75 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 35 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 2/17/12

The Destructive Madness of Extremism: First McCarthyism, Then Radical Zionism

By       (Page 1 of 4 pages)   No comments

James Wall
Message James Wall
Become a Fan
  (19 fans)
This article cross-posted from Wallwritings

--

The right-wing government leaders of the state of Israel, bolstered by their powerful US allies, are trembling with excitement at the prospect of a military attack against Iran.

Everything is in place for Iraq Redux. This time the Extremists are determined to get it right. No ground troops, just highly sophisticated bombing runs that will target nuclear targets in Iran.

The American public is being manipulated by Israel's Zionist extremists to believe that Iran is on the verge of developing nuclear arms which will be able to "wipe Israel off the map."

Time to choose up sides, folks: Are you with us or against us?

Republican candidates for president, congressional Republicans and conservative Democrats, with the active encouragement of the always predictable Israel Lobby, are all spoiling for a fight for "our side."

Truth of the matter, as Paul Pillar reported in the website, The National Interest, Israel has already launched its war with Iran through stealth assassinations of Iranian scientists, who may have, or more likely, did not have, a part in developing nuclear military capability. Pillar's source is a report by Richard Engel and Robert Windrem, developed for NBC news:

"Although the assassinations of Iranian scientists have until now been followed by no indication of responsibility other than smug comments of satisfaction from officials of the most likely foreign state perpetrator, now NBC offers something more specific.

"According to a report by Richard Engel and Robert Windrem, the assassinations have been the joint work of Israel and the Iranian cult-cum-terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq.

"According to the report, the partnership has involved Israel providing financing, training and arms to the MEK to accomplish the hits, as well as to commit other acts of violent sabotage inside Iran. The story tracks with accusations from officials of the Iranian government, who say they base most of what they know on interrogations and captured materials from a failed assassination attempt in 2010.

"Such accusations by themselves would be easy to dismiss, of course, as more of the regime's propaganda. But the NBC story cites two senior U.S. officials, speaking anonymously, as confirming the story. A third official said 'it hasn't been clearly confirmed yet,' although like the others he denied any U.S. involvement. The Israeli foreign ministry declined comment; the MEK denied the story."

No one is fooled by the Israeli denials. In fact, as the NBC report suggests, Israel deflects attention away from its involvement in all things nefarious, by suggesting that Iran is the aggressor here with its "attacks" on Israeli diplomats, a case dutifully made by the Washington Post here and here.

Juan Cole, a Middle East scholar, writing on his Informed Comment blog, is not persuaded by the Israeli spin. He finds Indian sources more credible than Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman:

"American media that just parrot notorious thug, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in [these] unlikely allegation are allowing themselves to be used for propaganda. Why not interview Indian authorities on this matter? They are on the ground and have excellent forensic ("CSI") abilities. Stop being so lazy and blinkered; that isn't journalism."

Deflect attention from reality, create fear, and take the "high road." This is the way extremists operate. It has always been so. We need only to travel back to the post WWII days of the 1940s and 1950s, when the US public was transfixed by a Washington drama that pitted suspected Communists against the American Way of Life.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 1   Supported 1   Valuable 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

James Wall Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

James Wall served as a Contributing Editor of The Christian Century magazine, based in Chicago, Illinois, from 1999 through 2017. From 1972 through 1999, he was editor and publisher of the Christian Century magazine. Many sources have influenced (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Does Israel Interfere in US Elections?

New York Times Flacks for Jewish Groups Against 15 Major Christian Leaders

How Iran Could Be The Next Neocon Target

Ten Swing States Could Decide the 2012 Election; Obama Leads in Nine of Them

White Evangelicals Stifle Values For Trump

What Protestants Could Learn from Ron Paul

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend