can they?
Yes, pretty much as I stated in my earlier post (November 30, 2017 at 4:37 pm). Israelis, however, could remove themselves from this death dance if they wanted to. OOPS! Correction! They probably cannot now given their treatment of their neighbors: if they didn’t go along with the US/Christian Zionists then all that free money that they use to cover their butts is gone and they’re sitting ducks. Change scene, Dr. Kong riding the nuclear bomb out the bomb bay door…
That remark triggered a memory of how the “Lords” can handle the mob even in the days of the internet. Back in 1935 Frederick Lewis Allen wrote a book titled “The Lords of Creation”. For a very long time the people with money kept it out of the hands of us peasants by the simple procedure of buying up every copy which came to the market. Recently it has been reprinted, and I’d like to have a copy. Unfortunately, in these sorts of cases I want access to an original. Altering a Kindle book or a reprint is as simple as inconveniencing a few quadrillion electrons. Why don’t I buy an original? Here is why:
h**ps://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Lords-of-Creation/253279779453?hash=item3af8a6ba7d:g:1ZAAAOSwRbtaGxxa
$682.50 + $8 shipping for a used book is just a little too rich for my blood. Even the 1966 reprint runs over $200. Same is true for “sensitive” books about Israel. Zionist billionaires can use the change they find in the couch after the party to buy up every single copy of a “harmful” text in the world. There are a couple I’d like to acquire for which there is no recent record of them being offered for sale at any price. In one case the British archives seem to have been purged. No wonder the Brits and the Zionists are getting drunk together celebrating the Balfour Resolution.
Mr. Snider could go back further with the Israel-Iran relationship It had a very close relationship with Shah, which partly explains Iranian hostility toward Israel. I think I am correct in saying that Mossad was instrumental in creating or at least strengthening Savak, the vicious secret police under the Shah. Mr. Snider explains the turnaround and I agree that Hezbollah was the or one of the main sparks for the present hostility.
His description of our deceitful policy regarding Islamic extremists is very thorough. It seems illogical that all our pundits and analysts have somehow missed this point unless they understand that their is a graveyard for those who offer differing opinions and they don’t want to be part of it.
Bows to my ass. MY ASS. Prince MSG / friends bragged that they financed 25% of Hillary’s campaign. WORD. As for Israel Hillary stated publicly that her first act as President would be to invite Bibi N. to the White House to tighten and coo-ordinate further military action in th middle east with Israel. You know that this is true if you read and pay attention. How could I not assume that Trump would be more cautious regarding a move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel sooner than Hillary.. Impossible. Peace babies, Peace.
Bad typing doing too many things at once. Correction, How coul I /anyone not assume that Trump would be more cautious than Hilary regarding moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? // lot of people didn’t like Pollard getting out of prison but it was going to happen. I think the Embassy move is also going to happen but that requires Saudi Approval I’m thinking. Hillary?, she would move the Embassy before Trump . I believe Trump would try to get a “deal” of some sort for doing so. Hillary would just take the money. Sorry
Ever heard of a proxy? U know, someone who stands in for you and does your dirty work for you. So, STUPID people will be fooled and think u had nothing to do with it? I am s0eaking of Iran. And its many proxies all over the middle east..come on, now…GROW A BRAIN
HRC NEVER SAID THAT, WOULD NEVER DO IT EITHER. TRUMP WANTED TO DOIT RIGHT AWAY, BUT HAD TO WAIT FOR SAUDI AGREEMENT, WHICH HE GOT . ALTHOUGH PUBLICLY THEY HAVE TO BE AGAINST IT.
“Israeli leadership had found the billions of dollars from arms sales to Iran useful in maintaining Israel’s large military/intelligence infrastructure as well as Israel’s development of Jewish settlements inside Palestinian territories on the West Bank.” Just as Israel had been delighted to arm and support Iran under the Shah. No principles at all -no wonder the USA and the UK are still such buddies of Israel, no matter that they all pretend to be against terrorists and blame Iran, who attacks nobody, to divert attention.
A little off topic but I’ve found Eva Bartlett to be quite credible.
https://ingaza.wordpress.com/
EXCELLENT ARTICLE. Thank you. Gotta keep the War Machine and the Fossil Fuel industry well fed so they can continue to buy politicians who support War and fight against Climate Change. No mention here of a pipeline across Syria.
Claims about the almost-magical power of tiny Israel over the US government are filed in the same drawer as “Russia stole the election” and “Iraq’s stockpiles of wmd.”
Naturally the troll ignores the way the Senators and Representatives snap to attention every time the holy shithole of Israel gives them their marching orders.
But in the absence of anything else to say, lies are all the propagandists have. And they MAY be paid by the number of posts they make.
Uh yes, i see how u responded to her assertion with an avanche of evidence proving your point!!!! LOLOL
Conventional Hasbara (overtly pro-Israel) propaganda troll “D.H. Fabian” insists that itsy bitsy teeny weeny “tiny” li’l Israel can do harm.
The Hasbara troll army insists that the working of the pro-Israel Lobby shenanigans, Israeli interference in American elections and foreign policy, daily abuses committed in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, Israeli support for terrorism, Israeli warmongering against Iran, Lebanon and Syria, and the Israeli/Saudi axis of evil are just “fake news”.
In reality, Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II.
To date, the United States has provided Israel $127.4 billion (current, or non-inflation-adjusted, dollars) in bilateral assistance.
Almost all U.S. bilateral aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance, although in the past Israel also received significant economic assistance.
At a signing ceremony at the State Department on September 14, 2016, representatives of the U.S. and Israeli governments signed a new ten-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on military aid covering FY2019 to FY2028. Under the terms of the MOU, the United States pledges to provide $38 billion in military aid ($33 billion in FMF grants plus $5 billion in missile defense appropriations)
to Israel. This new MOU will replace the current $30 billion 10-year agreement, which runs through FY2018.
https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20161222_RL33222_278feba814b80351cda4e906fdd20fb6d057b8d5.pdf
The US bows to the Israeli/Saudi alliance have cost billions of dollars and thousands of American lives.
All that lavish US aid to Israel has not made the United States more secure.
Perhaps in your tiny mind.
I was a once a member of an elite military force. To say that a small group of people cannot overtake and control a larger population is something that I KNOW to be totally WRONG.
But, hey, thanks for playing!
To say that it is highly improbable, especially in this case, would be the most accurate and reasonable conclusion. To say that it did happen and IS HAPPENING IN THIS CASE, without any factual evidence for your assertion is just plain nutty!!!! Stupid!!!! But hey, thank YOU for playing… Next time put some clothes on, Emporer, you look ridiculous
To be clear, you are suggesting there is no evidence at all for Israeli influence over the US government?
Well, that’s one view… but alas, it’s completely incompatible with reality.
You are correct
NOT!!! WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE? STYGG, BE CLEAR, PLEASE
maybe hard to believe israel, saudi arabia, ukraine, south korea, everyplace-the-u.s.-has-been-occupying-since-world-war-two hiccups before asking permission..
