The related, and crucial, point of convergence between the two regimes is their justification of just about any of their lethal murderous actions as ‘terrorism’. Supposedly the aim of the US attack was an ‘Al Quaeda’ training camp – those women and children were obviously an imminent danger to the citizens of Milwaukee. The Gaza fishermen are ‘terrorists’, the peace activists are terrorists and jihadis. All Palestinians are terrorists etc etc.

It is a reflex action – kill first, justify afterwards with ludicrous, overheated claims of ‘terrorism’ – except the evidence is hardly ever forthcoming.

The point about this is that these remote killers in their comfortable offices in Washington and Jerusalem think that the use of the ‘terrorist’ justification excuses them from any legal or moral obligations. Treaties, conventions, agreements – all are ignored when it comes to ‘terrorism’.

It follows, therefore, that the neocon, right wing, fundamentalist nature of these governments has a vested interest in the prolongation of the ‘terrorist’ threat, as it allows them carte blanche to push a global, political agenda. The US is not that keen to examine Israeli crimes, since it suits them very well to create an impression that all opponents can be branded as terrorists, and thus dealt with summarily and extra-judicially. The wild hype and exaggeration of the terrorist threat is manna to these people who can use it to justify just about any military action, including war on a scale which would dwarf any number of terrorist atrocities, ie Iran.

That is one of the reasons why the appalling Israeli propaganda deluge is so dangerous to peace and a rational response to global issues.

Not just emptywheel/firedoglake, also Glenn Greenwald:

(wish you had block quotes)

————-

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/06/03/israel/index.html

…ultimately, on some level, wouldn’t it have been even more indefensible — or at least oozingly hypocritical — if the U.S. had condemned Israel? After all, what did Israel do in this case that the U.S. hasn’t routinely done and continues to do? As even our own military officials acknowledge, we’re slaughtering an “amazing number” of innocent people at checkpoints in Afghanistan. We’re routinely killing civilians in all sorts of imaginative ways in countless countries, including with drone strikes which a U.N. official just concluded are illegal. We’re even targeting our own citizens for due-process-free assassination. We’ve been arming Israel and feeding them billions of dollars in aid and protecting them diplomatically as they (and we) have been doing things like this for decades. What’s the Obama administration supposed to say about what Israel did: we condemn the killing of unarmed civilians? We decry these violations of international law? Even by typical standards of government hypocrisy, who in the U.S. Government could possibly say any of that with a straight face?

“Emptywheel” – or Marcy Wheeler – is one of the best of the best in terms of blogging.

She is a former litigator, and for all her investigative abilities, what she is perhaps most famous for is being the first blogger to get media accreditation in a federal trial (that of Scooter Libby). An amazing lady, and when she sinks her teeth into an issue, you can be sure she will be as good a repository of information on that issue as anyone on the planet.

Not everything the US does is for Israel, for example the invasion of vietnam and all the people tortured and killed in South America.

They do those things for their own advantage.

But I believe what it does for Israel is a liability for America and not an advantage.

We have to admit, there are people in the American administration that are loyal to Israel and not America.

And they make no secret of this loyalty.

Instead they advertise it.

If anything the few who state they are more loyal to America than to Israel risk political suacide.

Killing of innocents is murder, regardless of U.S. excuses, like they was terrorists, fortunately for them the dead can’t plead their innocence.

Been watching the TV series DEXTER (has a somewhat dubious premise yet has been consistently compelling television), and at the end of series two there is a scene between Dexter and Miguel Prado on a rooftop in which Prado perfectly encapsulates the Israeli situation as clearly perceived. Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_J5BHLpEVk

US missile ‘used in Yemen raid’. That’s the BBC’s spin on the AI story, amazing!

Used by who exactly? Are the Americans in the habit of letting anybody use their cruise missiles? I hope not!

What possesses the BBC to allow its editors to write this crap?

Obama has authorised a massive expansion of the use of predator drone attacks along the Pakistan/Afghan border. Between 700 and 800 civilian deaths, a massive pile of dismembered corpses, and underneath this small hill of body parts what do we find, if one can stand the stench, a mere handful of real terrorists.

