Obama Makes Wild Statement Over Jerusalem

"Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided," Obama declared Wednesday, at AIPAC. "Two principles should apply to any outcome," which the adviser gave as: "Jerusalem remains Israel's capital and it's not going to be divided by barbed wire and checkpoints as it was in 1948-1967."

Apparently, Barack Obama is making wild statements towards the status of Jerusalem and at the same time with little knowledge, attempting to shoot himself in the foot.

Jerusalem is a city respected by three religions and has been for centuries, but with one factor that seems to be forgotten.

Jerusalem originally came into being by one family and this particular family is the Palestinian monarchy, who has the actual say over the status of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem has been apart of Palestine for thousands of years and people waffling because of falsified occurrences during the war, will not change this fact.

So the next time Obama or anyone wishes to make wild statements they need to get their facts straight.

McCain at AIPAC with Global implications

Republican Presidential Candidate Arizona Senator John McCain addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on 2 June 2008 at the Washington Convention Center, in Washington, DC.

AIPAC is claiming his is the largest Policy Conference ever, with more than 7,000 pro Israel activists, experts and elected officials, including over 1,000 students representing some 350 campuses.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is an American advocacy group that lobbies the United States Congress and White House in favor of Israeli and US interests as it sees them. Describing itself as "America's Pro-Israel Lobby," it is a not-for-profit, mass-membership organization including Democrats, Republicans, and independents. AIPAC is funded through contributions from its members.

AIPAC has many damaging foreign policies that are contrary to the security and human rights of the global community, especially Palestine and the Middle East.

Furthermore, while this organization claims to be for the Jewish people, they are actually contrary to this policy also. Many of the Jewish people from Palestine, have expressed that AIPAC is more for slavery and that the AIPAC organization are the taskmaster’s situation towards them, then ones of conscience.

U.S. President George W. Bush is a strong advocate of AIPAC.

Democratic U.S. presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) are scheduled to speak to the conference on 4 June.

U.S. govt. to appeal ruling on classified material in AIPAC trial

21 March 2008

By Shmuel Rosner

Friday afternoon is not the best time for major news developments, but in the case of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) trial it seems to have become a habit.

For those who might have forgotten by now, the case is about two former AIPAC lobbyists, charged by the government with violating the Espionage Act, a legislation from the time of World War I, by revealing information to journalists and Israeli diplomats.

This secret information, acquired by Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman in the course of conversing with American officials, dealt mainly with the sensitive topics of Iran and Iraq.

The most tantalizing decision made in this case came a while ago, when the judge ruled that the defense will be able to summon for testimony a group of senior Bush administration officials.

This group includes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams, former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, the new Deputy at State William Burns, former deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz, former undersecretary of defense Douglas Feith and others.

The government was not happy about it, but the legal proceedings kept going toward the target date - not the first one, as the judge had to push back the trial date many times in the past - April 29. But on Friday a new development threatened to extend the trial into the future.

This has been going on for quite a while now. It was 2004 when federal agents knocked on Rosen's door in Silver Spring, informing his that he plays a role in this criminal case.

So what happened Friday? That's the easy part: the prosecutors have informed the court that they might be appealing a decision the judge made. The government has ten days or so to decide.

However, the important issue at hand is the reason for the decision to appeal. On Thursday the judge submitted his decision regarding one of the most crucial elements of this trial. That is, what classified material will be revealed and used in the course of the public legal proceedings. The defense was quite satisfied with his ruling, but the prosecution seems to be very discontent. The government wanted as little revealed as possible in the trial, but the judge, again, was giving the defense what he felt was necessary in order for them to present their case.

Similarly to what happened with the senior officials who might be required to testify, the ruling on the classified information presents the government with a challenge that is very hard to overcome. Many observers in Washington have already concluded that this trial was a huge mistake on the part of the government, but now it seems even more complicated: officials on the stand revealing how foreign policy debates are conducted; classified material that the government wants to keep secret also revealed. No wonder, that a decision to appeal was made.