“..Dhahran Air Field Agreement ..permitted the U.S. to build a small air field near the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) town. The use of the term “air field”, as opposed to “air base” was a direct result of U.S. sensitivity of Saudi Arabia’s concerns regarding imperialism..”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Abdulaziz_Air_Base?
“..War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel (WRSA-I) ..consists of U.S. owned and U.S. managed ammunition stockpiles in Israel for use by either U.S. or Israeli forces ..weapons in the stockpile belong to the United States they are essentially for Israel’s use when they ask for it ..access to the American ammunition can be done fairly quickly once there is presidential approval ..”: https://www.yahoo.com/news/israel-hasnt-asked-access-us-arsenal-stored-israel-163521480–abc-news-politics.html
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
j. D. D. is correct, but we all too easily forget, the problem is not the nations, not the people, or everyday criminals, who live within the nations, not even the government apparatus of the nations but instead the problem resides in the intelligence services directly controlled by certain corporations [ the feudal lords who keep safe the bank control over money, energy, and everything else of consequential value ].
Intelligence conducts the information surveys, keeps the portfolios, and designs the behavioral stimuli so important to eliciting expected behaviors, directing specialized knowledge and makes available access and whereabouts information for each individual on earth. Those who control the His Lordship Corporations use that intelligence to light up the emotion activated networks. The intelligence communities are the working arms of the central banks; it is Intelligence that preforms in response to banking. Not corporate fascism, but propaganda Flashism might be a good name for the global banking-it-partnership. London syndicates its global banking: prominent offices are in NYC-Miami-La, Hong Kong, IsRAel, and MBS (as Saudi Arabia no longer exist).
There is no evidence at all for blaming UK. You are trying to divert attention from Israel, the only beneficiary of Mideast wars. Israel controls the US government through campaign bribes, and the US MIC seeks war anywhere.
There is no evidence at all for blaming UK. “JDD” seeks to divert attention from Israel, the only beneficiary of Mideast wars. Israel controls the US government through campaign bribes, and the US MIC seeks war anywhere. US intel is subservient to the oligarchy that installs the politicians, which is zionist by affiliation or opportunism.
Updates to the logical structure of the international monetary system[1-5] appear to be coming out on a 4-year cycle[6,7]. I don’t know about scheduled Swift proportional distribution reports[8]. Although I have a bias on tax reform similar to certain aspects of Edgar Feige, the Arthakranti(economic revolution) think tank and have no particular preference for gold, bitcoin or fiat currencies, the tax harvesting and wealth extraction process is a sight to behold in this video[9]. Bastiat would turn over in his grave.
[1] History of the Bank of England (1640-1903) | A Andreades
[2] History of the Federal Reserve | Allan Meltzer
[3] Central Bank Cooperation | Gianni Toniolo
[4] History of the IMF | Kazuhiko Yago
[5] World Bank Group (IBRD) | Wikipedia
[6] Intraday Liquidity Flows |FRBNY | 2012
[7] Intraday Liquidity Flows | FRBNY | 2016
[8] Worldwide Currency Usage & Trends | SWIFT
[9] The Biggest Scam in the History of Mankind | Mike Maloney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFDe5kUUyT0
Good essay Ted, it ties in nicely with some other articles Robert Parry wrote. Yours weaves it all into a factual account that makes sense of all the bits & pieces one hears about & sees.
The author is too quick to describe the role of the Saudis and Israel in their own terms, as if the tail is wagging the dog. The Saudis are not an independent state but are a creation of and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British, as is the Muslim Brotherhood since its inception. Likewise, Israel is carrying out US policy according to the script set forth by the British-allied necons and neoliberals in the US military and intelligence communities, which organized the destabilization of Arab nationalist regimes during both the Bush and Obama administrations. Nowhere is this more apparent then in British and American logistical support for the Saudi role in Yemen, without which that criminal and genocidal campaign could not take place.
Who’s wagging who? The tail is wagging the dog, and the dog is wagging the tail. It’s a dance. They are both dancing us into Hell.
I think the focus on Britain as a prime mover in these things is outdated in 2017, especially when compared to the U.S. and Israel.
However, I have read that people in Iran widely believe that it is actually Britain who is ultimately behind the machinations against their country, manipulating the big but relatively innocuous U.S.
Since it’s their country in the crosshairs, I give that opinion due respect, even though I disagree.
The focus on Britain is not outdated. You confuse the term with the British Isles and its citizens when in fact the modern day British Empire is a conglomeration which includes elites and oligarchs from City of London,Brussels,New York (Wall street), Hong Kong, Singapore, Jeruselum,etc. The empire never ended after WW1 & 2 just changed their strategy (devide and conquer)
Attempts to revive antique anti-colonialism by blaming Britain are usually intended to divert attention from Israel, the only beneficiary of Mideast wars. Britain is now a minor power only historically connected with the Mideast.
UK did conspire with the US to overthrow democracy in Iran in 1953, giving the US part of their colonial-era oil concession. No wonder the Iranians hate them, and they very properly hated the US, having suffered 26 years of US-sponsored dictatorship before their 1979 revolution. How would the US have responded to such an attack?
The U.S.did help overthrow the Soviet puppet regime installed by the U.S.S.R. during the cold war!!!! Duh, get your facts straight. The IRANIAN people enjoyed near “first world” standard of living. By far the most modern arab country. (Hint: ALL GOVERNMENTS in the REGION ARE BRUTAL AND INHUMANE TOWARDS THE OPPOSITION). The avg. Iranian citizen has know knowledge of the event you mentioned, Iran had the worlds youngest population after the. Islamic revolution set about the task of killing anyone old enough to remember how good they had it before.!!! and, just so you know, jimmy carter and the U.S. government secretely conspired with the AYATOLLAH, to orchestrate yet ANOTHER REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN. under the mistaken notion that the ayatollah would be a stronger and better u.s. ally the the Shah. LOLOL….only Jimmy Carter would be stupid enough to believe that one and he did!!!!!! Urging the Shah to stand down against the. Revolutionaries and promising major U.S. intervention if things got out of hand. Which he subsequently renigged on when they did. The documents proving this are readily available. The ignorance in this comment section is astounding. I dont have time to correct u all!!!
I suppose that the two words -London Bankers- does carry some weight. So, I’d think it wise to NOT discount Britain.
One has to figure out the BIG chicken and egg thing: Who has whose balls in their grips, do bankers have the military’s balls in their grasp, or do the military folks have the bankers’ balls in their grasp?
Not US. Trump!
We have met the enemy, and yes – it is US! Trump is only a dangerous symptom of the dangerous disease called the United States of America.
The West is owned and operated by an Empire. That Empire is not the US, not the deep state, not the NSA and certainly not the visible civilian government of the US. The US is the home of the institutions CIA, NSA, Pentagon etc which enforce the rule of the Empire, it is the front and mussel of the empire but not the Empire itself.