Obama has also given permission for US special forces to greatly increase their presence around the globe, in order to fight ‘terrorists’, according to the New York Times special forces are now operating in close to 75 foreign countries.

Obama, in his dubious constitutional role as Commander in Chief, is shredding the constitution and fighting illegal wars, and attacking foreign, sovereign states, and killing foreigners, illegally.

If the United States was still a functioning democracy, with a system of government, laws and a constitution that people took seriously; Obama would be in the dock charge with numerous clearly impeachable offenses. Alas, the era of democracy is over, and the era of brazen and open imperialism, with no checks and balances has begun.

You really are getting close to the nub of the matter with your last paragraph. But why is it you seem unable to connect the dots to their glaringly obvious ‘elephant in the room’ conclusion?

The bitter anger you speak of is precisely what is required to effectively prosecute the over-arching agenda of US lead ‘full spectrum dominance’ – and, in the near ancient history words of General Smedley Butler, war is indeed a racket.

There are elements in our SIS moderated and controlled Establishment, whose entire raison d’etre is to cultivate, provoke, facilitate, and generally utilise that bitter anger for purposes that are simply unthinkable by our trusting, ever confused, frightened and confounded sheeple – and you too it seems – and the stakes are literally epoch-defining.

You need to to take a good hard look at historical precedents and then reconsider the real nature of our domestic terrorist attack experiences. They are not unlike that of bitter, angry, hot-headed Guy Fawkes’ – which is to say largely the work of ‘useful idiots’ to the real Powers that be. Qui-bono? is the ever necessary question to be pursued relentlessly.

Can’t do that honestly and thoroughly, then continue with a public, ostensibly rebellious, political career though I’m afraid – which is probably why most intelligent people simply cannot go there.

Craig, Not sure if you have seen this yet but I find it pretty shocking myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOGG_osOoVg

Parody video by off duty IDF soldier which government spokesman described as ‘fantastic’

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/06/israel-youtube-gaza-flotilla

Particularly uncomfortable with the blacking up of the obama figure!

Remote control weaponry needs to be controlled just as remote control nuclear warheads/missiles.

The attack on yemen with hellfire missiles, the predator drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghjanistan and the frequent overflight of usurping powers with their own agenda is erradicating sovereignity and making it a mockery.

If sovereignity cannot be claimed to be just that what use are the destinctions of borders?

Full spectrum dominance is scary, it is George Orwell all over and with the current moral and politcal mistakes made by those who are its proponenets I cannot see how they could be possibly be trusted with running the world.

China has thankfully exploded the myth that the last global common is therequisite and designation of US space weapons alone, it will not play ball if the US should try and cut off 20% of its oil supply.

The US must be carefullnot to elevate the terrorist groups of this world to Robin Hood status by its dubious actions that undermine statehood and diplomacy at large. People always like a brave and god fearing underdog, they dislike our underhand tricks, torture abroad.

This last week we seen a mockery made of international laws, scrutiny was uplifted to joke status by many media outlets and agencies with their ignorance of Israels guilt, their lack of questioning. We have had a NATO partner injured, ignored by its fellow members, so NATO doctrine and conventions got the finger as well.

Whats next? more provocation with eventual break out of war?

Two Israeli missile ships have been cruising around in the Gulf of Hormuz for weeks, now Iran is announcing that they will protect any naval aid flotilla asking for it.

The book seems as if already written by a new global political movement that can only be described as Leviathanismn, a movement that creates its own Hades, sits in its own judgements as the Jury and dispenses justice in favour of itself.

Vested interests are going into a feeding frenzy, whether it is over scant resources, oil, arms or water.

Rather than adjust change that is technically perfectly feasible, by creating vast amounts of energy from the sun, in those oil producing countries who are currently gaining by squandering their oilreserves on our lifestyles.

So to argue that we have not got the knowledge to live more sustainable, hence have to go to war to steal/control the stuff is naive and calling us stupid.