The question is what's next? What if the appeal does not convince the courts to change course?

Abe Lowell, the attorney representing Rosen, told Haaretz today that "It now appears that the government does not want to try this case". He believes that the problem is leadership. No one seems to be able to master "the authority or the courage" needed in order to "admit that they've made a mistake". Lowell also wanted to emphasize the fact that "these delays are terrible on the lives of the defendants".

Even the most stubborn of prosecutors cant deny that.

More background on this trial

My piece from Feb 2006 The AIPAC case and the humble pie

From Nov. 2007: AIPAC trial ruling: Bring on the top government officials

From last week, the Secrecy News blog: Former ISOO Directors to Testify for Defense in AIPAC Trial

Great, comprehensive, piece from the Washingtonian

Further Informtion:

U.S. gov't to appeal ruling on classified material in AIPAC trial

United States Presidential Platform Uses Islamophobic Tactics

Nine Republican candidates took part in the debate [AFP]

Thompson warns of 'Islamic fascism'

10 October 2007

Fred Thompson, the actor and ex-senator who has joined the Republican race for the US presidency, has vowed to halt the spread of "Islamic fascism" during a televised debate with his party rivals.

Thompson said "It is a global war - Islamic fascism has declared it upon us," during the debate with his eight rivals in Michigan on Tuesday.

"They play by no rules and they are intent on bringing down Western civilisation and the United States of America," said Thompson, famous for his role in the Law & Order television series.

Mitt Romney, a frontrunner, said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, was a "rogue and a buffoon".

Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, is the currently leading the race to become the Republican candidate, which will be decided during elections early next year.

He is respected for his leadership role after the September 11 attacks in 2001, but is battling to win over conservatives.

Iranian 'threat'

Thompson also said it was important to keep US troops in Iraq "to stabilise that place and not have to leave with our tail between our legs."

Ron Paul, an anti-war libertarian and Texas congressman who stunned his rivals by raising $5m for the campaign in the last three months, said he was not prepared to pledge his support for the nominee of the party.

"Not unless they're willing to end the war," he said.

When asked whether a US president should request authorisation from the US congress before launching a military strike at any future Iran nuclear weapons plant, Romney said:

"You sit down with your attorneys and tell you want you have to do," he said, before adding the president always had to act in the best interest of the United States.

Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, said he would attack Iran in a "heartbeat" if it was an immediate threat, while Ron Paul said the notion that Iran endangered the US mainland was "preposterous."

Senator John McCain pledged to consult Congress before any attack on Iran which he said "is, maybe, closer to reality than we are discussing tonight".

Iran has denied all accusations that it intends to develop nuclear weapons.

Tax or spend

The candidates also clashed on tax and spending issues with Giuliani accusing Romney of increasing taxes during his time as Massachusetts governor.

"The point is, you've got to control taxes. But I did it. He didn't," Giuliani said.

Romney shot back: "It's baloney. Mayor, you've got to check your facts. I did not increase taxes in Massachusetts. I lowered taxes."

Thompson and other Republicans criticised the explosion of federal spending in recent years and said rising budgets and deficits under George Bush, the US president, had to be brought under control.

McCain pointed to his own Republican party as the culprit. "We have to get spending under control," he said.

"We Republicans who came to power in 1994 to change government - government changed us."

Congressman Faces Heat for Comments on Jewish Lobby

19 September 2007

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rep. Jim Moran, D-Virginia, is under fire from members of his own party for recent comments claiming a major Jewish public action committee was behind the push to invade Iraq in 2003.

In the September issue of the Jewish magazine Tikkun, Moran is sharply critical of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), saying "AIPAC is the most powerful lobby and has pushed this war from the beginning. I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized… they have been able to exert power."

AIPAC tells CNN it has taken no position on the Iraq war.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, was quick to dispute Moran's charge.