The Empire consists of the “owners” of the three Western religions the extremists who control the doctrines and holy sites of Christianity (Calvinism) Jewedism (Zionism) and Muslim (Wahhabi). These power centers are supported by powerful commercial interests because they work as one to dominate the economy and all of Western culture.
The message of these religions is all the same OBEDIENCE do what we say submit to rule by the rich who surround our “faith” never “covet” always obey. By having control of religious doctrine the super-oligarchy can direct economic activity to suite their pleasures and power.
So, the idea that there are cross purposes or that the interests the three power centers are not ultimately fully aligned should be considered with caution.
There is hope however, the doctrine is showing itself for what it is, an ideology of subjugation and the celebration of ruthless subjugation violence and amorality in the pursuit of power. Look around those who are rich and powerful are those who never consider the interests of anyone else.
The historical record is clear the “owners” of the three Western religions got control through the most ruthless slaughter and inflection of human misery necessary to achieve power without any morality what-so-ever. The Zionists worked with the Nazis, the al Saud family slaughtered millions on their way to now “owning” the Muslim holy sites and its doctrine. Their methods were the use of ruthless force at all times without hesitation and with no consideration except their own power.
The West, its culture, the Enlightenment itself, its religious ideology puts first and foremost ruthlessness and violence as the most sought after human qualities. Look at who is rewarded, those prepared to be the most ruthless.
The pastern is unmistakable power always goes to the most ruthless and brutal and once won the slaughtering subjugating victors are honored and celebrated. The historical record also shows that even the slightest hesitation in the pursuit of power and you loose.
All the religions claim to worship the same single god. That god is a vengeful god which demands the slaughter of the innocents to rid the world of evil. In this way war, slavery, genocide and the subjugation of billions in poverty for personal power is justified.
As for Christianity which is completely dominated by extremist Calvinist ideology one only need to read the story of the Dulles brothers and their slaughter of millions and their secret control of US power which they justified on exactly the grounds I stated above.
All three religions are under the control of those who support the most extreme form of that religion – how could it be otherwise?
In any event, until Western culture and society ends the rewarding above all else ruthlessness, violence and subjugation nothing much will change.
Bravo! Very telling insights about the deep sources of human “civilization’s” roots in an unbridled obsession with POWER.
Nailed it!
However, even w/o religion humans, who ARE of the animal kingdom, would always end up at a point of large scale conflict – war. Reason is the same as with every living thing- population growth that does not cease until it exhausts the available resources for growth. In addition to endeavor to “go forth and multiply,” as animals do, humans excel at deception: well, between humans; human hubris being what it is, it’s hard to say whether other animals are any less effective at being deceptive. Humans, therefore, can craft their own self-deception, despite the FACTS, that there can be perpetual growth on a finite planet. “Religions” attempt to mask (read” “deception”) all of this by claiming that everyone is peaceful, but yet when the time comes…
“Religions” are the stories we tell ourselves. They provide for our means of self-deception (not necessarily responsible for it). And, for sure, they provide for deception by the powerful over the less-powerful (despite all their teaching that the less-powerful are to be seen as equal in the eyes of their god).
While Ted Snider makes a great contribution here by focusing on details and chains of specific motivations, decisions, and consequences, I feel we must also step back a bit to try to apprehend the big picture of the U.S. permanent “national security” establishment’s persistent affinity – decade after decade – for these horrid, death-cult, Sunni islamists.
Even when occasional excesses like 9/11 or Mosul in 2014 impel the U.S. to temporarily lash out against its salafist friends, the long-term equilibrium of supporting them always re-emerges before too long.
There’s something more profound than specific geopolitical chess moves at play: the U.S. is basically comfortable with the terrorists, diametrically opposed as they are to all the trends of democracy, modernity, cultural vitality and diversity, economic progress, international law, and national sovereignty that the U.S. deep state so loathes and fears.
It is a true comradeship among barbarians.
Exactly David. Good comment.
Yes, the US is a gang operation and nothing more, controlled by scammers and opportunists who need fanatics to do their dirty work. Democracy cannot be restored while elections and the press are controlled by money.
David, ‘End Times.” That is the reason. No matter how f*cked up Israel is/becomes TPTB in the US MUST keep that push on, MUST support Israel. Really, the “plans” were written a long time ago. Yes, there are resource exploits along the way, but these are secondary, though they provide the “power” to exert power toward the “plan.”
The US has a LONG track record of supporting foul dictatorships. That it supports Israel despite Israel’s actions being counter to the average US citizen should be no shock to anyone.
After reading this article one can start connecting the dots from the 9/11 “hijackers” and the “Dancing Israelis.” Operation Northwoods for the 21st century, executed to perfection.
USS Liberty. 9/11. Zionists, your day of reckoning WILL come.
“Only the Islamic State’s shocking excesses of videotaped beheadings of Americans and other captives – as well as its military successes inside Iraq – forced President Obama’s hand in committing U.S. forces to stop the Islamic State onslaught.”
This elides the additional perfidy of the U.S. in that even after it intervened ostensibly to defeat I.S., it continued to play its long-term anti-Syria, anti-Iran game, such as by:
* leaving I.S.’s oil-smuggling cash lifeline to Turkey untouched until the Russian air force’s arrival embarrassed the U.S. into some degree of action
* permitting I.S.’s open-country advance on Palmyra to proceed unmolested because it was seen as being primarily directed against the Syrian state and military
* fomenting the propaganda storm which transformed the necessarily costly liberation of east Aleppo into a supposedly gratuitous slaughter by the monstrous Assad
* overlooking the Israeli cooperation with I.S. and al-Qaeda outlined in this article
Terrific piece, connecting the sweep of recent history to today’s headlines from throughout the region.
Echoing Zachary Smith, hats off to CN for all the recent powerhouse articles from the likes of Gareth Porter, Alastair Crooke, and Ted Snider!
So the US, Israel and SA are responsible for the millions killed, maimed or displaced to get at Iran.
What did Iran do? Nothing.
How evil can you get? Instigate baseless war provocations against a country and if it justifiably retaliates, use your world class propaganda machine to blame the just for your very own murderous crimes.
The evil of Empire knows no limits. Understanding this is a key to understanding the events in our world today. Knowing clearly that the US operates out of pure unadulterated EVIL will dispel all sorts of foolish alibis for the monsters that control the US government, it’s vicious military, and prison torture holes in the “homeland” and around the world. These evil maniacs seek total global domination. All their moves are predicated on that goal, and they will persist in it, even if their insane quest destroys all life on Earth, which at this rate it may very well do.
This might sound like its from a 60s James Bond Movie, but the simple fact is that they want world domination.
Russia, Iran and China are in their way. So they just invent BS and blame it on their enemies. You know bullies? Of course you do. Its not much different. But condemning bullying in schools and work as much as we do, while ignoring it when its about millions of lives, exposes the true evil.
