Israelis helping restore US neocons (this is the PNAC October surprise)

[welshTerrier2]

the following article makes some devastating points about the link between the Israeli actions (some of which i see as justified) and a desire to restore the credibility of neocons in the US ...

Iraq has badly damaged neocon credibility in the US ... republicans are deeply concerned about losing everything this November ... something needed to be done to change the script ... if nothing changed in the Middle East between now and November, the neocons were toast ...

and suddenly, after a few Israeli soldiers were kidnapped, voila! ... a new script is born ...

<tin foil hats on>hmmmmmmm ... Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas ... hmmmmmm ... more kidnapped by Hezbollah ... did this really happen? perhaps it did; perhaps not ... what if US agents did these kidnappings from either inside or outside Hamas and Hezbollah or what if they never happened at all and the kidnapped "victims" were Israeli agents being used to justify a region-wide war in the Middle East? <tin foil hats off>

the script i'm reading leads the US right into war with Iran and possibly Syria ... will our Democrats speak out NOW about the insanity of more war? does anyone here believe they will?

btw, the solution to the Middle East does not lie with battling terrorism or using the US military or any of the other nonsense that passes for a foreign policy ... what is needed is a plan to end the hopelessness and poverty in the region ... you don't achieve that by bombing civilian targets ... you just might want to whisper that to your Democratic Senators and Reps ...

source: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/07/17/neocons_rise_from_mideast_ashes.php

Israel’s reckless, high-stakes decision to launch simultaneous wars against both Hamas and Hezbollah last week is a critical, perhaps world-shattering event. It cannot be seen merely in its local context, that is, as an act by the unilateralist regime in Jerusalem to crush the armed wings of two Islamic fundamentalist organizations in Gaza, the West Bank and southern Lebanon. Nor can it be seen merely in its regional context, that is, as an effort to raise the stakes in the struggle against Syria, Iran and rejectionist factions in occupied Iraq. Rather, Israel’s actions must be seen, first and foremost, in the context of global politics.

The key question: Is the Israeli offensive designed as a calculated effort to catapult the hard-right, neoconservative ideologues back to power in Washington? The neoconservative war party is global, not domestic. Outflanked, temporarily, in the United States, the neocons are now flexing their muscle outside the United States in a way that can give them added new leverage at home. <skip>

A sane U.S. policy would (1) exert backbreaking pressure on Israel to halt its attacks; (2) open a dialogue with Iran and Syria about containing Hezbollah and Hamas; (3) take drastic steps to stop the Iraqi civil war by making across-the-board concessions to Iraq’s Sunnis and forcing the Shiites to swallow it, while starting a phased U.S. withdrawal; and (4) get the White House directly involved in the Israel-Palestine peace process as if their lives depended on it.

But Israel, and its neoconservative allies, are counting on none of that to happen. Instead, they’ve gambled that in each case President Bush will fall back under the spell of Dick Cheney and the neocons, and do precisely the opposite: continue to give Israel the green light, throw rhetorical bombs at Damascus and Teheran, escalate the counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq and take Israel’s side in its wall-building, settlement-defending, no-talks-with-Hamas unilateralism.

Make no mistake: Until last week, before Israel went to war, the neoconservatives were losing across the board. They watched in horror as the war in Iraq faltered, and they were appalled by President Bush’s Condi-led opening to Iran. Indeed, to many it seemed as if the entire post-9/11 project to remake the Middle East and build American hegemony on that cornerstone was in jeopardy.

[Totally Committed]

1. I said this very thing yesterday at the Sunday Dinner table, and

got scoffed at! When I got this article in my e-mail this morning, I e-mailed it to the scoffers and how sweet it was!!!

Make no mistake: Until last week, before Israel went to war, the neoconservatives were losing across the board. They watched in horror as the war in Iraq faltered, and they were appalled by President Bush’s Condi-led opening to Iran. Indeed, to many it seemed as if the entire post-9/11 project to remake the Middle East and build American hegemony on that cornerstone was in jeopardy.

I think this is right on the money. And who is the biggest beneficiary of a "democratic" Middle East? Israel.

Great post. I hope everyone who reads it really thinks about what it says.

TC

[Pithy Cherub]

2. Hyperbolic Gingrich on MTP drooling over World War III

and Richard Perle lamenting the Bush's change in foreign policy in an op-ed piece. Lieberman still sanctimoniously holding tightly to his nightmarish fantasies that the Iraq War is part of the War on Terror. Bolton at the UN decrying the lack of speed for diplomacy because as we all know rushing improves the quality of the decision-making. BUT, the chief neo con was sued last week by a former CIA officer and may have to focus on his legal trouble.

To me, it seems as if the neocons are making a desperate reach because they see it as their last best chance to create the world of our nightmares. Bolton needs to come before the Foreign Relations Committee to get renewed as an ambassador before the end of this congress's term. How Bolton handles this is going to be telling. Cheney's approval rating needs some "global warming". Bush has no international allies willing to cede diplomacy to his grubby little hands. Rummy is facing incoming from all over and has successfully had his teflon skin removed. Truly, it is the fight or flight reptilian brain in control of the neocons right now. Since that is so true, the neocons are now at their most dangerous.

[leesa]

3. I agree. This is better than them pulling off another 9-11. This will

make the Fundies their absolute slaves and will make all the warmongers hard for more. Look at all the Neocon Democrats pulling for this war again.