The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will begin confirmation hearings on Thursday for Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel. (Rand Paul could be the swing vote). Friedman, who helps finance Israeli settlements, is opposed by a diverse array of groups; some pro-Israel groups say he would be bad for Israel. Some of his Senate supporters received donations from Sheldon Adelson…
Americans dodged a bullet when neocon Abrams was denied. He was a founding co-signer of PNAC, led the charge to invade Iraq after calling for “regime change,” and has endorsed military interventions in Libya, Syria, and as Iran. He called Chuck Hagel an “anti-Semite” because Hagel had criticized Israel. Gina Haspel, new CIA Deputy Director, was reportedly involved in the torture programs. In 2005 she ordered the destruction of the video tapes made of the interrogations…
With a single exception, all the countries were targeted for attack in 2001, with similar plans in 1996, 1991, 1982, and the 1950s. The fact is that Trump’s action continues policies influenced by people working on behalf of a foreign country, whose goal has been to destabilize and reshape an entire region. The result has been devastating wars, massive refugee movement that is uprooting entire peoples and transforming parts of Europe, desperate terrorism, and now the horror that is ISIS. If this decades-long effort is not halted, it will increasingly devastate the region, our country, and the world…
Like most successful politicians, Lederman worked to develop friendly relationships with voters. JTA reports that these are useful in promoting Israel: “Such first-name-basis relationships in a state with only 800,000 people help Lederman advance a pro-Israel agenda, one that he prominently displays on his website’s home page, where he touts his leadership on the Iran sanctions legislation as well as a pro-Israel resolution in the wake of Israel’s 2008-2009 Gaza military campaign…”
Analysts discuss neocons apparent growing influence on Trump policies on Russia and Iran, and the possible appointment of neocon Elliott Abrams. Eric Alterman writes: “An Actual American War Criminal May Become Our Second-Ranking Diplomat”…
Suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days while vetting procedures are revamped. Suspends admissions of people from “countries of particular concern” for 90 days. Bans Syrians until vetting is determined to be sufficient. Limits total refugees admitted in 2017 to 50,000. Some refugees may be admitted on a case-by-case basis.
The US played both sides in Syria; completely took over Iraq, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands; helped stage a coup in Iran; invaded Libya and overthrew its leader; sent drones to Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen; and its buddy Saudi Arabia is currently bombing and starving the Yemeni population.
The ZOA said that Mattis’ remarks were “hostile to Israel.” Mattis also said he “paid a military-security price every day as CentCom commander because the Americans were seen as biased in support of Israel.” Mattis opposes torture, and President Trump says he will allow Mattis’ view to override him on this.
Presidential, congressional, and state legislation. LATEST: Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S.720 and H.R.1697), introduced last week by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH), and Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA).
Michelle Flournoy, who was expected to be Hillary Clinton’s Defense Secretary, said that her worry was that Donald Trump would not consider Israel’s interests in forging a deal with Russia over Syria.