Was the Invasion of Iraq a Jewish Conspiracy?

[Ian David]

Was the Invasion of Iraq a Jewish Conspiracy?

<snip>

Between the neocons and Big Oil, it wasn’t much of a contest. The end-game was crushing, final. The Israelites had lost again in the land of Babylon.

And to make certain the arriviste neocons got the point, public punishment was exacted, from exile to demotion to banishment. In January 2005, neocon pointman Douglas Feith resigned from the Defense Department; his assistant Larry Franklin later was busted for passing documents to pro-Israel lobbyists. The State Department’s knuckle-dragging enforcer of neocon orthodoxies, John Bolton, was booted from Washington to New York to the powerless post of U.N. Ambassador.

Finally, on March 16, 2005, second anniversary of the invasion, neocon leader of the pack Wolfowitz was cast out of the Pentagon war room and tossed into the World Bank, moving from the testosterone-powered, war-making decision center to the lending office for Bangladeshi chicken farmers.

"The realists," crowed the triumphant editor of the journal of the Council on Foreign Relations, "have defeated the fantasists!"

So much for the Big Zionist Conspiracy that supposedly directed this war. A half- dozen confused Jews, wandering in the policy desert a long distance from mainstream Jewish views, armed only with Leo Strauss’ silly aphorisms, were no match for Texas oil majors and OPEC potentates with a throw weight of half a trillion barrels of oil.

More:
http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/tik0607/palast

Investigative Reporter Greg Palast is the author of the bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. This essay is adapted from his new book, Armed Madhouse: Who’s Afraid of Osama Wolf?, China Floats, Bush Sinks, the Scheme to Steal ’08, No Child’s Behind Left and other Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War (Dutton, 2006).

[MercutioATC]

1. 5....4.....3.....2.....

:popcorn:

[Cassandra]

4. The title's a bit squirrely but,

I agree with him. Whatever anyone thought they were going to get for Israel, they were run over by the oil guys. Used and discarded.

[Ian David]

6. The answer to the question, as the article says, is "No." n/t

[Virginia Dare]

2. No, it was a neocon conspiracy....

in concert with big oil interests and the military industrial complex.

[Lerkfish]

7. beat me to it.

[BillZBubb]

3. Oh please.

Your posts are getting more irrational by the minute.

[redqueen]

5. you might want to read the article before commenting

:hi:

[jdlh8894]

9. Alcoa stock just keeps rising

Thank YOU

[Caoimhe]

12. agreed

he's trolling for shit

[kurth]

8. Naahh...The neocons have zero connection to Judaism or Israel.

'Nuf said.

[Ian David]

14. Israel is the Neocon's Sacrificial Lamb on the alter of The Apocalypse

The Neocons are Zionists the same way MacDondald's is run by cows.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ian David]

20. We had this debate on DU ages ago. Neocon isn't Jewish. n/t

[Finder]

22. Wanna debate it? I will grab my Strauss and Bloom and Kristol books.lol

There are many non-jewish neocons today as well. I suppose you will tell me the KKK is not a white group or that the NAACP is not black.

[Ian David]

27. Somewhere, deep in the bowels of the DU archives...

is a thread I started on the topic that asked for clarification of that point.

Various DUers who knew much more about that myself (and probably more than you) debated it for a good part of a day.

Eventually, the thread was locked as "too inflamatory," but the general consensus was that no, Neocon isn't Jewish.

I just tried to find the thread, but couldn't. You're welcome to try.

[Finder]

35. I will search for it, thanks.

I happen to respect neoconservatism philosophy(not the current bastardized version)and look forward to what other former neocons contributed to the debate.

[Finder]

36. Found it...it was about the term neocon....

not so much the philosophy. There are some good posts in the thread though.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=124&topic_id=87342

[Ian David]

38. Thanks! I bookmarked it and added it to my journal. n/t

[cracksquirrel]

26. So...

Walk me through this... because neo-conservative philosophy was... written by three or four Jews and a BUNCH of non-Jews... therefore neo-conservatism = a Jewish philosophy.

Some of A are B.
Some of B are C.
---------------
Therefore, A = C

Notice anything wrong with this statement?

[Finder]

30. That is not what I am stating...

The movement we call neoconservatism today is not the same as neoconservatism was in the 70s. It was the Rumsfelds and Cheneys who brought in the hawkish elements as well as the Bill Kristols that have a Leninist rather than Trotskyist bent.

[cracksquirrel]

31. Ok cool

For a second there I thought you were saying neoconservatism was a "Jewish philosophy!"

[Finder]

34. Jewish philosophy is not a bad thing...

and if the original philosophy was not hijacked by the greedy and imperialistic philosophy of the current group it would have succeeded.

[cracksquirrel]

37. Agreed

With all the crap that's been going down on DU recently, you'll forgive me and a few posters being a little on edge.

[theoldman]

10. Let's look at who had the most to gain by a war with Iraq.

The US with it's big oil companies had a lot to gain from a monetary standpoint. So far it looks as if they have lost that bet. Israel had a lot more to gain because Iraq was a threat to it's national security. I would bet money that there had to some conniving between the US and Israel. I would also bet money that the US and Israel are in collusion against Iran for similar reasons.

[Ian David]

13. Israel wanted to attack Iran, not Iraq. Attacking Iraq was their nightmare

come true.

