William F. Buckley Jr.: Israel Frenzy - Neocons in the middle

National Review Online ^ | March 02, 2004 | William F. Buckley Jr.

[NutCrackerBoy]

Perle and co-author David Frum rise in the morning with a map of Israel in front of them and decide what ideas, people, countries to encourage, which to discourage, based on their bearing on Israel. -William F. Buckley Jr. giving voice to Pat Buchanan's overactive imagination.

[DentsRun]

"In this space, I once jocularly proposed that Israel be annexed as the 51st state, which would give us the advantage of participating in the formulation of Israeli policies which we would then automatically endorse."

That's pretty funny.

[Alberta's Child]

It is being claimed, ever more widely, that neocon policies are determined by the advantages they bring, manifest or putative, to the State of Israel.

This is exactly what the Bush Administration brought upon itself by allowing a jack@ss like Richard Perle to have any input whatsoever in the Iraq issue -- particularly in that nebulous, mysterious role as an "unpaid advisor" to the Pentagon.

. . . the most quoted advocates of neocon militancy, Richard Perle and David Frum, go further than merely to deny that neoconservatism is an Israel First world view. They insist that criticism of neocon policies is, at heart, anti-Semitic.

Mr. Perle and Mr. Frum, meet Abe Foxman.

[JohnGalt]

LOL Mssr Buckley but we won't be holding our collective breaths waiting for you to fire the Little Frummer boy, who suggested Mel Gibson is Holocaust Denier on Sunday

[veronica]

BTTT. Good article. Sure to get the paleoCONS steamed. :)

[quidnunc]

Alberta's Child wrote: This is exactly what the Bush Administration brought upon itself by allowing a jack@ss like Richard Perle to have any input whatsoever in the Iraq issue -- particularly in that nebulous, mysterious role as an "unpaid advisor" to the Pentagon.

Yeah, the sheer chutzpah of actually listening to the advice of someone advocating a strong military and a vigorous, pro-active approach to national defense.

you wouldn't see any Canadian government doing such a silly thing, eh?

[westerfield]

It is being claimed, ever more widely, that neocon policies are determined by the advantages they bring, manifest or putative, to the State of Israel. Patrick Buchanan, in the current American Conservative, believes this ardently

Why shouldn't Buchanan believe this ardently, many of the leading neocons including Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, Ledeen, and Bryen have all been investigated in the past for leaking classified informatiom to Israel.

[NutCrackerBoy]

In the piece, Buckley did chide Perle and Frum for being too hair-trigger on accusations of anti-Semitism.

[quidnunc]

westerfield wrote: Why shouldn't Buchanan believe this ardently, many of the leading neocons including Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, Ledeen, and Bryen have all been investigated in the past for leaking classified informatiom to Israel.

I don't believe you, and furthermore I don't believe you can substantiate this assertion through any credible source.

[Alberta's Child]

You might want to do a little research into Mr. Perle's checkered past in various positions in the U.S. government. It might go a long way toward explaining why he functioned in an "advisory" role instead of as a Defense Department employee -- which makes me question the mental stability of someone who would allow him any say in U.S. government policy.

You wouldn't see any Canadian government doing such a silly thing, eh?

I wouldn't know about that -- I'm not a Canadian.

[westerfield]

That is a link to an obviously leftest source, but the info there can be verified elsewhere if you google around.

[Alberta's Child]

That link is all bullsh!t. Everyone knows that any suspicion about breaches of U.S. security by agents of the Israeli government is nothing but anti-Semitic paranoia.

/sarcasm off/

[quidnunc]

Alberta's Child wrote: You might want to do a little research into Mr. Perle's checkered past in various positions in the U.S. government. It might go a long way toward explaining why he functioned in an "advisory" role instead of as a Defense Department employee -- which makes me question the mental stability of someone who would allow him any say in U.S. government policy.

Perle's past ic checkered only in the eyes of the lunatic fringe on the left and on the right.

[onedoug]

Personally, I believe God chose the Jews and Israel to carry ethical monotheism into the world.

I also believe He chose America to carry goodness into the world, as our history well illustrates.

I believe if we cease to do these things, God will turn against us, as He did at Sodom, where Lot vainly tried to convince Him there was some good left there too.

[quidnunc]

westerfield wrote: That is a link to an obviously leftest source, but the info there can be verified elsewhere if you google around.

Counterpunch!?

I ask for a credible source and you cite COUNTERPUNCH!?

My advice to you is to get (a) a clue and (b) a life.

[Alberta's Child]

Sure it is.

While he was serving in the Reagan administration in the 1980s, his most ardent critic was Republican Senator Jeremiah Denton of Alabama, a retired Navy admiral (the only former Navy admiral ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate, I believe) whose seven years in a North Vietnam POW camp are chronicled in his autobiography When Hell was in Session.

After doing some research on Richard Perle's career, I've speculated that he was functioning in a capacity as an "unpaid advisor" to the U.S. Defense Department because there was no way in hell he could obtain the security clearances required for an appointed position at the Pentagon. Think about the implications of that one for a minute or two.

You can call me whatever the hell you want, but I am certainly not a part of any "lunatic fringe."

[westerfield]

Perle's past ic checkered only in the eyes of the lunatic fringe on the left and on the right.

Perle was caught by an FBI wiretap on the Israeli Embassy diclosing classified information supplied by someone on the NSC. Why he was given a slap on the wrist and never prosecuted for this crime is beyond me.

[quidnunc]

Alberta's Child wrote: After doing some research on Richard Perle's career, I've speculated that he was functioning in a capacity as an "unpaid advisor" to the U.S. Defense Department because there was no way in hell he could obtain the security clearances required for an appointed position at the Pentagon. … You can call me whatever the hell you want, but I am certainly not a part of any "lunatic fringe."

Unless you have a security clearence yourself there's no way you could have access to any information which would allow you to come to any reasonably informed conclusion.

And you certainly aren't going to get any reliable information from the Internet.

[Alberta's Child]

I would also point out that in my opinion, Denton's credentials on issues of national defense were impeccable. Lest you think he was part of a "lunatic fringe," I'll offer his record of military commendations for your review:

* Defense Department Distinguished Service Medal
* Navy Cross
* Navy Distinguished Service Medal
* Silver Star (awarded three times)
* Bronze Star (awarded five times)
* Distinguished Flying Cross
* Air Medal (awarded twice)
* Purple Hearts (two)
* Combat Action Ribbon
* Navy Unit Commendation

Now compare this to the combined military credentials for all those @ssholes Westerfield listed in Post #7.