America In A Zionist Trap--Of Its Own Making

Over the past week we’ve been focusing on Zionism and its hold over America and over many American Jews. This combination, including the extremist government of Israel, has America coming and going, in a manner of speaking.

Professor John Mearsheimer, co-author of the 2007 book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, explains the dynamic lucidly, as quoted in Mearsheimer On The Israel Lobby. According to Mearsheimer, and his distinguished co-author Stephen Walt, unquestioning and unconditioned US support for anything and everything that Israel does to the Palestinians cannot be explained on either moral grounds (pace Richard Nixon) or strategic grounds. From a moral standpoint, Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians over the better part of a century has been outrageously unjust, but was supported by the Anglosphere because oil and pipelines and neocolonialism. From a geopolitical standpoint, strictly speaking, in a rational world there is basically no strategic value whatsoever in the US “joining itself at the hip” with Israel.

Mearsheimer and Walt broke the taboo on speaking the truth with their book. The truth is simply that the US government is owned by the Israel Lobby when it comes to US - Israel relations. It’s not about Israeli diplomats engaging in discussions with their American counterparts and convincing them that there is a rational basis for unquestioning US support for Israel. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The US policy alienates much of the world and stains our moral standing in the world. But it’s not about diplomacy—it’s about campaign contributions to US politicians by the Zionist Israel Lobby (which includes elements of both the American Jewish community as well as of Evangelical Protestants).

Laurence (Larry) Boorstein @LarryBoorstein

AIPAC donated to 368 Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress. There are 535 seats in Congress. If you want to check up on your Representative of Senator, check OpenSecrets .org. As Senator, Joe Biden received $4,228,614 from pro-Israel lobby organizations.

11:52 AM · Nov 12, 2023

Um, who thinks John Mearsheimer doesn’t know this about Zhou? And yet Mearsheimer feels constrained to say that Zhou luvs Israel, just because.

Doug Macgregor puts it like this:

Douglas Macgregor @DougAMacgregor

Israel commands the hype in Washington thanks to the distribution of wealth. Large numbers of people in the Senate and the House have signed on because they have effectively been purchased. Their votes are 100% with Israel. There is also a certain amount of sub mentality attached to that, but I would not underestimate the impact of feed in Washington.

Last edited11:04 AM · Nov 12, 2023

But here’s Mearsheimer pitching it right down the middle, in professorial speak:

the policies [the Israel Lobby] has encouraged are in neither America's national interest nor Israel's long-term interest.

The politics in Israel coupled with the power of the Lobby in the United States [make] it impossible for us to put pressure on Israel to move toward a two-state solution.

So the question is, Why? Why would American Jews who support the Israel Lobby encourage policies that are not in Israel’s long-term interest? Yesterday we quoted a Jewish perspective on this question, and received a simple answer—it’s the usual answer for the actions of people who act wildly against their own interests:

Israelis (and Zionist Jews around the world) live in a parallel world. They know alternate historical facts …

Like:

Palestine was a largely uninhabited piece of desert before we settled it; that in 1948 Palestinians willingly left because they were making room for Arab armies to "throw Jews to the sea"; that Arab leaders turned down all Israeli and US peace offers and were unwilling to share the land; that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle-East; that despite terrorism, the IDF upholds the highest moral standards; so on and so on.

And never forget: because Palestine was largely empty there is no such thing as Palestinians. This is simply the well known phenomenon of people clinging to an invented truth that they desperately need for deeply personal reasons of identity and worth. Only this time this particular version of that common human phenomenon is playing out on the world stage, with tragic consequences. And, by the way, the inhabitants of that parallel universe are not just Jews—there are plenty of other Americans who have been denying reality for a long time.

