It s All Terrorism, Stupid!

TownHall.com ^ | 4/13/02 | Debbie Schlussel

[gcruse]

 

    State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher explains
    why blowing up Israelis different than blowing up
    Americans

    DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

    Richard Boucher, Spokesman

    Washington, DC; September 27, 2001

    ...

    QUESTION: To what extent does this campaign -- as you constantly review your Middle East
    policy, what -- how much influence does this campaign against terrorism have in that? What's the
    input? How does it weigh in here? See what I mean?

    MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.

    QUESTION: It's obviously a factor --

    MR. BOUCHER: We have talked about this on and off over the last few days. We recognize that
    there is an influence. Some have said it affects the atmosphere, the Palestinian/Israeli issues
    affect the atmosphere of cooperation. But, essentially, there are, on some planes, two different
    things. One is that there are violent people trying to destroy societies, ours, many others in the
    world. The world recognizes that and we are going to stop those people.

    On the other hand, there are issues and violence and political issues that need to be resolved in
    the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians. But we all recognize that the path to solve those is
    through negotiation and that we have devoted enormous efforts to getting back to that path of
    negotiation.

    And we have called on the parties to do everything they can, particularly in the present
    circumstance, to make that possible.

    I guess that's about as close as I can come to the kind of sophisticated analysis I'm sure you will
    want to do on your own. But they are clearly issues that are different, not only in geography but
    also, to some extent, in their nature.

    --------------------------------------------
    IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
    Website: www.imra.org.il

[TLBSHOW]

bump

[Lent]

Boucher - the biggest Arabist mouthpiece in the State Department.

[PayrollOffice]

Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!

Upon seeing Arafat chant this to the crowds, I got it.

[gcruse]

America somehow no longer needs oil

And that justifies letting an allied democracy
go belly up under terrorist attacks.  I don't
think so.  That kind of immoral cynicism
is attractive to the socialist left, anyway, and
not conservatism.

[Common Tator]

This neocon's problem is that like all simpletons or Israel-Firsters, she believes that since America now has an interest in anti-terrorism, America somehow no longer needs oil or is no longer interested in the stability of the oil-rich Mideast -- where Islamic fundamentalists who want to develop nukes threaten to topple Saudi and other pro-US regimes who don't develop nukes. But America is a much bigger country than Israel and has many vital interests other than anti-terrorism alone. This should be simple enough for this neocon and other members of the Amen Corner to understand, but these people can only view America through the single-issue lens of Israel and terrorism alone.

You can say that again... and I posted this so you would.

[Light Speed]

Chairman Arafat needs to do more...5 months for this tape message.
Saddam Hussein needs to let U.N. inspectors return...5 months for that.
Whoever harbors or supports terror is a terrorist...5 + months for that.
We will hunt terrorists and root them out of their caves..we will find them...
So Al qaeda is in Lebanon now..have been for about 3 months plus.
Saudi Arabia still funds terrorism..hell they even have satillite fund raisers for Palestinian Martrys.
Israel withdraws from lebanon in 2000.the U.N. polices the Israeli Lebanese border and the Hizbullah fire rockets by thousands over it and the U.N. does nothing..even though it is probably the most clear U.N. violation to be seen on the planet today.
And lastly Israel..the only party really fighting terror that threatens a civilized society..result..Bush says Israel must withdraw..it is jeoperdizing the future peace of the mid-east.
Its up to the members on the Hill now..if they can't get this thing turned,..its over..no Iraq..just more financial extortion by Arabs.
Why have a military ..when you can just cut a check!

[scratchgolfer]

Neocon? Amen Corner? Why not just say Jewish woman, that is what you are implying. And this so-called simpleton is a published writer. Israel has many defenders, not all neocon, not all Jewish, and mostly bedrock Republican these days.

[JasonC]

"Suicide bombings are already here."

A beautifully made point that illustrates Orwell's old saying, that in times of moral confusion the first duty of sane people is to restate the obvious.

[JasonC]

Their enemies made themselves our enemies by the direct method, attacking us. You can't spin it away, we are at war with their enemies and so are they. You can't appease the Bin Laden's of the world, who want to unite their followers in hatred of us. They will destroy us unless we destroy them first. As for fundies toppling the Saudis, we can topple them right back. Ask the Taliban.

[scratchgolfer]

Lots of Republicans who support Israel are not necons. It's an across the board thing. Supporting Israel is good for America, as Rush Limbaugh explained on his show today.

[PA Engineer]

AMG = Einsatzgruppen Amen Choir member singing Kristallnacht since April 11th, 2002

In other words AMG = Newbie Troll

[kcvl]

"simpletons or Israel-Firsters"

Murdering innocent civilians is alright with you? I don't care if they're Americans or Jews. Murder is murder in my book.

[JasonC]

Oh, I believe we need the oil alright. I believe it is in our interests to take out Saddam, and put in a government we like there. Which will have oil, and also be a model for governments in the region. If the fundies take over a place like Saudi, and want to use its oil wealth for anything like nukes, then I suggest we drop said fundies in the gulf, and just take the oil.

You are operating from the assumption that the US does not have the power to control any piece of the middle east we require, without toading to whatever the radicals pretend they want this week. Well, in reality the radicals want us dead, and proved in on 9-11. So our interest with regard to them is pretty clear. It is not to appease them, it is to annihilate them, wherever they take power.

It is not the cold war anymore, you know. We can do things like that. There isn't any big bad wolf to deter us from it anymore, as even the gulf war showed. I quite agree with you that US interests are first, but US interests are no longer served by vacillation, delay, weakness, and appeasement. We don't have to do everything by proxy anymore, and we can't afford continued appeasement after 9-11.

For all those reasons, Israeli and US interests are now much more closely aligned than they were during the cold war. The traditional difference between them, which some stripes of US opinion made much of back then to distinguish themselves from other blocs, has largely evaporated. But those blocs still cling to the pretended violent clash between our interests and theirs, for reasons that no longer have anything to do with preferring US interests, and instead have everything to do with self-identification, or with dislike of Israel.

[TLBSHOW]

They won't take any hike AMG! Bet on it.