And they want world domination based on greed, not on intelligence or education. A nation that neglects education, wisdom, and respect for the environment and other nations is doomed for the trash heap.
Good riddance, I say. But unfortunately, we, who live in this nation have to suffer the consequences.
… As do the living creatures and other biological forms of this planet, many of which will not survive no matter how much longer the acquisition addicts remain in power.
Mike, i take back my earlier assesment of you. U.S. is pure unadulterated evil? Is SIMPLE MINDED NONSENSE from a SIMPLE MINDED FOOL and a jihaadist as well, did i get it right this time? ( I KNOW I GOT THE SIMPLE MINDED PART RIGHT). The world is a complicated place, my friend, no country or ideology or religion can be reduced to such simple minded assesments…. Good luck
Thank you Ted Snider for this excellent and well researched article. I am sickened by the fact that US foreign policy has been farmed out to the Saudis and Israelis. As such, we aligned ourselves with terrorists and now we have no credibility with secular moderate governments in this region. This shock doctrine approach is not so different from what is going on in many countries in Africa today. Create chaos so that US and French troops can be brought in to recolonize the continent. How much more wealth can we take by brute force? This becomes the true definition of American Interest. American Exceptionalism is defined as just being above the law. Should the American Empire collapse in another ten years or so, i can only imagine the revenge that much of the rest of world exact. This time they will get to write the history.
Michael crokett, did u say “SECULAR MODERATE GOVERNMENTS” in the region? And that would be who?…Iran?…LOLOLOLOLOL …your comment reveals a special kind of ignorance and hostility that only a true “AMERICAN PROGRESSIVE” can display…..good luck with your “moderate secular governments” HRC and OBAMA just finished destroying the last ones..
This excellent essay makes sense out of a lot of senseless events. Things like Obama mindlessly supporting ISIS. Things like the insane US assistance in the murder-bombings and starvation blockade of Yemen.
I wonder if the naive Israel propagandists will read and understand this story. That little craphole of a nation has demonstrated itself to be the real puppet-master behind the evil doings in the regions surrounding it.
There has been a string of amazing articles on the Consortium News site in recent weeks, and this one continues the run. Thanks to Mr. Parry and the authors alike.
Zac. I did wade through this lengthy connect-the-dots, and even if we take the information as fact, what does it prove? Most people (who are not obsessed as you are with Israel) will simply see this as business as usual. No different than what any other country does to advance their interests and sell their war machines.
I just watched Robert Reich’s “Saving Capitalism” on Netflix. And while a bit of a face saver for Reich’s failure to make any meaningful change, he does point out where system is corrupted (probably beyond repair). If you are looking for someone to blame for this you should start with the baby boomers and their “Me Generation”. :)
Please blame anyone other than Israel?
mike k. Not at all. There is plenty of blame to go around with everyone.
My problem with the majority of the commentors on this site is that I object to logic and reason having an emotional driver. If one feels so passionately about one subject (as Zac and others here do) logic and reason are tainted and all we get then is an attempt at simply justifying the emotions. To throw in a little sexist (but nonetheless true) humor, this is one of the reasons women were denied the vote for so long. Men believed they would get all emotionally caught up in a subject and run off half-cocked. Now we have to look at what the emotions are based on. And if they are based on an unrealistic view of the perfect world we have now entered la la land.
With respect blaming the “baby boomers” in my comment about Reich’s movie (to his credit he tried), I find it stunningly naive to point the finger at a religious sect, vs the greedy, self-centered generation that is now in charge. You may have some point in saying Zionist Jews helped the process, but that can be said of any other group of individuals who have money and influence – all of whom are working for their own greedy self-centered interests! ;)
OK, you got my attention…
If you want to know the TRUTH, FACTS, then your attribution of the fault lying with the “baby boomers” is itself no more than an emotionally-charged utterance. Go ahead, conjure up whatever you would like to to put lipstick on that pig, but in the end you WILL FAIL
Human beings have been operating under an insane premise of perpetual growth on a finite planet. Go ahead, look back in history and you’ll find ample markers for this point. I like to provide the introduction of usary as being the point at which the push for growth could be manipulated to virtual (delusional) levels. The origins of usury can be read about here: http://www.monetary.org/a-brief-history-of-interest/2010/12
Usury/interest turned into a mechanism whereby growth forecasts could be made. And through this “forecasting,” which was really about dictating how much growth a governing body would coerce, the ability to manipulate and deceive economic activity took hold. Read: banking then started to take hold, ushering in banksterism.
Capitalism is NOT responsible for mankind’s ills. No, it’s as a product of. It’s essentially the most effective growth “generator” (fabricator) that has ever existed (or ever will). As long as “growth” is seen as only positive then Capitalism (and whatever other systems that target growth as their primary driver) can readily be defended as being “good.”
Peak extraction and consumption would always occur, just as they do with any population of living things. Only in the minds of humans does hubris run roughshod over the real world.
But back to this story…
Israel is knee-deep in all of this death and deception. Facts are there. Further, Israel is asking the US to offer up their sons and daughters for its quest to do its part in the “End Times” game (pure emotional basis here- “prophesy, being pre-event, is NEVER FACT; and as much as many would argue otherwise, emotionally of course, the future vis a vis how mankind deals with itself is never cast in concrete [the closest a forecast could come to be FACT is that the earth’s climate shifts WILL produce another glacial cycle and at that time humans will ALL become subject to a highly questionable existence]).
Take off the mask.
Seer. I am simply saying that emotionally charged thinking that is heart-string motivated is not the best way to approach a problem. Following your heart really only works in romance – not geopolitics.
You say “Israel is knee-deep in all of this death and deception”. Okay. But if you are looking for some altruism in all of this, I admire your optimism. So, instead of listening to anything I have to say for the moment, listen to Perry, Nader, Hedges, Reich and the rest telling you the system is TOTALLY captive. They don’t give a shit what you say, think or especially feel.
What you are saying about “perpetual growth on a finite planet” is absolutely correct. And you can bet your ass the powers-that-be have a plan for that too. Which begs the question – what kind of plan do you have to counter everything you see as wrong with the world? If the status quo is not paying any attention to anything you have to say, what exactly are you accomplishing? Reich said what everyone else is saying – that despite the overwhelming disapproval by the general population of the direction of government and pandering to special interests, matters little and is just another pesterance that can be solved with some clever advertising. All they have to do is convince enough of the population to sway the vote and their power is secure. Now, if the general population were as tuned-in as most of the commentors on this site we may actually make some headway. Sadly, that is not the case, and people wonder why history always repeats. ;)
In response to your later post in which you write:
“What you are saying about “perpetual growth on a finite planet” is absolutely correct. And you can bet your ass the powers-that-be have a plan for that too. Which begs the question – what kind of plan do you have to counter everything you see as wrong with the world? If the status quo is not paying any attention to anything you have to say, what exactly are you accomplishing?”
And what was the point about introducing “baby boomer” as though there was some actual fact behind your statement? What’s YOUR plan?