[Chi-Town Exile]

11. Thanks for the article ... It was very well done and quite informative.

However, NEVER try to confuse tin foil hat Jew Haters with the facts. They don't like that.:tinfoilhat:

To Mods: Sorry I used the term "Jew Hater." I used the term Jew Hater because these people are not Anti-Semitic. They don't like Jews but do like other Semitic people.

[sabbat hunter]

15. anti semetic

is a jew hater.

it is the commmonly accepted usage of the term anti-semite to me anti jew.

[Chi-Town Exile]

17. Technically, aren't Arab people semites?

[sabbat hunter]

18. technically yes

but the accepted meaning of anti-semite is anti jew.

[MrPrax]

16. Strawman...

Only the rightwing fringe thinks everything is a Jewish conspiracy...

"were no match for Texas oil majors and OPEC potentates with a throw weight of half a trillion barrels of oil."

Ok we got the part about the Jews. But decrying 'anti-semitism' was always intended as a 'distraction' whenever this argument is presented...why exactly would Palast re-introduce this noxious 'meme' to simply discredit it...who knows. But I do know why Tikkun would publish this Palast piece and not the hundred others he writes...

But thanks for the link...haven't been to Tikkun much. Checked out their NSP... 'new' spin propaganda...er...network for spiritual progressives (heh)

Let's see:
"A Hopeful Sign: The Religious Left is Back" by editor Rabbe Michael Lerner (yeah apparantly politics in America needs more religion, so it's a good sign?)
"Islam and the Left" link to the Guardian...which is actually titled "We need a new alliance", but Tikkun wants it's readers to be aware of this alliance...
"Voice for Peace: Who Speaks for Us?" a bit of puff telling everyone just how ineffectual and ignored 'jewish' opinion is in the US without any real explanation as to why that is...AIPAC possibly?


It's become a boring 'new age' site basically...

NSP is a project of the Tikkun Community. The NSP is a network of people and institutions that
3. Challenging the anti-religious and anti-spiritual assumptions and behaviors that have increasingly become part of the liberal culture

But in the introduction to their collection of Understanding Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, they state:
The views we print in Current Thinking do not necessarily represent the views of Tikkun, the Network of Spiritual Progressives or The Tikkun Community. Unlike many other publlications on the right, left and center, we believe in John Stuart Mill's view of the deep value of conflicting views in the marketplace of ideas--because we think truth is most likely to emerge from that perspective. In Tikkun magazine as well we print views which we find offensive, but nevertheless stimulating and forcing us to think about ideas that we might otherwise ignore.

Unless of course the opinions are based on "anti-religious and anti-spiritual assumptions and behaviors" which they oppose and as such the 'truth' will only come from likeminded co-religionists, who apparantly don't have to learn anything from "anti-religious and anti-spiritual assumptions and behaviors" because it's not in their Mills-ian marketplace of ideas.

Of course in the "Understanding Israel in Gaza and Lebanon" collection, it's all 'centre' and 'right' running the huge gambit of Horowitz's Front Page and Gush Shalom, but nobody using that site would see a problem.

Also does Tikkun EVER publish anything that gives offense to anyone else but core Zionists

Lerner has become such a clown...

[applegrove]

21. Neocons are neocons. They are nothing else. Just a bunch of asswipes.

Are Cheney and Rummy Jewish? Nope. They are the ones who did the deadly deed.

So please.


Neocons are so special.. you were not even allowed to mention their name. Now that we name them.. they try and undo their existance and slink around in other parts.

Like they said.. Feiths last interview was with Hiraldo.. and now he teaches one course.. on * anti-terror policies.

[Finder]

23. Don't confuse neocon philosophy with PNAC policy...

although many neocons support PNAC...some do not. Francis Fukuyama is a good example of a neocon who has been upfront with his views and criticisms.

[applegrove]

24. He's no longer a neocon. And he did sign up with PNAC.

[Finder]

25. Philosophically he is, but does not agree with the foreign policies.n/t

[applegrove]

28. No. He stopped being a neocon. And he was part of PNAC. You are

mis-informed.

[Finder]

33. I agree he was part of PNAC...

And I agree he does not agree with the current neoconservatism. I am only as informed as one can be by reading his books and articles.

"Neoconservatism, whatever its complex roots, has become indelibly associated with concepts like coercive regime change, unilateralism and American hegemony. What is needed now are new ideas, neither neoconservative nor realist, for how America is to relate to the rest of the world — ideas that retain the neoconservative belief in the universality of human rights, but without its illusions about the efficacy of American power and hegemony to bring these ends about."


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/magazine/neo.html?pagewanted=6&ei=5088&en=f418828501fd804f&ex=1298005200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[DemFromMem]

29. Guilt by association

It is true that several of the neocons are Jewish, but it never hurts to remind DUers that John Kerry got 80% of the Jewish vote, more than almost any other ethnic group. There have always been Jewish right wingers (does anyone remember a lovely guy named Roy Cohn), but they hardly represent our community. But I'm curious why we're having this discussion? Should the ethnicity of these neocons matter? Bush has only selected African-Americans to lead the State Department. Does that tell us anything about how blacks view foreign policy.

Frankly, I'm surprised Tikkun published this piece. I've read Tikkun over the years and it's a good publication. But this piece really seems more petty than anything else - a dig by leading Jewish leftists against their right wing nemeses.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

32. From A Strategic Point Of View

the invasion of Iraq was a disaster for Israel.

1) It further inflamed passions in the Arab world.

2) It took away Iran's number one enemy, Iraq, which was a countervailing power.

3) It tied up their #1 ally , America, in a guerilla war for a long time.