The Arabist Letter (When the Arabs buy our diplomats, they stay bought!)

The Jerusalem Post ^ | May 5, 2004 | Editorial

[quidnunc]

Back when George Shultz was US secretary of state, he made a practice of asking every newly appointed ambassador to locate his country on a globe. When the unsuspecting emissary put his finger on, say, Thailand, Shultz would correct him: "Your country is here," his finger on the United States.

The story comes to mind on news that some 50 former American diplomats, taking their cue from their British counterparts, have put their names to a letter denouncing President George W. Bush's policies vis-a-vis Israel and the Palestinians.

-snip-

Suffusing WRMEA's pages is the conceit that they represent truly "American" views, untarnished by the Zionist lobby and independent of the presumably Zionist-controlled media. Of course this is a crackpot claim, given that in survey after survey Americans overwhelmingly identify with Israel against the Palestinians. On the other hand, Killgore's views are not that far from those of many State Department officials, as attested by the fact that he was awarded the 1997 "Foreign Service Cup," by the Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired (DACOR) group, which cited the "courage" of his Mideast advocacy.

Right now, America desperately needs a diplomatic corps to serve as its instrument in reshaping the Middle East. To judge by the Killgore letter, what Americans are getting instead is an Arab lobby within and alongside its State Department, representing views far outside the US mainstream. This week's letter should serve as a wake-up call to Bush that he needs to ensure that his Mideast ambassadors and foreign service officers are with him, not against him. He is, after all, their boss.

[Slings and Arrows]

The Arabist letter


Back when George Shultz was US secretary of state, he made a practice of asking every newly appointed ambassador to locate his country on a globe. When the unsuspecting emissary put his finger on, say, Thailand, Shultz would correct him: "Your country is here," his finger on the United States.

The story comes to mind on news that some 50 former American diplomats, taking their cue from their British counterparts, have put their names to a letter denouncing President George W. Bush's policies vis-a-vis Israel and the Palestinians.

"By closing the door to negotiations with Palestinians and the possibility of a Palestinian state, you have proved that the United States is not an even-handed peace partner," say the diplomats. "Your unqualified support of Sharon's extra-judicial assassinations, Israel's Berlin Wall-like barrier, its harsh military measures in the occupied territories, and now your endorsement of Sharon's unilateral plan are costing our country its credibility, prestige, and friends."

This sounds like a serious critique, by serious people, of administration policy. The letter was published under the auspices of a Washington-based nonprofit, the American Educational Trust, which publishes a magazine called the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. WRMEA claims to promote "Middle East solutions which it judges to be consistent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, self-determination and fair play." The magazine's publisher, former US ambassador to Qatar Andrew Killgore, is the letter's principal signatory.

It's worth taking a look at the magazine's Web site, www.wrmea.com. Its April cover story is titled "Gaza: The IDF's shooting range." (The article, by Gideon Levy, is reprinted from Haaretz.) There is an article on the "USS 'Liberty' cover-up." The site prominently features an electronic ticker on "Your tax dollars sent to Israel," which as of this writing are said to exceed $90 billion over the years. (That, however, is considerably less than the $112 billion the US has spent in one year in its war in Iraq, for which WRMEA also has a ticker going.)

Aside from its editorial content, WRMEA is sponsoring an ad campaign which calls for "the Palestinian refugees' right to return." And there is this appeal for individual donations: "Journals of opinion do not bring in the same advertising revenue as mainstream magazines. Big corporations and the Zionist lobby want to control the editorial content around which their ads will be placed."

Killgore has received awards from the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee in 1992 and the Islamic Association for Palestine in 1994. As it happens, 1994 was the year in which the two groups jointly sponsored a fund-raiser in Annandale, Virginia, in which featured speaker Muhammad Siam, a Hamas leader, appealed for funds for jihad against Israel.

This isn't to suggest that Killgore shares their agenda. But it does give some indication of the circles in which he and his fellow signatories travel, and the views to which they subscribe. It also gives the lie to WRMEA's claim that it offers mainstream views of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is an anti-Israel, pro-Arab organ and ought to be honest enough to present itself as such.
Which brings us back to the Shultz story.

Suffusing WRMEA's pages is the conceit that they represent truly "American" views, untarnished by the Zionist lobby and independent of the presumably Zionist-controlled media. Of course this is a crackpot claim, given that in survey after survey Americans overwhelmingly identify with Israel against the Palestinians. On the other hand, Killgore's views are not that far from those of many State Department officials, as attested by the fact that he was awarded the 1997 "Foreign Service Cup," by the Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired (DACOR) group, which cited the "courage" of his Mideast advocacy.