I almost never offer any “solution.” You see, it’s pure folly to even use the word, as it is based in a state of permanence, and permanence isn’t something that happens as long as there is an observable “ticking clock” (the ability to note a changing of time).
I also would never push any “plan.”
But back to commenting on the article (revert from any attempts at derailing the intent of the article)… THE POINT, perhaps you can refer to it as the “plan,” is to preset FACTS of what is occurring NOW, and to note what is NOT acceptable to the overwhelming numbers of humans on this planet- hypocrisy. As the saying/quote (Brandies) goes: Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Abe and others here provide information that is NOT readily available elsewhere. Information that almost always contains references and such for fact-checking. When it comes to government propaganda (cannot even call it “information!”) there is no such thing. The “information” channels are chock full of US/West/Israeli propaganda. It will, as history tells us, end in failure (and all empires collapse). Creating divisiveness, such as what Israel is doing, will readily factor into the eventual demise. This might also answer that question of what “I” plan on doing about things: all systems fail, and bad ones fail in epic ways- I need only stand back and let such systems eat themselves.
Seer. You must be a bachelor with no family or kids to worry about, with a secret Island in the West Indies that you can escape to. :) Your plan to “only stand back and let such systems eat themselves” has no altruistic value. It is a getaway plan until they find you too. Which brings me to your question about the greedy, self-centered baby boomers. If we have a serious flaw in the social condition, we should logically look at the ruling majority and the values they embrace. AND since we can all agree that the system is seriously fucked, what are we going to do about it given the current conditions I have already pointed out?
If we are to fall back on what I have termed the empty rhetoric of statements such as “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”, this amounts to wishful thinking, which amounts to a no-plan-plan. What you are hoping for is some sort of mass social awareness to tip the scales. The key word there is “hope”. And if you honestly think the ruling elite are going to give up their power and influence without a fight you are dreaming in technicolor. To quote Reich again, they change the rules to suit themselves, which tells you there are no rules to this game.
Let me end this by leaving you with the last word and this thought. If we wish to avoid the blood in the streets that will come with ivory tower demands we are going to have to learn the real Art of the Deal; and I’m not talking about The Donald here. ;)
When ordinary people go out to protest, they usually will carry with them many and various signs of grevience. Their protest is what unifies their greviences, yet, without a symbol, like a banner with one star, or more, it will be ridiculed and ignored. Their opinions never carry the day, half-cocked or otherwise.:b
Conventional Hasbara propaganda troll “WC” perpetually ‘splains’ concerns about Israeli warmongering, the legacy of Zionist terrorism, and Israeli interference in US politics and foreign policy as “based on an unrealistic view of the perfect world”.
The moment discussion turns to Israel, “WC” and his Hasbara troll army comrades scuttle to declare “that can be said of any other group of individuals” and insist there’s “plenty of blame to go around with everyone”.
The Hasbara mantra: blame anyone (and for “WC”, it’s everyone) other than Israel.
Hilarity ensues.
Abe. Let us envision for a moment that perhaps I am not the Zionist troll you think, but rather someone who is trying to put forth a different way of thinking so that you might get off your emotional bandwagon? If that were my intent, why would I comment on some of the more fluff essays that are presented on this site? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pick a hot topic where all of the emotions are pent up? You need to read what I said to mike k a second time. :)
Probably because that’s what they teach at Propaganda School. Pretending to be a Serious Commenter instead of strictly a troll for the shithole would mean credibility must be maintained as much as possible.
Comrade “WC”,
If we envision for a moment that you are not the Conventional Hasbara propaganda troll you have repeatedly demonstrated yourself to be, then you would present reasoned, fact-based remarks.
But you do no such thing.
The Hasbara troll army uses a variety of rhetorical tactics in efforts to ‘splain’ away criticism of Israeli warmongering and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, and pro-Israel Lobby interference in American foreign policy.
The incessant rhetorical posturing of comrade “WC” provides a conspicuous case in point: From “bandwagon” to “la la land”, it’s a constant stream of blather and rhetorical fluff.
Consortium News presents independent investigative journalism and fact-based analysis.
Hasbara trolls like “WC” try to put forth a “different way of thinking” that is devoid of reason and facts, and ever more desperate to change the subject.
Israel does not want the attention of real journalism.
The “First Draft” propaganda coalition brand of “verification” continues to provide Israel with a salutary ROI.
The obvious surge of Hasbara troll activity at CN is a telltale sign
https://blog.codinghorror.com/content/images/2015/04/obvious-troll-is-obvious.jpg
Abe. Any logic and reason I present here is dismissed by you and your cohorts simply because you have been emotionally masturbating to this tune for so long your are incapable of seeing the forest for the trees. So, I will tell you one more time, that puking pablum on your part will get you nowhere. :)
And if I can also ask – where’s the Zionist troll army supporting my views? I’m all alone here with my concerns that idealists like yourself may well waltz us into a full-blown totalitarian state either of the radical left’s own making or in all probability a push-back from the hardcore right wing. Either way we are fucked unless you and your team can come up with a viable plan that fits in with the Real World. ;)
The modus operandi of Hasbara propaganda:
When critical discussion of the “hot topic” of Israel arises, change the subject as fast as possible, by any means possible, and hope no one notices.
Comrade “WC” demonstrates the Hasbara signature tactic of asking rhetorical questions:
“use rhetorical questions” (pages 14, 24, 48, 51, 63, 69)
https://www.transcend.org/tms/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/sf-israel-projects-2009-global-language-dictionary.pdf
Back in 2009, “The Israel Project” published a Hasbara propaganda manual titled “Global Language Dictionary”
Written by Republican pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz, the Hasbara handbook of “The Israel Project” was labeled “Not for distribution or publication”.
The basics of Hasbara propaganda are easy to identify: simplistic phrases, repeated over and over, designed to engage emotions rather than produce rational arguments, all shaped to fit into a narrative of good (“Western-oriented” Israel, the Middle East’s “only true democracy”) versus evil (Arab/Muslim terrorists who seek not only to “destroy the Jewish state” but “kill all Jews”).
To persuade Americans to accept this impoverished account of the conflict, Hasbara propaganda rewrites history, rejects international law and ignores the struggle over land and resources that is at the heart of the conflict.
Hasbara propaganda relies on public ignorance of basic facts about international law, the legacy of Israeli support for terror, and the history of Zionist land grab efforts in Palestine.
Conventional Hasbara (overtly pro-Israel / pro-Zionist) propaganda works in tandem with Inverted Hasbara (false flag “anti-Israel” / “anti-Zionist” and fake “anti-Jewish” / “anti-Semitic”) propaganda in ever more desperate efforts to “defend Israel” with a firehose of falsehood.
The Hasbara troll army aim to deceive, distract, divert and disrupt discussion of Israeli government actions or the interference of the pro-Israel Lobby..
Comrade “WC” keeps ‘splainin’ that critical discussion of Israel and the pro-Israel Lobby reflects a mere “emotional” fixation.