But this is not to absolve the Anglosphere—or the rest of the West—of their share of blame. Just as Zhou luvs money, rather than Israel or Jews, so too all those senators and Reps luv money. It’s a marriage made in Heaven, or maybe … The Israel Lobby luvs Israel and has lots of money; our “elected representatives” luv money. That’s what democracy is all about—bringing people with matching interests together. The result is that Americans have the best government money can buy, only—weirdly—it turns out it’s not actually our government. Not in a meaningful sense. But who are you gonna blame? Richard Poe points out this dynamic goes back a long way, well before the Great War:

Richard Poe @RealRichardPoe

The claim that the Rothschilds rule England, and that the English themselves are therefore absolved from all responsibility for their own actions, has been a linchpin of British state propaganda for generations. See cartoon below from 1894.

The reverse is also true. Blaming the Rothschilds for everything lets the British establishment off the hook.

8:28 AM · Nov 13, 2023

Whatever happened to an informed electorate? The remedy seems to be an electorate that gets smacked good and hard upside the head, but that usually involves an unpleasant mess. Which finally brings us to our real subject, today.

Doug Macgregor has apparently read him some Mearsheimer and Walt and is now tweeting like a man who has got true religion. So what’s he talking about? These quotes are gleaned from his tweets dating back just to November 10. Of course, when Macgregor says “we” the famous response of Tonto to the Lone Ranger applies: What you mean “we”, White Man?

Don't know Netanyahu personally, but he is a ferocious fighter for Israel.

I also think [N] has The United States in a position where [N] believes this is a time to leverage American national power to try and settle accounts with his neighbors.

[N] is focused on nothing else.

We are giving [N] unconditional support on the assumption that he is going to be successful.

We have put our forces there as a stop gap measure if Hezbollah attacks so that we can distract them from interfering in what Mr. Netanyahu is doing further south.

Many Israelis don't see an end state until Hamas is destroyed and Gaza in in ruins.

That is not the strategic end state you want unless you want another war.

***

Mr. Netanyahu wants us to help him do to his enemies in the region what we did to Japan, even if it requires the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

I don't think that's in our interest.

Remember what Raphael Mimoun said about “a parallel universe” and “alternate historical facts”? Only in that kind world do you come out thinking any of the above is a good solution.

***

We have gotten on this one way street that is a dead end.

Either we kill all of the enemies of Israel that pop up over the wall or we fail and there is no future for us.

Netanyahu has got us where he wants us.

We are going to ride down the hill with him and the bottom is an Abyss.

***

There is no real understanding [among Israelis as well as Americans?] of the dangers Israel finds itself in.

Israel set out in theory to destroy Hamas.

They are now confronting an increasingly united Muslim World.

For the first time in a thousand years you have the Shiites and the Sunnis united to stop Israel.

Instead of responding to this The President of The United States is escalating this.

So, as I read Macgregor, he seriously fears that the course of action that Netanyahu and Israel are taking will lead to Hezbollah getting fully involved—and that could lead to a regional, or larger, conflagration. I believe Macgregor is correct that the true mission of the vast, but highly vulnerable, US naval task force is to try to keep things locked down, especially on Israel’s northern border. So far Hezbollah is not fully committed in a military sense. Instead, they appear to be trying to send signals to the Israelis to reconsider. Will Schryver covers that, as well as the dangers of escalation:

High Stakes and Rising

In addition to numerous Israeli casualties and armor losses in the border regions of Lebanon over the past several weeks, there are reports the IDF has suffered at least 20 KIA and many severe WIA as a result of engagements with Hezbollah over the past day.

There have also been Hezbollah rocket attacks in the vicinity of Haifa — much further south than previous strikes.

The Israeli defense minister is threatening to do to Beirut what they are currently doing in Gaza.

Meanwhile, a US aircraft crashed in "a training accident" somewhere between Lebanon and Cyprus, killing 5 American airmen.

Attacks on US bases in eastern Syria and Iraq have increased both in frequency and potency over the past several days. It is known these attacks have produced dozens of American military casualties. Bellicose Pentagon rhetoric against Iran has increased commensurately.

And yet, as it seems to me, the US responses have been largely in the nature of tit for tat—clearly none of the locals are terribly impressed. This is as Macgregor warned—there are serious limits to US naval and air power. They are highly unlikely to deter anyone. US Launches 3rd Round Of Airstrikes On Eastern Syria, But 'Deterrence' Failing.