What is lacking is interlect and a positive diplomatic revival amongst staff and fair minded people in administrations, one has to organise I suppose and thats were many ‘can’t do’ and switch off.

The public political awareness is dumbed down according to necessity and situation, kept in perpetual political ineptness by the colluding media and those who fetter the vested interest first and themselves second.

Craig, I have a question for you: I dont know what warships (UK or otherwise) regularly patrol the Med, but if the next aid flotilla is also assaulted by Israeli forces in international waters, would the captains of the attacked vessels be entitled to issue a distress call requesting assistance from any or all vessels within range? If a British vessel received such a distress call, what would be the likely response?

Mike -

Iff he Israeli vessels were not commissioned, it would be piracy and anyone should respond – there is a duty to suppress piracy. But as they are military, I don’t think there is an obligation to intervene except by military vessels of the flag state.

What if the intercepted vessel is a NATO member and the naval escort for it does not come from a NATO country?

but, is acting according to international rules and puts itself between attacker and victim, taking the flying bullets on to their armour?, acting as a shield.

I agree, Arsalan, some of them have dual loyalties and some are ‘Israel-Firsters’.

But we must remember that those (supposedly non-Israel-Firster) Americans who act in ways which seem of detriment to the USA actually are acting so in order to aggrandise themselves and their cadre. They are not interested in the national interests of ‘the US’, far less, the vast majority of the people of the USA, except where the USA acts as a vehicle for their ends – through its economy and its military, primarily.

In other words, they are transnational corporate bastards who profit massively and on a sustained basis from the shiny ‘New Jerusalem’ military-industrial complex that is Israel, from the control of global resources and from a situation of perpetual war (in certain regions and with particular strategic goals).

It’s not merely that they are afraid of the pro-Israel lobby in the USA – though the politicians who represent their interests most certainly seem to be, as do many commentators, journalists, etc. – it is also that the corporate cyborgs who run both the USA and Israel have identical interests, which are, effectively, of a colonial and neocolonial nature.

This is not to disagree with your premise, for it forms a part of it. But if Israel didn’t exist – had never been created, say – it is likely that the USA would have constructed a state which would have played a similar role to that of Israel in its global hegemonic strategies. Hypothetical, of course, since Israel does exist, largely now as a concentrated embodiment – and epitome – of aggresive Euro-American C20th and C21st colonialism.

Nonetheless, I do recall a Jewish American writer of European Jewish origin, who is a very vociferous anti-imperialist in every other way, leaning over and literally whispering to me that they, as a Jewish person, had to “very careful” what they said in the US about Israel. And we all know about what happened to Norman Finkelstein et al. So this does exist, obviously, but it’s one means of leverage in a bigger picture.

On the ground, of course, the variegated niceties of imperial control, the struggles wihtin the ruling cadres, alter nothing.

In other words, the song remains the same.

What actually is the Con-Lib British Government doing about any of this, or the use of British passports by international murderers?

This is what our allies are doingand I do not expect much more from our current shower.

Has anyone got an inside view on this story?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia_pacific/10254072.stm

This ghastly, inhuman, crushing, siege of Gaza, must be broken, one way or another. This of course, would be a tremendous defeat for both Israel and the United States. Which is why the situation is so dangerous and of colossal symbolic importance.

Our actions have handed those states and groups that refuse to ‘compromise’ and ‘surrender’, or ‘make peace’ with Israel, on Israel’s terms, a ready-made Cause. A Cause every Arab and Muslim can relate to and understand. A simple cause, breaking the siege of Gaza. Feeding the hungry and providing medicine for the sick, giving books to children’s schools, and materials to rebuild their shattered homes.

The West is really on the backfoot here and has lost the moral highground, if it ever had it? And now others are stepping into the spotlight on the world stage because we have chosen to vacate it and let the Israeli, hardline nationalist regime literally get away with murder and inflicting suffering on a massive and impossible to ignore, scale.

Our ‘passivity’ in relation to our ‘friends’ a deliberate attempt to strangle an entire people in Gaza, is incredibly short-sited, dangerous and provocative; not to mention counter-productive. The siege of Gaza seems to be the symbolic straw that’s broken the camel’s back, after so many years.