Indeed, the “views” of comrade “WC” support the Hasbara troll army effort to change the subject whenever it comes to the “hot topics” of Israel, the pro-Israel Lobby, or the Israeli-Saudi-US axis of evil.
Sorry, comrade. Your team is failing miserably here.
At least you’re not alone in your failure to “defend Israel”.
We can look forward to more rhetorical questions from comrade “WC”, and lots more Hasbara troll army antics, as critical focus increases on the Israeli-Saudi alliance.
Oh please. If it was the intent of your “Hasbara troll army” to influence opinion on this site, I’d have some back-up to sell my view to the moderates among us. If you now want to say my views have no support, where is the basis for me being such a dangerous Zionist troll that is upsetting the mutual admiration society you would otherwise be basking in? :)
“If you don’t immediately position yourself as a credible, [sic] moderate […] your audience will not listen to you.”
(page 99)
https://www.transcend.org/tms/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/sf-israel-projects-2009-global-language-dictionary.pdf
Hasbara propaganda trolls are desperate to make Zionist extremist “views” sound “moderate”, eager to promote Israeli ethnic cleansing as “plan that fits in with the Real World”, zealous to sell Israeli apartheid as a “credible” way to “protect your ethnicity”.
The “views” advanced by radical Jewish racists and land-grabbing Zionist ideologues in Israel are every bit as extremist when parroted by the likes of “WC”.
Comrade “WC” has precipitously descended into Hasbara troll hilarity.
Oh please again. Were it my intent to establish credibility with the likes of you, Zac, Sam F, et al, my method would have been to enthusiastically join your mutual admiration society and start in with the glad-handing, empty slogans and la la land idealism. But after that was exhausted there would be no place to go that would realistically help the situation. ;)
I’ve seen the “snuggle-up” technique used before on topics like Global Warming. No reason to suppose the trolls for the shithole haven’t used it from time to time as well. For some reason around here they gravitate towards the “WC” technique of posting stuff like this:
Every one is to blame for Israel working to reestablish Solomon’s mythical empire. And it’s SO darned complicated that all of the peace-loving souls singing Kumbaya together just can’t sort it out!
Best to do something like a “buy-out” of the depraved beasts illegally squatting on the land the Old Testament says God helped the nomadic Hebrews steal in the first place. That was a genuine Divinely-Inspired Holy Murder Spree assisted by the One True God – if the Hebrew version of events is to be believed. Never mind that the fairy tale flies in the face of all history and archeology.
So the thieves and murderers *might” consent to a buy-out of the actual land owners so long as none of them have to pay out as much as a wooden agora. In fact, they might permit the US taxpayers to be as generous as “we” were when the US bombed the hell out of the Kunduz hospital in Afghanistan.
” $3,000 for wounded people and $6,000 for dead” – and the subhuman Paleos aren’t dead or wounded, so they could get less. Starved and beaten and endlessly abused, maybe, but not dead.
It’s SO complicated, this holy thievery and murder by God’s Favorite Land Grabbers. The WC types just have to suck it up and continue to do their patriotic duty of throwing bags of feces at the fan.
Israel admiration society denizen “WC” keeps mumbling about “la la land” and frothing about “solutions”.
This Hasbara troll’s perpetual rant consistently mirrors the Israeli disconnect from human reason and reality.
Demonstrating a peculiar form of dementia, “WC” claimed Israel’s land grabs are “just zones” on a chessboard in the CN comments for “President Zigzag” (October 6, 2017″
Such gross denial of reality and humanity reflects the bizarre mentality of the extremist sect that has a stranglehold on Israeli politics for 70 years.
American journalist Abby Martin, host of the investigative news program The Empire Files, visited Jerusalem’s Zion Square to interview Israelis in Jerusalem.
Israelis advocated extreme “solutions” such as killing all Palestinians and transferring them to other Arab countries. “I would carpet bomb them – it’s the only way to deal with it,” one Israeli said in the video by the TeleSUR television network. Another young lady said, “We need to kill Arabs.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e_dbsVQrk4
One Israeli after another who responded to her question about how best to end the conflict with the Palestinians with calls for violence, bombing, and ethnic cleansing.
Many of those interviewed were American Jews who had “made Aliyah” or immigrated to Israel.
Of course, pro-Israel organizations attacked Martin for her report.
Addressing the accusation that Palestinians share the same attitudes towards Jewish Israelis, Martin explained “I spent nearly a month in the West Bank, asking countless Palestinians the same questions. Never once did I hear a Palestinian express desire to kill Jewish people or to ‘kick them all out.’ But what you see in our new episode is what I found during just three hours in Jerusalem. It was truly shocking.”
Today, most of the remaining Palestinian territory remains under brutal military occupation, and is shrinking from rapidly-expanding illegal settlements. While the Netanyahu government plans big moves with greater freedom from the Trump Administration, this colonial project survives on lavish US funding, a carefully-crafted public image campaign, and threats against public figures who question Israel’s moral supremacy.
Hasbara trolls like “WC” keep trying to bury reality in piles of demented rhetoric.
That insane rhetoric may work on the streets in Israel, in the offices of politicians bought-and-paid-for by the pro-Israel Lobby, and in the Hasbara troll army barracks, but it fails everywhere else in the real world.
Zac & Abe. My my, you two are in top form tonight, but isn’t it passed your bedtime? What do you want from me? An apology for thinking shock treatment was required on a group so far gone? Let me repeat what I have already said today – If we wish to avoid the blood in the streets that will come from ivory tower demands we are going to have to learn the real Art of the Deal. If you are unwilling to go there and prefer to stay in Neverland, then we are flying on a wing and a prayer, and the odds of success are too slim to even be counted. ;)
Since I have a little more time tonight, let me switch gears on you, so as to give your fantasies some more bile to chew on. The “Propaganda School” comment from Zac was priceless!! So, given that y’all been so good to me, I really should break down and confess the truth. What is really going on here is a psychoanalysis and data collection on what is non-technically referred to as the “log jam” in the minds of the liberal idealist. It is generally known that ivory tower idealists throw up a mental barrier when challenged, which allows them to see their vision of god while others see it as blindness. My job and what I am looking for in particular are the “triggers” that prompt this reaction. This data will then be fed into a gigantic complex of computers that will produce an analysis on a problem, reaction, solution bases. This will then be tailored to be used in advertising and political rhetoric. As you are well aware, elections really don’t matter anymore since we own and control both sides of the equation, but public opinion always needs to be massaged, so-to-speak. We wouldn’t be doing our job otherwise and it really is for your own good. :)
Pleasant dreams. :)
A quick trip down memory lane. Notice the assorted techniques.
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(An attempt at the “snuggle up” technique here – that one didn’t last.)
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(??????) Probably a generic insult, for I don’t recall speaking of my “religion” except for the time of mentioning growing up among fundamentalist Protestants
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h**ps://consortiumnews.com/2017/09/21/trump-a-boorish-interventionist/
This was an unusual instance of “WC” trying to mingle – acting like a normal poster instead of a focused shill for the holy cesspool nation of Israel.