"I think he certainly ought to retract the remarks, and indicate he believes that he was inaccurate on the facts," Hoyer said Tuesday.

“His remarks…recall an old canard that is not true, that the Jewish community controls the media and the Congress," Hoyer added.

A spokesman for Moran told CNN Tuesday, "It is not the Jewish people, but an organization aligned with the Bush Administration… that he critiqued."

In 2003, Moran apologized for saying Iraq would not have been invaded without the Jewish community's support. He survived a primary and got re-elected in 2004, but his latest remarks could prompt another challenge.

The Moran controversy takes place following the publication of a new book called "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by two political scientists, John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard.

They argue that AIPAC, along with a loose network of lobbyists, political professionals and members of the media, holds an unduly powerful sway over over the U.S. government when it comes to policy towards Israel. That pressure, in part, led to the war in Iraq.

When the two first published their ideas in the London Review of Books in 2006, they set of a firestorm of criticism in the academic and foreign policy community, drawing accusations of anti-Semitism from some.

The two have argued since then that their critique is not anti-Semitic or aimed specifically at Jews, but rather that the government's policy towards Israel is becoming detrimental to greater American goals abroad.

UPDATE: Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, is circulating a letter Wednesday among Jewish House members that formally calls on Moran to repudiate his comments.

Israel's New Bush for 2008

Israel Wants Hillary Clinton for 2008

Israel's Other Occupied Territory

U.S. Muslim women file complaint against Israeli lobby

March 16, 2007

The National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) filed an official complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, and also with the Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys at the Department of Justice against pro-Israeli organizations in the United States, according to an article on theuglytruth.com.

The complaint states that as a result of misleading and false information provided to U.S. law enforcement agencies, the media and also to various governmental agencies, various Jewish groups and individuals have sought to create an environment that is hostile towards American Muslims, leading to the deprivation and violation of Muslim civil liberties and civil rights.

The complaint lists the American-Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC), American Jewish Committee (AJC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the American Jewish Congress B’nai B’rith, the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, as well as individuals such as Daniel Pipes, Steven Emerson, Rita Katz, Steven Schwartz, Evan Kohlman, and others.

The complaint consists of five pages of accusations, backed by more than 100 pages of relevant documents extracted from transcripts of Congressional testimonies, articles, and public statements.

In it, NAMAW says that “Jewish organizations and activists in the U.S. may have created enemies lists that include the names of Muslims, Arabs, white nationalists organizations, and others that they have targeted as threats to, or enemies of the state of Israel.”

“These Jewish organizations and activists have used their financial resources and also their formidable political influence to purposefully poison public opinion against Muslims, Arabs and Islam in an attempt to demonize and vilify the same for political purposes, and also to create an environment conducive to the deprivation and violation of Muslim and Arab constitutional rights, and especially the repression of Muslim religious and political freedoms, and free speech,” it added.

NAMAW also says that these organizations and individuals may have also committed perjury in testimonies provided to the U.S. Congress.

It says that Jewish groups and activists may have purposely given false impressions, and made false statements aimed at misleading the media, policy makers, law enforcement, and various government agencies.

These false statements led to an aggressive campaign in the United States to suppress Muslim rights, NAMWA says.

The complaint also says that NAMAW suspects that the Jewish campaign against Muslims and Islam in the United States has been ongoing for more than 10 years.

The group asks the Department of Justice to investigate its charges, and to cooperate with the Muslim community to dispel misconceptions and lies that have demonized Muslims, Arabs and Islam.

It also demands the DOJ to develop and implement programs aimed at healing U.S. society of the harsh racial and religious polarization resulting from an “ongoing and criminal hate campaign against Muslims, Arabs and Islam.”

The National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) is a political organization whose mission is to organize and educate Muslim women and to make their voices heard on issues that are important and relevant to all Americans.

The association was originally formed in 1989 in Newark New Jersey as National Association of Muslim Women, and was later re-established in 1994 as the National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW).

Source