The puppet regimes we’ve installed all over the Arab world, our ‘friends’ the ‘moderates’ are all in big trouble, and are rapidly losing ground to the so-called ‘militants’.

The cause of Gaza could be the fuse that ignites the gundpowder barrel that is the Middle East.

What exactly are the interests that Britain shares with Israel? Why are we allied with Israel? Why do we support Israel?

Why isn’t Britain a neutral player in the Middle East conflict? Why have we chosen sides, and the wrong side?

Britain should change position radically and start by recalling its ambassdor to Israel and sending the Isreali ambassador home, until Israel agrees to take part in an independent international investigation into the military attack on the aide flotilla.

The Britain should recognise Hamas as the democractically and legitimate government of Gaza and invite them to send a representative to London and we send a representative to Gaza. Britain should act like the large and influential country it is, and not some kind of timid, poodle, afraid of a ‘shitty little country’ like Israel, that frankly, is too big for its boots, and has become a danger not just to itself, and it’s neighbours, but to the whole world. This is because of its nuclear monopoly in the Middle East.

Here Britain could lead the world by admitting that it knows that Israel has a vast nuclear arsenal and publish all historic documents relating to this open secret. This would really be new politics in action as compared to merely rhetoric. Britain showing that it was really an independent nation again and not just a lapdog ready to roll over and beg.

Erdogan’s actions over the coming weeks will be critical. Turkey has seized the moral high ground. It has the military might. It is nearby. It is a member of NATO, so other NATO countries cannot stand in its way militarily without destroying NATO itself.

He has the majority of the Turkish people behind him, but can rely on the Turkish military command? He is clearly confident that he can. Perhaps he has been quietly clearing out the ranks and replacing them with people he can trust. We shall see.

Good points, writerman. I am also mystified about our slavish attitude to Israel, and the contention that it is an ‘ally’ – although people say we rely on crap, or intelligence as some call it, from Mossad. To act as an honest broker would be one of the best things the UK could do – even Blair once invited the Palestinians to London for a conference to try and get things moving. He was quickly shouted down by the Zionistas of course, and watered it down. But in his naviety seemed to think he could do a Northern Ireland, which was not a bad idea – that was a long time ago, though, but it demonstrated the lengths to which Israel will go to prevent genuine negotiations which it cannot control. But, certainly, Israel is no ally of ours. It could care less what any country thinks. I think it probably has some contempt for most European countries, although it is first in line for handouts in trade agreements etc. It would be immensely refreshing if we stood by Turkey and denounced Israel as we would any other ME country carrying out lethal, aggressive policies of hatred and separation.

“Peace is Terror, Protest is Terror”

?” The Israeli Ministry of Truth

from Juan cole:

http://www.juancole.com/2010/06/israel-names-peace-worker-as-terrorist.html

Maybe Israel is used to destabilise the Middle East. Imperialism knows it is dependent upon liquid fuel – note: liquid fuel, more so than energy in general – so how long has it been known where the major reserves are located? Imperialism wouldn’t want that part of the world becoming organised and united.

Writerman and Ian M, I suspect the fact that UK (and the EU) but esp. the USA, are all aligned with Israel has to do with the arms industry and the other big corporate interests who invest in Israeli technology, weapons, etc.

It’s also to do, I think, with perpertuating the longstanding British Empire’s policy (and now the US’s policy), extant since late-Ottoman times, of destabilisation of the Middle East in order to control, and profit massively from, their resources, to stop self-determination (whether in the form of/ under the banner of ‘nationalism’, socialism’, ‘monarchy’ or ‘Islam’) in that region which would definitely threaten that control.

Any regime which the West sees as a threat to these interests will become an enemy. So, even if Iran was a secular liberal democracy with, say, Darius Danesh (!) as president, if it attempted, as Mossadegh did in 1953 and as Nasser in Egypt did in 1956, and as Castro in Cuba did in 1959 and as the Sandinistas did in Nicaragua in 1979 (not so much resources in those last two; more strategic military importance and domino effect), to wrest control of its resources from the West, it would become an enemy overnight.