Right now, America desperately needs a diplomatic corps to serve as its instrument in reshaping the Middle East. To judge by the Killgore letter, what Americans are getting instead is an Arab lobby within and alongside its State Department, representing views far outside the US mainstream. This week's letter should serve as a wake-up call to Bush that he needs to ensure that his Mideast ambassadors and foreign service officers are with him, not against him. He is, after all, their boss.

[sam_paine]

But the new "GQ" article whines that Powell is shut out and that the administration is not heeding the wiser advice of the sage State Department.

Sounds to me like Bush knows of the rot over there and has put a good soldier at the top to keep it marginally in line. Maybe Powell is sick and tired of that job, but don't all good soldiers bitch and bellyache too?

[Slings and Arrows]

Right now, America desperately needs a diplomatic corps to serve as its instrument in reshaping the Middle East. To judge by the Killgore letter, what Americans are getting instead is an Arab lobby within and alongside its State Department, representing views far outside the US mainstream.

Ping! [Full article text in post #2.]

[Ethyl]

But the new "GQ" article whines that Powell is shut out and that the administration is not heeding the wiser advice of the sage State Department.
Sounds to me like Bush knows of the rot over there and has put a good soldier at the top to keep it marginally in line. Maybe Powell is sick and tired of that job, but don't all good soldiers bitch and bellyache too?


When will Powell fire all the left-over demoncrapts in the State Department???????????? He would have a much better time controling the establishment if he had loyal workers.

[swilhelm73]

Killgore and his AET - the ones behind these 50 diplomats and their whining - is a anti-semite on the payroll of the government of Saudi Arabia as documented by Richard Pipes.

Killgore and Curtiss, the other AET founder, have spoken to the anti-semitic Liberty Lobby and have the daughter of Sami Al-Arian on their payroll.

In addition to printing crackpot theories about Israel and Neo-Cons they've also managed to engage in questioning the Holocaust.

The fact that these people are being taken seriously by our press is truly astounding, even factoring in the level of hate the press has for President Bush.

[upchuck]

Since as how www.jpost.com is not on the list ^, thanks for posting the complete article.

[Slings and Arrows]

De nada.

[Belisaurius]

So that's where Lew Rockwell gets some of his inspiration.

[Bobber58]

[sam_paine]

When will Powell fire all the left-over demoncrapts in the State Department???????????? He would have a much better time controling the establishment if he had loyal workers.

I think they're frightened. I would certainly be. The State Department has about as many employees worldwide as the entire UN! And unfortunately, there aren't a lot of conservative types that know the first thing about diplomacy (that aren't already doing it,) and are familiar with foreign policy/protocol/law, etc, nor would they want to work in DC or the UAE. Would you?

Fact is, the best fit for the vast majority of those jobs is always going to be pointy headed liberal arts leftists. Keep them arranging state visits for Tony Blair and leave it at that! Imagine if Bush turned em all out and missed out on an offer like Xlinton had for bin Laden? Lord, the world would cave in on his head.

[Alouette]

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[PhiKapMom]

Hard to fire foreign service and civil service employees -- Clintons made sure they put their people in place before he left office to cause trouble for the Bush Administration.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[Warlord David]

Curse these Arabs and their oil and money, there into every thing American including apple pie. I just found out there into our colleges also trying to brain wash the next generation.

[infowarrior]

You are assuming the problem at State is in political appointments, when the real problem lies in the career appointments, which are as heavily Arabist as the politicals. These "career" diplomats go to the same schools, and are infected with the same rot as any Clinton-era political holdovers still lingering on at the State Department...

the infowarrior

[lainde]

bttt

[mseltzer]

IThe American House of Saud
by Steven Emerson

New York: Franklin Watts, 1985. 448 pages. $18.95

The Wall Street Journal
May 2, 1985

Reviewed by Daniel Pipes

After the price of oil quadrupled in 1973, Syria and other Arab states put pressure on Saudi Arabia to use its new wealth against Israel. Part of the Saudi government's response was to lead a campaign against support for Israel in the U.S.

On their own, however, the Saudis lacked the connections and savvy to affect American-Israeli ties. To make up for this, the Saudi state recruited help. In "The American House of Saud" (Franklin Watts, 448 pages, $18.95), Steven Emerson, a journalist and former staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chronicles anti-Israeli activities undertaken in recent years by prominent Americans who were receiving or prepared to receive Saudi money.

What perturbs Mr. Emerson is not pro-Saudi bias as such; his opinions on the Arab-Israeli conflict are kept out of "The American House of Saud." Nor does he seem to have a quarrel with Arab-Americans (nor their Jewish counterparts) who lobby for their beliefs. Rather, he attacks the arrangement by which paid agents surreptitiously forward the goals of a foreign government while ostensibly trying to promote American interests.

To test this book's reliability, I sent letters to seven of the people accused by Mr. Emerson of mischief. In only one case-a State Department official who wrote a book on Saudi Arabia-did I receive an even partly convincing denial.

