https://archive.org/details/AlbertEinsteinLetterToTheNewYorkTimes.December41948
On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 3:55:35 PM UTC-5, MJ wrote: > > > > *How We Know AIPAC Wrote The GOP’s “Treason” Letter To Iran *March 9, 2015 > > This past weekend 47 senators (all Republicans) sent this letter > <http://go.bloomberg.com/assets/content/uploads/sites/2/150309-Cotton-Open-Letter-to-Iranian-Leaders.pdf> > > to the Iranian government, warning it not to sign any agreement with > President Obama because they will make sure it does not go into effect. The > purpose of the letter is to sabotage negotiations, enabling Israel to > proceed to consider other ways to deal with the possibility that Iran will > develop nuclear weapons, i.e. through war not diplomacy. > > Because the letter seems at least borderline treasonous–senators telling a > foreign power not to bother negotiating with the President–some question > whether AIPAC was involved in drafting it. After all, the 47 Republican > senators will, we know from experience, do anything to harm President > Obama’s initiatives without regard to niceties like the law or the > Constitution. But AIPAC? Would they go that far. > > The answer is simple. > > On all matters relating to Israel and the Middle East in general, AIPAC > writes the legislation (or letters, resolutions, etc) which are then handed > over to legislators to drop in the hopper, gather cosponsors, and get it > passed or sent. Not only that, the ideas for these initiatives come out of > AIPAC rather than (as is usually the case with lobbies) starting with the > Member of Congress who then asks the lobby for help with drafting. AIPAC > does it all, from soup to nuts. > > I know this because back in my days working as a Congressional aide, I > participated in that process. Mea culpa! > > I was working for Congresswoman Nita Lowey, a member of the House > Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. Those are > the committees that ostensibly produce the foreign aid bill, including the > $3.5 billion Israel aid package. > > Here is how it worked. (Although I focus on the Lowey experience, every > other Israel initiative I worked on, and there were dozens, went through > the same process, whether on the authorizing or appropriating side, or in > the House or Senate). > > An AIPAC lobbyist sent over its demands, the specific provisions it wanted > in the bill. Every possible provision was spelled out > <http://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf>, not just the big aid items > but small ones and also the specific details of how the money must be > disbursed. > > Every Member of the Committee considered friendly to AIPAC was given the > exact same language. Then those legislators would write letters to the > chairman stating that, after due consideration, this is what they wanted in > the bill. AIPAC tries to get as many Members of the Committee to include > the same language as possible. It invariably got all the Democrats and most > of the Republicans. None of them changed a word. > > The chairman, upon receiving the letters, and knowing that a clear > majority wanted the AIPAC provisions, simply included them in the bill. > AIPAC’s name was never mentioned nor was the fact that Israel itself > crafted the specific language along with the AIPAC lobbyists. No Member of > Congress changed a word. (One recent chairman, David Obey, a progressive > from Wisconsin, hated the idea that AIPAC decided what would be in the > bill. He wanted more money for the needy, at home and worldwide. But he > knew that AIPAC, and not him, controlled the majority of the votes. There > was nothing he could do.) > > Bottom line: the foreign aid bill is written and then enacted by AIPAC. > And not just the Israel portions either. AIPAC (and Israel) also craft the > parts dealing with Egypt, the #2 aid recipient after Israel. AIPAC also > wrote the Iran sanctions laws. In fact, there have been no major laws or > resolutions that did not originate at AIPAC. > > It’s no different with a Congressional letter. If a legislator wants to > write a letter to the president supporting something Israel wants, he must > get AIPAC’s approval. AIPAC (1) will then either write the letter or edit > it (2) decide if that particular legislator will be allowed to sponsor it > and (3) decide whether or not the legislator can attract signers by saying > it is AIPAC-approved. > > On all matters related to Israel, Iran, Palestinians, etc, AIPAC support > is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. > > I suppose it is possible that the Senators treason letter was written > without AIPAC. I mean, it’s possible that a meteor will destroy all human > life tomorrow, But, believe me, 47 senators are not going to undertake an > initiative this serious on AIPAC’s #1 issue without the lobby’s approval. > The letter would have disappeared into the ether if AIPAC did not want to > undermine the president this way. No senator, let alone 47, would ever > treat AIPAC like that. Never. > > Can I swear that AIPAC wrote the letter. No. I can only say that in the > years I either worked for AIPAC (1973-1975,1982-1986), for Members of > Congress or State Department’s USAID (1982-1986,1987-1995,1995-1998) or at > Israel Policy Forum (1998-2009), no Israel initiative ever moved in > Congress without AIPAC in the lead. Not one (unless it did not tow the > line). The only thing that has changed since is that AIPAC is more > aggressive and Congress is even more in its thrall. > > The treason letter is an AIPAC production. Like the Netanyahu appearance > in Congress last week, it represents a new low. But, as is the case with NO > other issue, the other party (the Democrats) is unlikely to scream at > holler about this outrageous action because, just like the Republicans, the > Democrats are owned by AIPAC. > > Meanwhile, thanks to this ugly bipartisanship, America could find itself > dragged into another Middle East war, a war that will make the Iraq debacle > look like a day in the park. > > > > http://mjrosenberg.net/2015/03/09/how-we-know-aipac-wrote-the-treason-letter-to-iran/ > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. 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