Chas Freeman Exposes The "Likud Lobby"

Today Fareed Zakaria had Chas Freeman on his GPS program to discuss his decision to withdraw his name from consideration to the post chairman of the NIC of to which he was appointed by DNI director Dennis Blair. I have talked before about how Chas Freeman set the house on fire on his way out of the door in exposing the lies and distortion of his record coming from the pro-Israel Lobby which invited a lot of undue criticism and scrutiny upon him. Freeman was more cool and calm than I would have hoped for but still he presented the case thoroughly and thoughtfully that he had basically been libeled by what he called the right wing of the Israel Lobby or "Likud Lobby" as he called it to the point where he would have been unable to do his job effectively had he went on to accept the job. Maybe the best part was him laughing at Chuck Schumer's assertation that he had something to do with Freeman's withdrawal. I think this timme these "Likud Lobby" forces might have over played their hand to the point where people are actually going to start taking notice of what they do and why they do it. I can tell you this much, Chuck Schumer is DEFINITELY going to be under a microscope when it comes to Israel from now on by many people. I hate that we won't have Chas Freeman to help formulate the NIE but maybe in the end by him exposing what went on it will help to ensure that this kind of smear campaign will not prevail the next time.

Stephen Walt's Reaction

Stephen Walt posted his own reaction to Chas Freeman's withdrawal on his blog. Among other things he took President Obama to task for not standing by Freeman. Honestly I agree 100% with at least that part of his post and as I said over on Swampland I feel like it was a straight up bitch move by the President. I voted for President Obama and I support him, but at some point you have to show some damn loyalty for someone other than Tom Daschle if you expect people in your administration to show love back. Or for that matter if you expect to earn the respect of your detractors. This episode will be seen as a sign of weakness to the political opponents of President Obama and I only hope that he doesn't let that meme fester and grow.

In The Aftermath Of Chas Freeman's Withdrawal

Today the New York Times finally decided to publish an article about Chas Freeman. Its telling that they only did so AFTER the man withdrew his name from consideration for the chair of the NIC. I strongly believe that the mainstream media would have rather totally ignored the story but are now compelled to report on it in light of Freeman's statement yesterday after he withdrew. The Times piece itself was a farce and didn't even do the most superficial amount of investigation to confirm or deny Freeman's accusations in his statement. Instead they just relied on the word of the very people who conspired against the man. Of particular note is this reply from AIPAC.

Joshua Block, a spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group, said Tuesday that his organization had not taken a formal position on Mr. Freeman’s selection and had not lobbied Congress members to oppose it.

Evidently Block's word is enough for the New York Times because there is plenty of information out there to refute Block's statement that strangely didn't make its way into the article. Take for example this statement from Laura Rozen's blog post at ForeignPolicy.com

“Schumer didn’t need anyone to tell him” Freeman was problematic, said one former official at a pro-Israel group. “He’s been in the business a long time, and he’s got good staff. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t call AIPAC for research material.”

That was in response to whether Senator of the United States for New York Charles Schumer had consulted with AIPAC about Freeman's appointment. I wonder what that AIPAC "research material" had to say. Then there is also this email from Daniel Pipes making the rounds since Freeman's withdrawal.

Dear Reader:

As many of you may know, Charles Freeman “has requested that his selection to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council not proceed.”

What you may not know is that Steven J. Rosen of the Middle East Forum was the person who first brought attention to the problematic nature of Freeman’s appointment, in a February 19 blog titled “Alarming appointment at the CIA.” Within hours, the word was out; and three weeks later Freeman has conceded defeat. Only someone with Steve’s stature and credibility could have made this happen.

That would be the Steven J. Rosen who is a former AIPAC policy director and the same Steven J. Rosen who stands accused of spying on America for Israel. If you haven't noticed yet the pro Israel lobby isn't exactly hiding their role in derailing Freeman's nomination. Yet the New York Times just couldn't seem to find a way to report on these efforts in this article. Hmmmmm I wonder why. Maybe its because they didn't want to be labeled anti-semitic like Stephen Walt or Spencer Ackerman or Joe Klein by the same people who viciously smeared Chas Freeman. Of course thats all speculation, it could be they just suck at journalism now.

