As Max Blumenthal says below (quoted in the piece from Al Jazeera English), Chas Freeman's fate is "a catastrophic defeat for the Obama administration." For, as rikyrah puts it bluntly in her blog (also below), Obama didn't move a muscle to defend his nominee.
Our president must come to understand that "change" cannot mean only the undoing of extremist measures that have only slight support, like BushCo's moves against stem cell research, and the Endangered Species Act, and birth control. "Change" must also entail standing up against extremist measures that have very powerful support (even if a lot of people out there don't approve of them). So whether it's the Israel lobby, as in this case, or the military, or the Pentagon's contractors, or the Christianist far-right (and, sadly, I could keep on going), Obama, having talked the talk, must put his money where his mouth is, and not let noisy bullies throw him off. (And, of course, his people, and the Secret Service, have to double up on all security measures--because real change means real threats to those who really fight for it.) MCM Chas Freeman Withdraws Name for Intel Post-- Failure of Leadership by President Obama 11 Author: rikyrah http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2009/03/chas-freeman-withdraws-name-for-intelligence-post-failure-of-leadership-by-president-obama/ I brought the case of Chas Freeman to you in the post: Who is Chas Freeman and Why We Should Care About What's Happening to Him? Yesterday, Mr. Freeman withdrew his name for consideration for a top Intelligence post. Now, Mr. Freeman wasn't done in because he had financial problems. Mr. Freeman is gone because HE ACTUALLY CHALLENGES ISRAEL. That is his crime. I guess ' Team of Rivals' can be allowed for this Administration, except for HONEST discussions about our 51st State. NMP questioned whether President Obama's team let him down through the vetting process, or this was a failure of leadership. I believe it's a failure of leadership. There was nothing wrong with Mr. Freeman's credentials, except for that he didn't kiss AIPAC's ass. THAT is his crime. The failure of leadership comes in with the LACK OF DEFENSE of Mr. Freeman. It's not like Freeman hid his views. Anyone who could Google would be able to get his speeches and writings. So, I'm giving the President's team the benefit of the doubt that they just didn't pick him up off the street. So, considering that this wasn't a FINANCIAL matter, and that this was Mr. Freeman's POSITIONS, which he did not hide, this is NOT a vetting issue. This is an issue of The President letting this man twist in the wind as he was being attacked by Neocons, AIPAC and their Congressional Allies, and failing to mount a defense for this person that they believed was QUALIFIED, or he wouldn't have been offered the job in the first place. This is NOT change we can believe in, Mr. President. You can let those AIPAC cronies continue to lead this country down the wrong road in the Middle East, or you can stand up to them. Change and peace will only happen IF you stand up to the likes of AIPAC. Obama Pick Quits over Israel Lobby Al Jazeera March 11, 2009 <http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/03/200931113340555177>http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/03/200931113340555177.html The candidate for a leading US intelligence post has withdrawn his nomination after accusing the country's Israel lobby of plumbing "the depths of dishonour and indecency" to assassinate his character. Charles "Chas" Freeman, a former US ambassador who is now president of the Middle East Policy Council think-tank, had initially agreed to chair the US National Intelligence Council that produces assessments of security issues. But on Tuesday he withdrew his nomination following what he called a "barrage of libellous distortions" of his record by the Israel lobby in the US. "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," he said. "The tactics of the Israel lobby plumb the depths of dishonour and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the wilful 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 favours." Setback for Obama Opponents were quick to point out that Freeman's withdrawal was merely the latest in a string of personnel setbacks for Barack Obama as the president struggles to staff his administration. Pete Hoekstra, the leading Republican on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said this was "yet another breakdown in the Obama administration vetting process - one more in a long series of missteps". Freeman, who in 2007 said "the brutal oppression of the Palestinians by Israeli occupation shows no sign of ending", was criticised by some in the US congress for remarks seen as critical of Israel. But he countered in an email to supporters on Tuesday: "It is apparent that we Americans cannot any longer conduct a serious public discussion or exercise independent judgment about matters of great importance to our country as well as to our allies and friends." 'Israel lobby won' Max Blumenthal, a blogger and journalist for the Daily Beast website who has been following Freeman's nomination process, told Al Jazeera that Freeman's withdrawal was "a catastrophic defeat for the Obama administration". "What happened is the Israel lobby won," he said. "What [Freeman] said that I think is most remarkable in his statement is that apparently the Obama administration will not be able to dictate its own Mid East policy and he places the blame for this squarely on the Israel lobby. Blumenthal explained that the Israel lobby had "been furiously emailing sympathetic reporters, smearing him in public" and that "political decisions came into play with respect to [Freeman's] views on Israel and essentially his appointment was torpedoed". This was the Israel lobby's "first all out fusillade and they succeeded because they knew that freeman would be dispensable to political elements in the White House that needed to court the Israel lobby, needed their money for senate races", he told Al Jazeera. China-Saudi links Freeman is a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who has also served as an assistant secretary of defence and a senior US diplomat in China. Admiral Dennis Blair, the national intelligence director who chose Freeman for the council position, had defended him in congress on Tuesday as a man of "strong views, of an inventive mind and the analytical point of view". Blair said he preferred that to "precooked, pabulum judgments". But Freeman's perceived criticisms of Israel along with his ties with China and Saudi Arabia, stirred controversy. Freeman served on the international advisory board of the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation when it made its 2005 bid for US oil firm Unocal that was thwarted by US congressional protest, and his Washington-based Middle East Policy Council think-tank received funding from Saudi Arabia. Freeman said he had resigned from all his private positions when he decided to accept the intelligence council post. After Freeman's withdrawal, Blair's office said he accepted his decision "with regret". --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to newsfromunderground-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