Among the leading lights named in this expose is J. William Fulbright, who wrote an article about the Camp David Summit in 1978 in which he advocated a position very similar to that of the Saudi government. The article was published in Newsweek, where Mr. Fulbright identified himself only as a "former U.S. Senator {who} practices law in Washington, D.C." Actually, he was at the time a registered agent of the Saudi government, and he listed his Newsweek article with the Justice Department as one of his activities undertaken on the Saudis' behalf. When I asked him to address Mr. Emerson's accusation of impropriety, Mr. Fulbright gave only the evasive answer that his article "had no reference whatsoever to legal representation of Saudi Arabia" by his law firm.

A number of former ambassadors to the Arab countries are on the Saudi payroll. Mr. Emerson documents that one of them, Andrew I. Killgore, said in public that his company did not do public relations work for Saudi Arabia when in fact it did. Offered a chance to respond, Mr. Killgore did not deny the charge. Instead he accused me of wishing to "silence" him.

A second former ambassador, John C. West, rushed to Miami in April 1982. His task? To keep Saudi Prince Turki, accused of fighting with the police, out of jail. How? By winning retroactive diplomatic immunity for him. Mr. West's motive? According to Mr. Emerson, since 1981 Mr. West had been retained by a Saudi firm for $10,000 a month. Responding to this information, Mr. West wrote that he does not represent the Saudi government-leaving open the possibility that he might represent private Saudi interests.

Mr. Emerson also notes that the West Foundation, set up by Mr. West, had previously received $500,000 from "a Saudi citizen" and that Prince Turki later donated an undisclosed amount. Asked to comment, Mr. West would not name the contributors to the West Foundation.

James E. Akins, a third former ambassador, adopts such a tough pro-Arab stance that he often appears "more pro-Arab than the Arab officials," says Mr. Emerson. For example, in 1981 Mr. Akins rebuked Sheik Zaki Yamani, the Saudi oil minister, for disavowing links between Saudi oil production and U.S. policy in the Middle East. Mr. Emerson implies that Mr. Akins was "attempting to reinforce the Arabs' blackmail of the United States" as a means of winning more petrodollar business for himself. Mr. Akins did not respond to my repeated efforts to hear his side of the story.

Other major figures tagged by Mr. Emerson as having joined the chase for Saudi money include Spiro Agnew, Bert Lance and Jimmy Carter. Mr. Emerson argues that Mr. Agnew-previously well disposed toward Israel-began fulminating against "Zionist influences in the United States" as part of his successful effort to attract Saudi business. He shows that Bert Lance received a $3.5 million loan from a Saudi financier, which he did not sign for. Subsequently, Mr. Lance spoke of "the great Jewish ownership of the press." And Mr. Emerson juxtaposes Jimmy Carter's effusive praise of the Saudi government in 1983 with the willingness of a Saudi financier to pick up the $50,000 tab for a Carter Presidential Library benefit.

There are other disturbing conjunctions. Mr. Emerson alleges that top officials of Reader's Digest met with representatives of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in January 1975 and offered to run some favorable articles about OPEC for a fee of up to $4,530,000. Reader's Digest says that it meant only to sell advertising to OPEC. But the book notes that a European editor with no responsibility for advertising attended the meeting.

Mr. Emerson implies that the blame for the duplicity he describes falls more on the Americans who do the dirty work than on the Saudis who employ them. That's a tough call. What is clear is that Mr. Emerson has uncovered a grand deception.

From www.danielpipes.org | Original article available at: www.danielpipes.org/article/17
'll add this book review from Daniel Pipes, from 1985:

[Slings and Arrows]

I found my information from Joel Mowbry's articles, but the conclusion was the same. As I've said before, the U.S. State Department is Saudi-occupied territory.

[Ethyl]

When will Powell fire all the left-over demoncrapts in the State Department???????????? He would have a much better time controling the establishment if he had loyal workers.
I think they're frightened. I would certainly be. The State Department has about as many employees worldwide as the entire UN! And unfortunately, there aren't a lot of conservative types that know the first thing about diplomacy (that aren't already doing it,) and are familiar with foreign policy/protocol/law, etc, nor would they want to work in DC or the UAE. Would you?

Fact is, the best fit for the vast majority of those jobs is always going to be pointy headed liberal arts leftists. Keep them arranging state visits for Tony Blair and leave it at that! Imagine if Bush turned em all out and missed out on an offer like Xlinton had for bin Laden? Lord, the world would


Sir, you are incorrect, we need to jettison all the demoncraptics and hire decent Americans. There are more intelligent Republican than you know. This is done all the time, when a demoncrpatic administration comes into power, they fire the politicals, if the Republicans had done the same we would be in a better position than we are today. Mr. Powell, when are you going to fire all the political creeps left over from the klintoon adminstration, so you can govern properly???????????????