Post by hilarious post, comrade “WC” re-confirms devotion to the Hasbara troll army.
“WC” started off raving about “totalitarian states” back on Oct 3, 2017.
The favorite Hasbara idiot phrase of “WC” is “la la land”
Oct 3 – “How 2nd Amendment Distortions Kill”
Oct 4 – “Challenging the Saudi Air War on Yemen”
Oct 6 – “President Zigzag” – added the phrase “pie in the sky”
Oct 10 – “Russia-gate Jumps the Shark”
Oct 15 – “How Netanyahu Pulls Trump’s Strings”
Oct 22 – “The Strange World of Russian ‘Trolls’” – added the term “Neverland”
Laying low during the centenary of the Balfour “deal”, comrade “WC” is back with more “la la land” hilarity:
Nov 26 – “The Dark Inevitability of Zionism”
and
Nov 29 – “US Bows to Israeli/Saudi Alliance in Blaming Iran”
Not content with vomiting “la la land” twice plus a “Neverland”, “WC” adds to the hilarity with the latest Hasbara idiot phrase:
“If we wish to avoid the blood in the streets that will come with ivory tower demands we are going to have to learn the real Art of the Deal”
Conventional Hasbara (pro-Israel, pro-Zionist) propaganda constantly attempt to portray Israeli military threats against its neighbors, Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, Zionist claims of an “unconditional land grant covenant” for Israel, or the manipulations of the Israel Lobby, as somehow all based on “the way the world really works”.
“WC” has repeatedly attempted to advance this sort of loony “realism” in the CN comments, claiming for example that “The Jews aren’t doing anything different than the rest have done since the beginning of time.”
That’s why Israel regards international law as “excessive” and constantly wants an exceptional “deal”.
“WC” and fellow Hasbara propaganda peddlers aren’t trolls because we somehow “disagree”.
They’re Hasbara trolls because they promote propaganda for Israel.
I’m surprised they don’t have my underwear in a hermetically sealed jar as well (a method attributed to the East German secret police called the “Stasi”). :)
If we are to follow the money, most of the commentors on this site will agree that, given the debt along with the boom and bust cycles of capitalism, we are nearing a major turning point in history. The Consortium News and other sites on the Internet are daily warning of the massive amounts of corruption, war mongering and general chaos taking place all over the world. Special interests rule and the people have no voice that amounts to anything. Yet, hope springs eternal, truth will prevail, and by some magical act of cosmic altruism everything will be okay. But when someone like me comes along and says “I question this idealistic approach”, the Ivory Tower walls go up, they see their god of the perfect world and I am left thinking we are seriously done for if this continues.
Needless to say, when I use words like la la land and Neverland idealism, I am generalizing and the debate can get a lot more sophisticated, but in the end it always contains that kernel of altruism that doesn’t apply to the Real World except in bullshit PR terms and political rhetoric. Looking back at history, I am at this stage wondering if it ever existed or is simply a state of mind we are born with that will never materialize. Ol’ Abe blithers on in one of his comments below about Hasbara trolls exhibiting “pernicious devotion” like “a dog returning to it’s vomit”. If you want pernicious devotion and returning to vomit, dreaming about the perfect world for 2000+ years and never getting it tops the list. It would appear that George Santayana’s famous quote was right about not remembering the past, and I wonder if all of us alive today will end up any different? If we are to calculate the historical odds, the outcome is not promising.
So, does this more realistic appraisal mean we should give up hope? Not entirely. But hope should be put on the back burner while a more practical plan of attack is employed that fits in with the real world. You can’t have your ideological cake and eat it too. :)
Does the new Propaganda Handbook instruct their workers to get the last word, no matter what? Consider this totally empty post. Starts off with a mood setting but meaningless “joke”. Nice guys tell jokes, right? So WC must be a nice guy.
Maybe I ought to try that someday – like when I next write about the attempted murder of all the American Navy men on the USS Liberty. The Tel Aviv version:
Q: What do you call 34 dead US sailors?
A: A good start, and maybe we can get all of them next time
Har Har Har.
Next there is meaningless bafflegab.
There are buzz-words sprinkled all over.
all over the world
perfect world
real world
perfect world
real world
Then the “explanation” for following the Handbook:
Look at all that meaningless blather!
At the end is a rather fantastic claim of having made a “realistic proposal” in all the silly word salad he has tossed together.
Did anybody see any “practical plan of attack” in all the verbal diarrhea? I didn’t.
But there was a hell of a lot of what they all do – confusing the issue while stalling for time as the “facts on the ground” solidify. Good ‘ol WC will undoubtedly be proudly prodding the death-marched Paleos with his bayonet when the final Cleansing of the Stolen Lands reaches its climax. If he’s too old for that, then he’ll be at sites like this using his propaganda skills to declare that cosmic altruism has finally ended and the very sad program has climaxed with a “Happy Ending”.
Count on it.
More Hasbara hilarity from “real world” comrade “WC”:
“If you want pernicious devotion and returning to vomit, dreaming about the perfect world for 2000+ years and never getting it tops the list.”
Sorry, comrade, your melekh mashiach calendar missing is missing about five centuries of “+”.
But hey, you got in your requisite pot shot at Christianity. What a great mitzvah, oh “lion”.
But neither your prodigious Hasbara vomiting nor Netanyahu’s sarin for head-choppers program will cause Israel to “merit to be redeemed in a swift way”.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/5163
Zac & Abe. This isn’t so much about getting the last word as it was about seeing how far this would play out. I can now see there is no real challenge here except to perhaps debate what might happen in Neverland (a subject I have absolutely no interest in). I can knock this ball around with you all day and night and it is, frankly, starting to get boring. All of this huffing and puffing and blithering on with your Israel/Zionist obsession has left you both single mined. To say you also have an extended obsession with me is creepily obvious, but if you were actually competent Stasi investigators the first couple of questions you should be asking yourselves are – where does his confidence come from to support his position, and why does he not think like us? It’s simple. Given the historical trend, coupled with the present actions of the ruling elite, the odds are so heavily in my favor as to leave you with only a tin cup filled with hope and false promise. To argue otherwise is a fools errand, given the reality that is staring you right in the face. But God loves a dreamer. On the Zionist front, given their raw power, boatloads of money and serious influence just about everywhere in the world, a hard, cold and REALISTIC appraisal would conclude they are more than likely going to win in whatever they have in mind to do. And, if in the end, you come away feeling self-righteous about getting some minor concession, it’s probably something they didn’t want anyway. They’ll also make a real big deal of the concessions (you might even get your picture in the netpaper!) just to make you and your fellow compadres feel extra special, all the while making sure their real gains are carved in stone. Like it or not, there is a certain begrudging degree of respect for that kind of determination – regardless of what drives it. Having said that, you are both probably having seizures. Fortunately, my method of dealing with the real world is that I am not judging everything by the same rule book you are using.
