Posted on 01/25/2006 6:39:20 AM PST by Esther Ruth
Iranian Threats and U.S. Action Regarding Israel By Rachel Neuwirth January 22, 2006
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently issued three provocative statements concerning Israel which received international attention. He stated that: 1) Israel ought to be "wiped off the map"; 2) The Holocaust is a fabrication; and 3) Israel should be moved elsewhere, perhaps to Europe or Alaska. European and American officials criticized those statements but no further action was taken, not even an official condemnation by the U.N. It is notable that America and western governments took issue this time although they ignored similar statements in the past. Perhaps this time the Iranian pronouncements were too provocative to ignore and some minimal face-saving gesture was had to be offered, which achieved nothing tangible.
What makes these threats so ominous is that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and the means for their delivery. What may surprise, and even shock, many people is that the three provocative Iranian statements are not totally in contradiction with long-standing American policy towards Israel. Many people fail to notice the stark contradiction between American pronouncements and American actions. The American people and the American congress remain largely pro-Israel and all administrations have paid lip service to a pro-Israel policy. However, reviewing a few highlights of American actions reveals a very different story.
Regarding the Iranian statement that Israel should be "wiped off the map":
American actions over the years, regarding the establishment and survival of Israel, will show that U.S. actions worked to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state and failing that, to work towards its demise in ways that would not be too obvious to the public. A few historical highlights will illustrate that assertion.
During WWII the Roosevelt Administration was perceived as pro-Jewish. However U.S. policy actually facilitated Hitler's Holocaust in a number of ways. U.S. immigration policy resulted in many Jews not being rescued due to hundreds of thousands of immigration quota openings being deliberately unfilled. England also prevented Jews from escaping from Europe to the Jewish National Home in Palestine as set up by the League of Nations. Also, the U.S. bombed German railways but never the ones leading to the death camps. For good measure the U.S. never dropped supplies to the Jewish resistance but did supply non-Jewish resistance. The Roosevelt Administration was committed to Saudi Arabia and the more Jews who were exterminated in Europe the less chance that a viable Jewish state could emerge following WWII. See The Abandonment of the Jews-America and the Holocaust 1941-1945 by David S. Wyman. See also While Six Million Died - A chronicle of American Apathy by Arthur D. Morse. This pioneering classic revealed - for the first time - the untold story about the deliberate obstruction placed in the way of attempts to save the Jewish people from Hitler's "Final solution".
The Truman administration was only marginally better. While receiving praise for quickly recognizing Israel in 1948 the same Truman administration ignored the attacks by five Arab armies on the new-born state. Worse, they imposed an arms embargo that only hurt the Jews because the Arabs had other sources for weapons. Having failed to prevent the Jewish survivors from even attempting independence America policy now interfered with Israel's ability to defend itself at birth.
In May of 1967 there was no so-called "occupation" and hence no pretext for Arab aggression. Nevertheless Egypt and Syria, armed with Soviet weapons, were poised to attack. The Johnson administration tried diplomacy but also failed to warn the Arabs against attacking and, in fact, divulged Israel's defense plans to Egypt. American policy was remarkably neutral in the face of clear aggression against Israel and despite overwhelming support for Israel among the American people and Congress. Much of the American betrayals of Israel are documented in The Secret War Against the Jews - How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People by John Loftus and Mark Aarons. Another valuable reference is A Concubine in the Middle East by Ezra Sohar which, like the Secret War covers decades of American duplicity in dealing with Israel, while presenting a benign face to the American people and to Congress.
In 1981 Saddam Hussein was about to start up his French-made nuclear reactor at Osirac which would enable him to develop nuclear weapon and endanger Israel. The U.S. only reacted after Israel destroyed that potential existential threat and only to punish Israel for defending itself.
The PLO covenant explicitly calls for the destruction of Israel. The Clinton administration made a show of attending a PLO meeting where the "delegates voted" to change that document. Clinton declared it thus changed and proceeded to invite Arafat to the White House a dozen times and to lavish hundreds of millions in aid to the PLO. The PLO actually never changed their covenant.
All PLO/PA maps show a Middle East minus Israel. No American administration has ever seriously raised this issue with the Palestinian Arabs as part of the so-called "peace process" to this very day. The U.N. recently held its periodic special meeting in support of the Arab Palestinian people with Kofi Annan presiding and a map of the Middle East on the wall showing no Israel. No protest from America.
