Donald Trump
Painted as anti-establishment and friendly toward Russia, Republican front-runner Donald Trump nevertheless embraced Michael Glassner as his Political Director [1]. Glassner was a senior advisor to former presidential candidates Bob Dole and John McCain, both notorious military interventionists. He was also a Regional Political Director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) [2], a highly-influential organization with a long track record of lobbying for military invasions and aggressive sanctions against Israel’s neighbors [3].
Though publicly-distanced by Israel’s Netanyahoo regime over his views on restricting Muslims from immigrating to the US, Trump did campaign for Netanyahoo’s narrow re-election [7], and has claimed:
“The only [candidate] that’s going to give real support to Israel is me. The rest of them are all talk, no action. They’re politicians. I’ve been loyal to Israel from the day I was born. My father, Fred Trump, was loyal to Israel before me. The only one that’s going to give Israel the kind of support it needs is Donald Trump.” [8]
How will this “loyalty” and “support” for Israel translate into action? Trump irked many in the US Jewish community with some of his comments at a recent Republican Jewish Coalition forum [4]. Since then, however, he has set a provocative tone for future Middle East relations by publicly-recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel [5]. In another snub to Palestinians contesting Israel’s territorial claims, Trump announced plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem [6].
Another more ominous signal came last August, when Trump, who has frequently touted his opposition to the US invasion of Iraq, named former top US State Department official John Bolton as one of his top foreign policy advisors, stating: “He’s, you know, a tough cookie, knows what he’s talking about.” Part of the Bush-Cheney regime, Bolton was a staunch advocate for military invasions of Iraq and Iran. [9]
Does Trump naively assume that an old guard antagonist like Bolton will change his ways and begin recommending more constructive and respectful US foreign policy paths? Or do war vultures like John Bolton fit with Trump’s political agenda?….The other candidates are all associated with neocons or war hawks, excepting Bernie Sanders. From this analysis, Bernie emerges as the best candidate to avoid conflict.
South Front
Opinion: The War Vultures Circling US Presidential Front-Runners
Daniel Newby
8 comments:
John Bolton? All is lost, goodbye human race, enter the era of the amoeba. Like Hillary, Trump is a signed up member of the permanent war club. No one in their right mind would touch John Bolton unless their fondest desire is species extinction.
Bolton is a fanatic.
Fanatic is an understatement. Bolton is the surest evidence of demonic possession.
Well if Trump starts a war to protect Israel at least it wont be because they gave him munnie... (so far...)
Matt, Israel has absolutely nothing to do with the moneyed lobbyists. If AIPAC and all the rest of these groups disappeared, it would make no difference whatsoever.
US commitment to Israel has everything to do with ensuring Arab nationalism (especially the democratic kind) doesn't raise its head. 1967 was the turning point: Nasser's Arab nationalism was killed off. The declassified documents from State and DoD spell this out.
The Arab spring was a rebirth of democratic Arab nationalism. Again it was killed off, this time by military coups. These militaries, armed, trained and financed by Uncle Sam, did as they were told when the call came in from Washington. In the same way the Arab dictatorships/military are kept on a firm leash, Israel is similarly treated. The tail never wags the dog.
John this is John Hagee from San Antonio Texas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WabUqWIXb7Q
He doesnt have any "moneyed interest" in Israel it comes from his religious beliefs...
He says "I believe the US is Esther..." yada yada he is all caught up in the OT stuff...
This is a real phenomenon over here in the US with the Evangelicals and many non-Evangelicals... they are true believers they are not in it for the munnie... then Tom has chronicled the Blackwater guy who is some sort of Roman Catholic who sees himself a bit of a modern day Crusader, etc there are others like this in the US...
Trump is battling Cruz/Rubio for votes from these people... he's going to need their votes in strong numbers in the General so he is quick to say supportive things about Israel, he just doenst want their munnie (up to now) which is irritating the actual Jews...
This is not insignificant over here... this is how most of the US religious right looks at things over there.... millions of them vote...
John Bolton doenst come at it from this religious direction he seems to be a pretty motivated GWOTer ...
Matt, every era has its Bolton: an unhinged politico infected to the core with religious insanity or extreme nationalist sentiments. In Bolton's case, he;s got both and the disease is possibly the most virulent ever seen. And while there is no disputing the anti-Semitic pro-Israel Christian right have numbers, the historic geopolitical connection is far more important, especially when you take into consideration the fact that China gets all its energy from the Middle East. So the US client states aren't going to be cast aside and neither will Israel. When the oil runs out, Washington will forget about Israel. Israel will turn into a third world country with lots of history, like most of its neighbours. All the bluster will disappear, as will AIPAC and all its fellow travellers.
If we talking monkeys can make it another fifty years, the oil will run out, Armageddon will be avoided. As it is, Armageddon is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. The sooner Washington allows peace to break out, the better for all life on this small blue dot. Washington is not only a threat to America, which is bad enough, it has become a threat to just about everybody and everything. Thankfully, true conservatives are waking up to this unfortunate fact. Andrew Bacevich is carrying on where Chalmers Johnson left off. In his own idiosyncratic way PCR is doing his bit. Pat Buchanan, although something of a crackpot on a host of issues, talks a lot of sense on foreign and defence policy. It is, however, unfortunate that a lot of the excellent policies Ron Paul stands for have been overshadowed by his goldbuggery, which is what the libertarians would do to America if they could: bugger it with gold.
It is, however, unfortunate that a lot of the excellent policies Ron Paul stands for have been overshadowed by his goldbuggery, which is what the libertarians would do to America if they could: bugger it with gold. John
Sadly, it has been lost on so-called libertarians that to have a true free market in private money creation REQUIRES that money for government purposes be inexpensive fiat else the taxation power and authority of government is misused to benefit private interests such as gold owners and money hoarders.
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