So, while I go back to the real world, you can both now have the last word and huff and puff and blither on in your customary manner. :)
It’s late and I’m tired, but even so, it’s clear the Zionist troll has dropped the mask.
Read carefully, what I see after the initial insults is a long gloat. He says ‘we’re winning because of our “raw power, boatloads of money and serious influence just about everywhere in the world”‘. Later he says they may throw us some ‘feel-good’ crumbs.
He’s piling on, rubbing it in, and crowing in triumph. A troll who speaks the truth is even uglier than one who weasels around with his meandering lies.
Worst of all, the thieving and murderous bastards are winning.
Not so much.
Under the boring “real world” game mask, the troll signature Conventional Hasbara (overtly pro-Israel / pro-Zionist) propaganda “obsession” is entirely visible.
All that psycho-babble schtick about “raw power” and the “going to win” fantasies belie the ugly dysfunction of the nuclear-armed rogue state of Israel.
A reading the Tanakh and examination of the historical trend makes clear what terrible reckoning is in store for such foolishness.
Rest assured, the Hasbara troll will keep on mumbling about “winning”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pipTwjwrQYQ
Comrade “WC” demonstrates the latest Conventional Hasbara (overtly pro-Israel / pro-Zionist) propaganda troll technique:
The Charlie Sheen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMGqdtAOFQQ
WC is a zionist troll ready to be flushed.
I agree. He sticks to his Propaganda with deliberate meekness. A defining trait of a Zionist Troll.
[There is no way “they” (Zionist trolls) will ever concede that they are wrong.]
The book of Mishlei (Proverbs) is the second book in the Ketuvim (Writings), the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). Modern scholars set the book’s completion in the post-exile period, long after King Solomon’s reign.
Mishlei 26:11 provides a key to understanding Hasbara propaganda.
Deliberate or not, the defining trait of Hasbara propaganda is not meekness, but habit.
In his 1930 essay Proust, Samuel Beckett refers to Mishlei 26:11 when he describes habit as “the ballast that chains the dog to his vomit”.
Hasbara trolls like “WC” and pals exhibit this “pernicious devotion”, a peculiar passion for puking pro-Israel propaganda (including the false flag “anti-Israel” variety).
The Hasbara heaving habit is the “guarantee of a dull inviolability” that may be mistaken for meekness. In fact, most Hasbara trolls view themselves as “lions” for Israel.
Hasbara fools return ever more zealously to their folly, and are “exceptional” only in their profound enthusiasm for their own vomit.
The Hasbara troll army continues to disgorge.
While the trolls may remain fools, and may deliberately disguise their foolishness, we need not fall prey to their folly.
In point of fact, WC, the U.S., Israel, the Saudis, Britain, and assorted others instigated and supported violent conflict in Syria via vile terrorist mercenaries in Syria. That may be “business as usual” from one point of view, but it certainly does not represent what civilized countries do to advance their interests. And really, what other “war machine” comes to compare in intentions, threats, and actual combativeness, death, and destruction to one in question?
In discussing geopolitical realties, no one here is “looking for someone to blame” and no one is “obsessed with Israel”. Some things are just factual realty…your attempt to deflect from these realities in an encompassing way with a sociological broad brush is poorly drawn.
Isreals pivot was petfectly logical and reasonable, acting in their own self interest when surrounded by countries that seek to destroy you. What is wrong with that and what would you have them do.?..isreal didnt somehow “manipulate us into our vraious positions in the middle east, that is ridiculous. We, like Isreal, act in our own best interest first. It was in everybodies interest to keep Iran and Iraq warring with each other (lest they set their sights on other, more civilised countries in the region, which is exactly what happened after the war.) We were selling tons of weapons to iraq, at the time but that didnt makeus their ally, obviously) and Isreal was doing the same wiyh Iran!!! Your point was nonsensical and your hostility towards isreal. Based upon it is unwarranted…THINK!!! about it.
In my opinion the article blanks out that the bank owned UIS [BOuis] Alliance is about changing oil and gas ownership and control from LIIS (Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Syria) ownership to BOuis ownership, about reducing LIIS oil and gas outputs in order to force global oil prices to rise so that fracking/LNG investments can be made profitable and about being able to assert control over Syria and Ukraine as a means to deny and block Russia the sale of Russian oil and gas to European markets. If Syria can be forced to allow Alliance Oil and Gas pipelines from Alliance nations to pass through Syria into Europe, then Russia’s oil and gas sales to Europe can be blocked.
Well made points. This is the Brzezinski strategy of US hegemonic control of Central Asia through pipelines and control of energy supplies. It’s not the entire strategy of course but an important component. Geo-politically the US MUST control Central Asia or its Empire is lost.
China and even Russia to some extent simply do not agree with the underlying assumption of Western geo-political thought – Russia and China are NOT seeking hegemony where the US once had it – the Western mentality that power is a zero sum game so any gain by China is a loss to the US is a conversation the US is having with itself to justify more war and inflection of suffering. Coexistence is not an option the US ever considers. ALWAYS the goal is the same “Global full spectrum domination.” Over the past 75 years the US has rejected every single opportunity (and the historical record shows there were many) for peace and has, with the full support of a solid majority of its citizens, perpetrated war after war slaughtering tens of millions.
Never a hesitation “Global full spectrum domination.” never a question never a doubt – Americans are exceptional and clearly should own the world. Separating the warmongering politicians from the warmongering population is delusional fantasy to avoid the reality of the deeply fanatical Calvinist (slaughter the innocents to rid the world of evil – it is what god demands) ideology of US culture.
Spot onrejected every single opportunity for peace?.. Can u name a few of these “opportunities for peace “that somehow “prove” America is only aftet world domination? I thought u were referring to China, they are DEFINAYELY hell bent on ASIAN WORLD DOMINATION, FOLLOWED BY WORLD DOMINATION. OR POSSIBLY THE (divided) ISLAMIC STATE, WHICH HAS BY FAR, MADE THE MOSY ADVANCES TOWARDS WORLD DOMINATION OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS. AMERICA HAS AT TIMES, SEEMED HELL BENT ON THIS GOAL. ESPECIALLY DURING THE LAST ADMINISTRATION..BUT THAT CERTAINLY IS NOT THE CASE A) THE TIME.
“So, the U.S. government knew that the Islamic extremists drove the Syrian insurgency that Washington and its regional allies were supporting. U.S. intelligence analysts also had a surprisingly good idea what the possible outcome of that support was.”
…, and financial opportunities, priorly discussed:
“Under most circumstances Moscow’s position in Syria should remain strong, but should Syria suffer another devastating military defeat at the hands of Israel new leaders might decide to look elsewhere for military equipment. A Shift to a Western arms supplier also could prompt parallel efforts to seek Western financial advice and support” [1]
[1] 12/8/2011 declassified document “Syria: Scnearios of Dramatic Political Change | 1986”
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf