Is Hillary Clinton Beating The Drums Of War Against Iran?

United States-Israel: A Glimpse At The “Special Relationship”

Most Americans, and especially American politicians, value the “special relationship” that the United States has with Israel. Not only it a a constant political feature of US foreign policies ever since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, but it has some deep implications for policy makers domestically. While it is easy to understand such an intimate alliance from an historical perspective, the quasi symbiotic nature of the relationship implies a codependency which is not necessarily healthy for either part on a geopolitical stand point. But can the, sometime, dysfunctional “marriage” be put in question or are the two states going to be tied to the hips “for better or for worse; ’til death do them apart”?

A key factor at play in the dynamic of this marriage is , of course, the very powerful Jewish American lobby in Washington. In the American racial “melting pot”, American Jews are a very small minority compared to other religions or ethnic groups, yet the “chosen people” are extremely influential in politics, the financial world and of course the media. If you are an American politician, and become- ever so slightly- critical of Israel’s policies during your term in office; it is very likely that when you try to be reelected the funding of your political campaign will suffer as well as the media coverage.

AIPAC And The Power Of The Jewish Lobby

Among recent American political “dynasties”, the Clintons are probably the closest ones to Israel. Recently, the power house at the core of the Jewish American lobby, AIPAC, is talking a lot about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and appreciates her new bellicose tone and stand on Iran. AIPAC’s positions on Israeli foreign policies reflect closely the ones held by Prime Minister Netanyahu, which are echoed in return by the right leaning Israeli media such as The Jerusalem Post.

The Obama administration and the US media have being very quiet about what appears to be a Mossad operation in Dubai resulting in the assassination of a Senior Hamas leader. AIPAC is not mentioning a word of it in its sophisticated and frequently updated web site, instead they would rather talk about Iran and Hillary Clinton’s new heated rhetoric.

“Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, on Tuesday, reiterated concerns about Iran’s nuclear intention suggesting that evidence pointed to Iran seeking nuclear weapons,” wrote AIPAC on their web site.

AIPAC also quoted Hillary Clinton’s “headliner” from last week: “Iran is becoming a military dictatorship”. This line, in conjunction with the other quote from Clinton: “Evidence says Iran wants a nuclear bomb” is of course a deadly combination, which basically shut down a diplomatic solution and set us up on an inevitable coalition course with the Islamic Republic, and shortly down the line for a military confrontation with Iran, even if it is by proxy of Israel.

The timing of Clinton’s rhetoric could not be worse. The Netanyahu administration has being beating on the very same drums of war with Iran as soon as it took office. What they need from the United States top diplomat is to be calmed down not to have their war path message amplified by a transatlantic loud speaker. Hillary Clinton is pouring gasoline on a flame which could consume the entire Middle-East. Especially considering that the Iranian regime of Ahmadinejad is shaky, paranoiac and not only assaulted from inside in the aftermath of the June 12 elections but also literally cornered by US troops in Iraq and US troops in Afghanistan. Overall, this has all the components of being a disaster in the making.

The Geopolitical And Monetary Cost of The Special Relationship

Since the war in Gaza, last year, most European countries have taken some distance from Israeli government’s officials. To the extent that if some former top officials came to Europe they would be arrested for war crimes. The grave new incident in Dubai could result in extending the list to most top official of the current Israeli administration, including PM Netanyahu himself. Of course, and once again because of the special relationship, the United States will not join the growing chorus and will stand by Israel “for better or for worse”.

Lately, the US Congress can not get anything voted or done. However, they are a few notable exceptions; one is the military budget, the other is the annual aid package to Israel. On December 13, 2009 Congress passed and the President signed into law-without fanfare and much media exposure-the annual foreign aid bill for fiscal year 2010, which includes $2.22 Billion in “security assistance” to Israel. When combined with the $555 Million of aid in a previous bill, the legislation brings the total amount of aid to Israel in fiscal year 2010 to $2.775 Billion or a $225 Million increase from last year. The US Congress has now fully founded the 2 ND year of the 10-year , $ 30 Billion US-Israel Memorandum of Understanding. In that agreement, signed in 2007, Israel is slated to receive gradual increases in aid for the first 4 years before leveling off at $3.1 Billion per year for the remaining 6 years. After all the years the “marriage” is still going strong.

For Better Or For Worse, ‘Till Death Do Us Part

But the deadly part of “for better or for worse ’till death do us part”, could be sooner than later unless someone, somehow managed to calm down the war mongering tendencies of Netanyahu,AIPAC, and Clinton. We are living in a very dangerous world, but an attack on Iran could and probably would drive all of us off the cliff and into World War III. Let’s hope reason prevails, against all odds, and that the EU, Russia and China do not let the United States commit the deadly mistake of letting Netanyahu do what he is planning to do. Unfortunately, counting on the rationality of President Obama is questionable, after all the man which has the “ear of the President” is Rahm Emanuel; a staunch supporter of Israel’s worst follies.

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