So, the theocracy in Iran is an enemy because to some extent it attempts to puruse an independent foreign policy and this is unacceptable to the West. Yet the USA deals wiht Iran in Iraq and in Afghanistan because it would not be able to hold the line in those countries without Iran’s acquiesence (it is not in Iran’s interests to have two chaotic countries on its borders).

China, India and Russia are the big economic/ military rivals to the USA. The Middle East is important only because of its oil and its geographical position. The Israelis know this and know their role.

The state, and the corporations which are the motors of the state, do not behave according to morality. They behave according to self-interest and in this context self-interest does not accord with the interests of either the people in the Middle East or those in the West, but only with those of a small elite in both/ all places.

The only real way there will be a systemic, strategic change will be if the Middle East becomes militarily and economically powerful. Look at China. 100 years ago, a defeated basket-case and de facto colony with mountains of opium. Now…

Meantime, we can do, only what we can do.

Clark, your post just appeared; you said it in four lines. Yes, exactly!

‘US Kills 35 Women and Children in the Yemen’

Part of a far bigger picture. We should I think be keeping an eye on Saudi Arabia (as well as Iran) as control of middle east resources speeds up. They are all going to go down like dominos.

Thanks Clark and Suahyl long established policy, oil, destabilize the middle east by stirring up trouble = now our host claims to be a long established insider at the Foreign office –it fits.

thanks MJ, Clark, Suhayl & Craig & Writerman for bloody good posts.

Off topic: Cameron’s cuts speech. We are all going to suffer horribly. Except for people whose wives make millions from handbags, of course.

Hope everyone noted the furious protests inside Israel against the regime’s behaviour, and for the liberation of Gaza. Yuri Avnery, Gush Shalom, and 15,000 others attacked by fascist mobs.

Corporate interests in exploiting Palestine & the situation:

http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3608

P.S. of course it would’nt do to have all that lovely oil radioactive, would it?

To Mike Cobley above, re the Dexter link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_J5BHLpEVk

Perfect!

and Jimmy Smits played the last US president elected (Obamaesque) in TV series The West Wing. We thought he was so good! Is this the end of Little Caesar?

To Control above, re the IDF parody of We Are the World — I don’t see an Obama figure, maybe a Bob Dylan figure at around 3:20?

Lyrics, plus interesting choice of ads that come with it:

______________

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOGG_osOoVg

Flotilla Choir presents: We Con the World

- Ad: Support our ally Israel

Gaza flotilla radicals choose violence, not aid. Share the facts.

http://www.aipac.org

- Ad: Free WSJ.com Registration

The Wall Street Journal Online. Free Registration. Sign up now.

http://www.wsjregistration.com

- Ad: Summer Grad Study Arusha

Study Law, Rights, Peace, Conflict Arcadia Graduate Institute Tanzania

http://www.arcadia.edu/abroad/arushagrad

We Con the World

Turkish ‘Aid to Gaza’ song

with Captain Stabbing & Friends

There comes a time

When we need to make a show

For the world, the web and CNN

There’s no people dying

So the best that we can do

Is create the greatest bluff of all

We must go on

Pretending day by day

That in Gaza there’s crisis, hunger and plague

‘Cause the billion bucks in aid

Won’t buy their basic needs

Like some cheese and missiles for the kids

We’ll make the world

Abandon reason

We’ll make them all believe that the Hamas is Momma Theresa

We are peaceful travelers

With guns and our own knives

The truth will never find its way to your TV

Oooh, we’ll stab them at heart

The soldiers, no one cares

We are small, and we took some pictures with doves

As Allah has shown us

For facts there’s no demand

So we will always gain the upper hand

We’ll make the world

Abandon reason

We’ll make them all believe that the Hamas is Momma Theresa

We are peaceful travelers

We’re waving our own knives

The truth will never find its way to your TV

We con the world

We con the people

We’ll make them all believe

The IDF is Jack the Ripper

We are peaceful travelers

We’re waving our own knives

The truth will never find its way to your TV

If Islam and terror brighten up your mood

But you worry that it may not look so good

Well, well, well, well, don’t you realize

You just got to call yourself

An activist for peace and human aid

We’ll make the world

Abandon reason

We’ll make them all believe that the Hamas is Momma Theresa

We are peaceful travelers

We’re waving our own knives

The truth will never find its way to your TV

(x3)

We con the world (Yalla, let me hear you!)

