Gary Kamiya writes: We’ve been through this before. As one of the most disastrous wars in our history is coming to an inglorious end, the same neoconservative hawks who dreamed it up are agitating for a new war that would make Iraq look like the invasion of Grenada — and using the ultimate trump card in American politics to silence debate over it.
When hawks begin beating the drums for war in the Middle East, Israel is usually a big reason why. That was true in the run-up to the war in Iraq, and it is doubly true with the current hysteria over Iran. Despite disingenuous claims to the contrary, the only reason the U.S. is even talking about war with Iran is Israel. As the invaluable M.J. Rosenberg, who knows the working of the Israel lobby as only a former card-carrying member can, notes, “It is impossible to find a single politician or journalist advocating war with Iran who is not a neocon or an AIPAC cutout. (They’re often both.)”
Ever since the International Atomic Energy Agency released its overhyped, old-news report on Iran’s nuclear program, Israel’s amen corner in the U.S. has been loudly calling for war.
If American politics did not contain an enormous blind spot, no one would pay any attention to what these discredited ideologues have to say. The Iraq war they championed turned out to be one of the biggest foreign-policy disasters in U.S. history. Their ignorant and Islamophobic view of the Middle East is as breathtaking as their bland willingness to commit America to yet another ruinous war against a Muslim country, this time one four times larger than Iraq and with more than twice as many people. They have a demonstrated track record of complete failure.
Yet these incompetent militarists are still taken seriously. And the reason is simple: They purport to be supporters of Israel. In American politics, you can get away with even the most cracked war-mongering as long as you claim to be “pro-Israel.” And the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card for anything having to do with Israel is the Holocaust.
I’ve been hearing that word, “Holocaust” since Its inception. Over the ensuing years, decades, into the new Century, we are reminded that it took place. We are also reminded that we should defend those who survived it. How many are still alive today, who did survive? Do they really expect the present leaders of the West to commit to Armageddon, in their honor? Isn’t such an action, just as over the top as the Holocaust was? On this day, we should be giving thanks that we are here to celebrate, not planning another Holocaust, which I might add, is exactly what the war mongers will have wrought upon Iran, if they get their collective way. The ugly result wont be destroying Iran’s Nuclear facilities, but the devastation of the worlds economy, notably the U.S. & Europe. A grand design? Well now, food for thought.
Like virtually all of Kamiya’s stuff, this is brilliant. Israel’s crying Holocaust is beyond tiresome, and like the boy who cried wolf once too often, Israel will pay for it. When Israel isn’t whining about the Holocaust, it’s bullying its putative friends. Bibi and Co. know damn well that this whining and bullying brings the real antisemites out of the closet — which is, of course, the intention. Zionism cannot thrive without antisemitism.
I wonder if that Goldhagen kid is starting to regret having invented the silly term “eliminationist antisemitism,” now that the Zionists are so shamelessly exploiting it. It wasn’t even a completely accurate term in Goldhagen’s hands, and it’s even less applicable in Bibi’s.