On another note Glenzilla gives us a primer on why Schumer's complicity in this ordeal should come as no surprise. Its always nice to take a trip down memory lane and observe the rank hypocrisy of some of our legislators. Especially when that hypocrisy relates to their views on Israel. At some point our politicians are going to have to own up to whether they are more concerned with America or if they are more concerned with Israel. As I stated before I have no problem supporting Israel as an ally of ours but this is not mere support. There isn't another ethnic group that can speak out in support of their home country in the way that Jewish people do with out being called unpatriotic. Think on that for a minute and let it marinate in your mind and see if it doesn't make you feel uneasy.

Chas Freeman Just Unloaded The Clip

For the last 3 weeks or so there has been a concerted effort by NeoCons and the "Pro Israel" lobby in America to smear and discredit Chas Freeman after it was announced that DIA director retired Admiral Dennis Blair had selected Freeman to be the chair of the National Intelligence Council. I had held off on posting about the situation because the waters were so muddied. On the one hand their seemed to be legitimate concerns about whether Freeman had accepted money from Saudi Arabia illegally. On the other hand their were all of these internet rumors about things Freeman had allegedly said about China and Israel that would seem at odds with mainstream CW. Now being a person who considers himself a truth seeker I always click links to try to get to the actual source of any story. To my surprise time after time in the end the stories always seemed to be emanating from the NeoCon publication "The Weekly Standard". Because these stories seemed to defy logic and because of who was propagating them I decided to start looking around the blogosphere for more information.

Spencer Ackerman had a few posts up about the smearing of Freeman and it seems that what the primary reason for the opposition by the NeoCons and Pro-Israel factions was that he dared give his honest assesment of Israel a few times in his professional life. So because he dared say anything negative about Israel these people decided that he wasn't fit to serve in President Obama's administration. From that point on they made a concerted effort to misinform and lie to members of Congress about Freeman's background and ideology and of course they didn't have to push too hard. As we saw with the damn near unanimous resolution a couple of months ago supporting Israel at a time when they were committing war crimes in the Gaza strip it shouldn't be much of a surprise how willing many of the politicians on the Hill were to be receptive to the lies these people were spreading. I would love to give a fuller accounting of the back story but thats not really the focus of this post. Yes, the mainstream media has failed us by not bringing this story to light but they are as beholden to the "Pro-Israeli" lobby as the politicians and thankfully several bloggers have been on the case. I would suggest you go here, here, here, here, and here to get a fuller picture. I would also point you to this comment of mine at Swampland about what Freeman actually said on Israel that was supposedly so bad. Now the reason for my post right now is that Freeman finally gave up the ghost today and withdrew his name from consideration. This led to a press release from Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer that should make very plain exactly why he opposed Freeman and it for damn sure didn't have anything to do with China or Saudi Arabia.

“Charles Freeman was the wrong guy for this position. His
statements against Israel were way over the top and severely out of step with the administration. I repeatedly urged the White House to reject him, and I am glad they did the right thing.”

Did you get that? Democratic Senator of the United States of America for New York opposed Chas Freeman over his "statements against Israel". I will have more on that in a minute. but on to the reason for the post. If the people who smeared Freeman thought he was going to go quietly into that good night they had another thing coming. Freeman just unloaded on his critics and he said what I am sure plenty of other people have wanted to say but didn't have the balls to do so. He called out the "Pro Israel" lobby and he didn't pull any punches.

You will by now have seen the statement by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair reporting that I have withdrawn my previous acceptance of his invitation to chair the National Intelligence Council.

I have concluded that the barrage of libelous distortions of my record would not cease upon my entry into office. The effort to smear me and to destroy my credibility would instead continue. I do not believe the National Intelligence Council could function effectively while its chair was under constant attack by unscrupulous people with a passionate attachment to the views of a political faction in a foreign country. I agreed to chair the NIC to strengthen it and protect it against politicization, not to introduce it to efforts by a special interest group to assert control over it through a protracted political campaign.