We con the people

We’ll make them all believe

The IDF is Jack the Ripper

We are peaceful travelers

We’re waving our own knives

The truth will never find its way to your TV

Itback el Yahud! (slaughter the Jews)

Israeli Strangelove

http://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/israeli-strangelove-now-at-harvard-calmly-lays-out-armageddon-scenario.html

Posted by: me in us at June 7, 2010 7:34 PM

Have you noticed these Zionists who shout and scream over anyone denying what they suffered at the hands of Nazi German are the first ones to deny what others suffer at their own hands.

Reply to Arsalan:

Not just Israel, US too.

Huffington Post had a kind of contest a couple years back in the Bush years, can’t find it now, but they were collecting all the catch phrases that the Bush administration had been using in its war on terror, and people just kept coming up with more and more and more of the same crap, like “smart bomb” and “surgical strike” and “fight them there so we won’t have to fight them here” — really there were so many — and HuffPo’s plan was to take them all and make a giant poster that would go on the side of a building. And as the list mounted you got to think that the only buildings in the world tall enough for that poster would have been the World Trade Center.

It’s weird, horse-cart/cart-horse, egg-chicken/chicken-egg wise — Israel makes the Nazis look, well, prescient? not so bad?; and the War on Terror makes the terrorists look reasonable/justified? too.

So I just don’t trust anyone or any government that says “I am holier than thou, and I am justified when I kill and oppress you.” Would so much rather see a THIS kind of holy war: “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Can you imagine all the nations feverishly trying to make up an education gap? A home gap? A healthy-food gap? I dream!

Seems the US may not have been content with simple torture, but also using the opportunity to conduct torture research+

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=did-cia-doctors-perform-torture-res-2010-06-07

We should have organised protests outside their “Nazi” embassy in the UK. The United States – The New Master race…I wish i was joking. How do they get away with it. It is barbaric and creates hate where it did not exist before.

Reply to ColinW:

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/06/07/allowing-human-experimentation-under-the-war-crimes-act/

Here is the truth on Flotilla case:

http://flotillafacts.com/

For Clark and Suhayl here are some second thoughts on israel being used i.e. controlled by US. Also on truth of this divide and rule suggestion if you’re intersted.

Not a sufficient source but I have a little penguin by Storrs, civil governor of Jerusalem and Judaea just after the first world war. Get the rough idea that the Ottoman empire sided with Germany, was defeated with the help of Arabs encouraged by ideas ofindependance. Territories formerly administered by Turkey had to have some government so wre divided and kings created.

There seems no mention of setting Arab against Arab, indeed rather the reverse, an encouragement for Arab unity.

What does come through from the book is apicture of a gradual succumbing to well funded, well connected, well organized ruthless and relentless Zionist pressure.

I suppose Larry is a very mild and petty example.

Enjoy all the comments, but just to round off my present line of thought–

Does’nt israel rather serve to uniteIslamic countries?

What zionism seems to do nowadays is influence US UK EU multinationals to think that mid east oil can only be obtained by destroying opposition to israel.

Whereas in fact countries like Iraq and Iran are always pleased to sell their natural resources for fair price.

Iran offers oil extraction concessions. Why do Total etc, not take them up?

The illuminati at work. Google William Guy Carr(Commander in the Canadian Armed Forces) and Pawns in the Game and you will understand what is going on.

@AbeBird – you are welcome to support Israel, despite the flimsy nature of the various supporting arguments we’ve heard recently. But an openly propagandistic site of that kind does your cause no good at all, I would have thought.