"How Washington Goaded Israel"! Is anyone surprised?

[bananarepublican]

Stephen Zunes | August 21, 2006
Editor: John Feffer, IRC
Foreign Policy In Focus

In his May 23 summit with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President George W. Bush offered full U.S. support for Israel to attack Lebanon as soon as possible. Seymour Hersh, in the August 21 New Yorker, quotes a Pentagon consultant on the Bush administration's longstanding desire to strike “a preemptive blow against Hezbollah.” The consultant added, “It was our intent to have Hezbollah diminished, and now we have someone else doing it.” ...

Some reports have indicated that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was less sanguine than Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, or President Bush about the proposed Israeli military offensive. Rumsfeld apparently believed that Israel should focus less on bombing and more on ground operations, despite the dramatically higher Israeli casualties that would result. Still, Hersh quotes a former senior intelligence official as saying that Rumsfeld was “delighted that Israel is our stalking horse.” ...

On to Iran and Syria?
On July 30, the Jerusalem Post reported that President Bush pushed Israel to expand the war beyond Lebanon and attack Syria. Israeli officials apparently found the idea “nuts.” ...

This idea was not exactly secret. In support of the Israeli offensive, the office of the White House Press Secretary released a list of talking points that included reference to a Los Angeles Times op-ed by Max Boot, senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. The article, “It's Time to Let the Israelis Take Off the Gloves,” urges an Israeli attack against Syria. “Israel needs to hit the Assad regime. Hard,” argues Boot. “If it does, it will be doing Washington's dirty work.” ...

Starting this spring, according to Hersh, the White House ordered top planners from the U.S. air force to consult with their Israeli counterparts on a war plan against Iran that incorporated an Israeli pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah. Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, the chief of staff of the Israeli military and principal architect of the war on Lebanon, worked with U.S. officials on contingency planning for an air war with Iran. ...


Is not the above proof positive that the lunatics are indeed running the asylum?

[The Sower]

1. To the dungeon, I mean to the happy "special forum" with you.

:spank:

[bananarepublican]

4. What does your reply mean? n/t

[Emit]

6. It means it will likely be relocated to the I/P forums by the mods

as per DU rules.

[nam78_two]

2. I think you forgot to post the link

:)!

[bananas]

3. here's one

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0819-25.htm

[bananarepublican]

5. It was from a Buzzflash article. How do you post a link? n/t

[maddezmom]

7. locking

please read the guidelines for postin in GD here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1928475&mesg_id=1928475