Now he makes allusion to his adversaries but he doesn't call them out specifically. But did he in fact go all the way? YOU GOT DAMN RIGHT HE DID!

The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired, still less to factor in American understanding of trends and events in the Middle East. The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth. The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors.

There is a special irony in having been accused of improper regard for the opinions of foreign governments and societies by a group so clearly intent on enforcing adherence to the policies of a foreign government – in this case, the government of Israel. I believe that the inability of the American public to discuss, or the government to consider, any option for US policies in the Middle East opposed by the ruling faction in Israeli politics has allowed that faction to adopt and sustain policies that ultimately threaten the existence of the state of Israel. It is not permitted for anyone in the United States to say so. This is not just a tragedy for Israelis and their neighbors in the Middle East; it is doing widening damage to the national security of the United States.

The outrageous agitation that followed the leak of my pending appointment will be seen by many to raise serious questions about whether the Obama administration will be able to make its own decisions about the Middle East and related issues. I regret that my willingness to serve the new administration has ended by casting doubt on its ability to consider, let alone decide what policies might best serve the interests of the United States rather than those of a Lobby intent on enforcing the will and interests of a foreign government.

I swear I almost got full wood reading Freeman's statement. He doesn't give a damn about being politically correct, he calls it like he sees it. Which is probably why he would have been a helluva good pick to chair the NIC. But alas the smear merchants won out this time. At the end of his statement Freeman took the time out to set the record straight.

Still, for the record: I have never sought to be paid or accepted payment from any foreign government, including Saudi Arabia or China, for any service, nor have I ever spoken on behalf of a foreign government, its interests, or its policies. I have never lobbied any branch of our government for any cause, foreign or domestic. I am my own man, no one else’s, and with my return to private life, I will once again – to my pleasure – serve no master other than myself. I will continue to speak out as I choose on issues of concern to me and other Americans.

Now just so you fully understand what is going on here, Chas Freeman is a former ambassador to both Saudi Arabia and China and people in the foreign policy world had nothing but great things to say about the guy and his potential as the chair of the NIC. In point of fact 17 former ambassadors signed a letter endorsing him in that position. Still the smears flew all over the Hill and you had that asshole Joe LIEberman questioning Freeman today about the lies and you had Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein setting up some kind of meeting with Freeman so she and other senators could grill him on the same. Which brings us back to Schumer. This guy basically lobbied the White House to drop Freeman because of some of the factually based statements he made against Israel. If you clicked on the links above you have seen exactly what Freeman said about Israel and there isn't a single inflammatory thing about it unless you are predisposed to believe that Israel can do no wrong. Unfortuntely the truth is our politicians, whether they actually believe that or not, are predisposed to put forth just that position. And that includeds President Obama whom I voted for and I support. This notion that we stand behind Israel no matter what it does is patently ridiculous. We send them money and weapons by the truckload yet we practically no say in how they use them. What does it say when our politicians are more concerned with how a person like Freeman feels about Israel than whether or not he could serve OUR country well. How in the hell does that make sense to ANYONE? And yet the "Pro Israel" lobby has won yet again and the sad thing is the overwhelming majority of Americans didn't even know the battle was being waged.

Now what are the chances that another similarly qualified person who also is a straight shooter will attempt to take over as chair of the NIC. I would say slim to none, and slim just left town. The gauntlet has been thrown down and evidently if you aren't explicitly pro Israel you need not apply for a job in the administration. The real question here is when will we as American citizens say enough if enough? Israel just elected Bibi Netanyahu as their prime minister and if we continue the status quo in our support of them I have little doubt that he will be pushing for war with Iran shortly. Are we going to allow ourselves to be drawn into a needless conflict just because our politicians are beholden to Israel. Or are we going to start speaking out about this unhealthy relationship? There is nothing wrong with having Israel as an ally and supporting them when they are in the right. But it is absolutely wrong to continue on as an enabler, refusing to point out when they are in the wrong. I don't know about you but I am fucking fed up with it and I plan on speaking out about it until something changes. I hope that at least some of you feel the same way too.