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In this article Nicola Nasser argues that the Israel lobby is the main
driving force for American intervention in Syria:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/15/israeli-factor-in-syrian-conflict/
I can't help but wonder if Mr. Nasser has been following the news. If
this is the case, the Baathist thugs have little to worry about:
http://mjayrosenberg.com/2013/09/13/the-aipac-collapse-2/
The AIPAC Collapse
The lobby is reeling.
Reports from Capitol Hill reveal that AIPAC’s big lobbying day for war
with Syria changed no votes. Not one.
Meanwhile two of its closest allies, Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Henry
Waxman changed their position on bombing from “yes” to undecided.
Another, Rep. Alan Grayson, is the leader of the “no” forces.
AIPAC should have cancelled its lobbying day when the president shifted
his position. Its emissaries to Capitol Hill had no message and
delivered it badly! They insisted on talking about Al Qaeda as if it was
Assad’s ally and not his enemy. And, of course, they kept bringing up Iran.
That is understandable. AIPAC’s entire lobbying effort is about Iran. It
cares about the well-being of the Syrian people as much as it does about
the people of Gaza. That is, not at all.
No, AIPAC joined the battle to win Congressional approval because
resolving the Syria crisis through any means other than war would set a
terrible precedent for Iran: resolving the Iran nuclear issue
diplomatically.
In fact, AIPAC itself created the terrible precedent. It invested itself
fully on Syria, promising Obama it could deliver the votes, and failed.
The reason it failed can be described as a shift in the zeitgeist. The
American people do not want to militarily engage in the Middle East
again. It has had it — which is no surprise after Afghanistan, Iraq,
Libya and even the democratic collapse in Egypt.
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