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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMJ Rosenberg: EXCLUSIVE: House Staffer Tells Me What AIPAC Is Doing (re attack on Syria)
There is simply no way AIPAC and its camp followers would do this for Syria. Israel has no problem with the Assad regime. Like their dearly departed fellow former strongman Hosni Mubarak, both Hafez and Bashir Assad scrupulously kept the peace with Israel since 1973. As for chemical weapons, Israel not only has used them in Gaza but is one of seven countries in the world (Syria is another one) that has not ratified the treaty banning their use. Additionally, any regime likely to succeed Assads is likely to be more militantly anti-Israel and more trigger happy than the current regime.
The reason Israel (and its lobby) are going all out to push the United States to attack Syria is as a precedent for a much larger attack on Iran. As AIPAC admits in its own statement of support for the Syria attack:
snip
To put it simply, AIPAC fears that if it if lets President Obama go wobbly on Syria, it is impossible to imagine that he would undertake a war with Iran that could ignite the entire Middle East and lead to the commitment of U.S. troops in a third major Middle Eastern war in a little over a decade.
http://mjayrosenberg.com/2013/09/04/exclusive-house-staffer-tells-me-what-aipac-is-doing/
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)I was wondering what Israel's angle was. That makes sense.
dkf
(37,305 posts)Hydra
(14,459 posts)Complete with butting heads with Putin and possibly China with the Iran issue.
The worst part is...this all feels scripted. Like it's already a done deal. I hope I'm wrong...
dkf
(37,305 posts)You never know what will kick off a world war...I do know that each one has sown the seeds of the next, however.
"Germany lost the war. Fascism won it."
George Carlin
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)kenny blankenship
(15,689 posts)we all have what's best for the United States of America and its people foremost in our thoughts and affections?
2naSalit
(86,920 posts)when we can't seem to honor any treaties with anyone else on the planet we vehemently defend the treaty(ies) we have with israel.
...must be the money and oil and control axis of evil we hear so much about.
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)L0oniX
(31,493 posts)JohnyCanuck
(9,922 posts)AIPAC and the other pro-Israel organizations have endorsed attacking Syria with very little effort to convince anyone that their reason for doing so is anything other than to get the war they really want: with Iran.
But the Harvard professor thinks that AIPAC is lacking chutzpah. It should force President Obama to get a Congressional authorization for war with Iran and Syria now. That way the lobby can kill two birds with one lobbying effort, two wars for the price of one!
He writes:
Congress should first authorize the president to keep his commitment with regard to Syria. Then it should authorize the president to keep his far more important commitment with regard to the red line against Iran. This dual congressional action will strengthen Americas position in the world and will help to prevent the game-changing disaster of a nuclear-armed Iran.
http://mjayrosenberg.com/2013/09/04/dershowitz-says-war-vote-should-declare-war-on-iran-now-yes-iran/
JohnyCanuck
(9,922 posts)assuming AIPAC would not be pushing for a war were it contrary to the wishes of the Israeli government.
Note that Israel fired off those supposed test missiles in the general direction of Syria the other day without the advanced warning which is customarily given so that shipping and aircraft in the area could stay clear of the area. Considering what a tinderbox the area is now with the threats emanating from Washington to launch an attack on Syria, this seems like it was a very foolhardy and reckless move on the part of Israel. Unless perhaps they were hoping Assad's forces would see their "test" missiles as an incoming missile attack aimed at the Syrian government forces, assume the US strike was under way and immediately start launching their own missiles at the US navy ships.
Suppose the Russians had not detected the incoming missiles and Assad had started launching missiles towards the US navy forces. You know and I know it would have been immediately announced to the world that the crazy-man dictator Assad had launched an unprovoked attack on the innocent US Navy ships (Gulf of Tonkin V2) and a whole sale assault on Syria would have been underway within minutes.