The trajectory of events is towards heightened escalation.

In my opinion, there is no way the IDF will move in force against Hezbollah without massive US/NATO support. That prospect is unquestionably why a large US/NATO naval fleet has assembled within striking distance of the putative battle zone, spanning Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

Yes, no. Yes, the IDF will need massive outside support. No, that’s not really why the US is there. Question: What can the IDF do to change that dynamic? Do they want to?

And yet hardly anyone is making note of the Russian bases in Syria and Russia's inviolable long-term strategic interest in the eastern Mediterranean.

And Russia has reinforced those bases.

I believe observers of these things should take more seriously the risks of a US/Russian conflict arising out of the rapidly expanding battles in the Middle East.

We may have in the US Deep State a situation developing that more or less mirrors the divisions that we saw and discussed with regard to the Great Neocon War on Russia. Remember how that went? The Neocons were absolutely gung-ho to go to war on Russia, convinced of a famous victory. The professional military, feckless as they may be, were not nearly so sure and appear to have repeatedly warned against escalation. We know how that has turned out. It’s mostly all over but the recriminations. Disaster.

Once again, the Neocons are eager to go to war with the whole world to get at Iran, and they may see Lebanon as the place to start that Great War 2.0. The professional military isn’t nearly so sure, and professional political managers are also getting alarmed at the crazy things Netanyahu is saying: US Seeks Clarification From Netanyahu After Remarks On Gaza's Future.

Now Axios is reporting that the hapless what’s-his-name, Austin, has been in telephone contact with the head of the IDF to ask, more or less, WTF? Are you trying to start a war with Hezbollah? We don’t want that! The reply? Oh, don’t worry, we don’t think anything will happen.

Austin warned Gallant about Israeli military actions in Lebanon

Austin's message to Gallant reflected growing anxiety in the White House that Israeli military action in Lebanon is exacerbating tensions along the border, which could lead to a regional war.

An Israeli source said Austin asked Gallant for clarification about Israeli air strikes in Lebanon and asked that Israel avoids steps that could lead to an all out war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Gallant told Austin Israeli policy is not to open a second front in Lebanon and stressed he doesn't think such a scenario is going to happen, the Israeli source said.

There’s plenty more at the link, but reading between the lines suggests that non-Neocons in the Deep State are concerned that Israel is deliberately trying to start a much bigger war that will drag us in. Why would Netanyahu’s government do that? Because they see a truly apocalyptic war as in an extreme Zionist Israel’s interests—and they don’t particularly have any concerns for the interests of anyone else. From their standpoint, anything now less than a complete and smashing victory—and preferably over Hezbollah and all things connected to Iran west of Iraq, or even up to the Afghan border—will be seen as a strategic defeat. And their probably right.

Who in the US is to blame for this fix we’re in? How do we back out on supporting Israel—without losing all that campaign money in the year before a huge election? You can sense Dems desperately hoping that something can be patched together quickly to halt the light that’s rapidly drawing nearer in the tunnel they find themselves in. Something that would get the Dem base back to obsessing about the LGBTQwerty Brave New World Order, and forget about Palestine—and keep the AIPAC campaign money rolling in. GOPers, meanwhile, just want it all to go away—they have no plan and, in their position, it’s hard to see a plan that would work to their interests, since those interests have very little to do with principles of any sort. Hey—they’re a political party! Nobody told them they’d have to make hard, principled decisions!

The US thus finds itself between a rock and a hard place—in a Zionist trap of their own construction. All those Neocon forever wars that Israel was so eager for us to undertake? Make no mistake about it, In the end it was feckless and greedy US politicians and a stupid and greedy MIC that kept us headed down this road. The worst of all, strategically, has turned out to be the Syria emroglio, but it all got rolling with Desert Storm. How do we break out of this trap? Do we choose money or principle? What a question to put to politicians!