Each time Bill Clinton and George W. Bush campaigned for office they solemnly promised to finally move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In 1995 congress passed a law mandating that the embassy be moved and allocating funds to do so. Upon their election both Clinton and Bush promptly reneged on their promise, which sent a clear signal to the Arabs that Arab enmity counts for more that the will of Congress and that, in effect, the U.S. administration regards the existence of Israel as less than permanent. America recognizes the designated capitals of all other countries, including the artificial state of Jordan, but not the capital of Israel which was Israel's capital under King David over 3,000 years ago. This gesture cannot be lost on the Arabs.
With the fall of the Soviet Union a number of the newly freed countries were invited to join NATO and come under the protection of America and Western Europe. None of these countries faces a serious threat to their security. Israel, however does face an ongoing threat and is both America's most loyal and most helpful ally while enduring multiple wars for her survival. Nevertheless America has never offered Israel membership in NATO which then might also discourage future Arab aggression. Another signal not lost on Israel's enemies.
Despite Israel's painful disengagement from Gaza, Bush's Secretary of State Rice exerted brutal pressure on Israel to allow extensive access to Gaza by the Palestinian Arabs plus a land bridge between Gaza and the West Bank. All of Israel's security concerns were ignored or minimized by Bush. Today all security in Gaza has broken down with multiple terror groups including Al Qaeda streaming into that salient with massive amounts of improved weapons, including shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles in preparation for a new terror onslaught. Egypt, despite a peace treaty and massive American aid, is not restraining this activity and constantly trains for possible war with Israel. None of this seems to evoke serious concern from Washington.
Regarding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim questioning the Holocaust: It should be noted that President Bush has no problem lavishing praise and hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer funds on Mahmoud Abbas who wrote a book denying the Holocaust.
Regarding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's suggestion that Israel should be moved elsewhere, perhaps to Europe or Alaska: No American administration had had a problem with expulsion of Jews. During past decades some 900,000 Jews were robbed of their property and expelled from Arab countries where they had lived for centuries prior to the Arab invasion, many coming penniless to live in Israel. America continues to support Saudi Arabia and Jordan which have long been off limits for Jews and also Egypt which has more recently become almost 100% cleansed of Jews. And in the Gaza expulsion the Bush administration was in full support, not offering any funding or monitoring to see that these Jewish refugees were properly compensated and properly relocated.
American policy has remains fairly constant over the decades in making access to oil a higher priority than the survival of Israel. American aid to Israel is largely offset by aid to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, plus the many 'strings attached'. Americans would be surprised to learn the details of our foreign policy towards Israel that includes public smiles and back room hardball.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this uneven relationship is the totally submissive attitude of the American Jewish leadership which has failed to challenge the fairness and the wisdom of an American policy that plays games with Israel's survival. For too long America has courted Israel's Arab enemies in the name of our 'national security'. This policy has failed and the American Jewish leadership has also failed to sound proper warnings all along on behalf of both Israel's and America's national security. Views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
I'll go further then you. They are not concerned in the least bit tiny amount with anyone called "Palestinians".
They are concerned with the Jews.
Can you explain your opinion?
Just read any of the last hundreds of posts that Esther Ruth and/or sjackson have posted or the majority of my posts.
You hit the nail on the head concerning the population card. In 30 years France, Germany and Italy will be 50% Muslim. The US has its own problems with illegal immigration primarily from Hispanic countries, but at least these people are Christians and may assimilate and become good Americans. The French have learned that their mostly Algerian immigrants will never become French as they refuse to accept French culture.
The Ottoman empire allowed non-Muslims to live peaceably, but they taxed them with special taxes. Further, in some cases like in Greece, they resorted to oppressive measures. Muslims in Spain during the Middle Ages were more tolerant of Jews than the Christians. However, countries with larger numbers of Muslims that have tolerated other faiths have a definite secular charter (Turkey and Morocco).
USA as a great power MUST operate according to the rules of realpolitik. Otherwise it will cease to be a great power like imperial Spain ceased or Polish Commonwealth before XVIIIc partitions. And such development would hurt Israel as USA is its main supporter.
For example the invasion of Iran would incur such political and economic loss that America would be seriously weakened.
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