US Backing Israeli War of Choice In Gaza

by Mitchell Plitnick The moral high ground is always a tenuous piece of property. It is difficult to obtain and is easily lost. It is seen, however, as crucial because most people, all over the world, cannot accommodate the notion… Continue Reading

Kerry’s Latest Mideast Trip Doomed Before It Starts

by Mitchell Plitnick It may seem like US Secretary of State John Kerry is chasing his own tail with regard to the Israel-Palestine issue. But he is, intentionally or otherwise, raising some important questions. One is what the official Israeli… Continue Reading

Kristol on Ends Justifying Means

Following on Marsha’s post about the Yitzhak Shamir, Bill Kristol’s eulogy for the late Israeli leader has not received the attention it deserves, particularly considering Kristol’s championship from the get-go of the “global war on terror”. His eulogy was included… Continue Reading

Who was Yitzhak Shamir?

Yitzhak Shamir’s career as Israel’s Foreign Minister (1979-1983) and his first term at helm of the Israeli government in (1983-84) encompassed the unfolding of the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, the US Embassy hostage crisis and the creation of Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982 as a response to the Israeli invasion and occupation. The revelation of Israeli weapon sales to Iran that were exposed during the Iran-Contra hearings and the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 occurred during his second term as Prime Minister (1986-92). Yet neither the accolades nor the accusations published in the days since his death mention any of these events.

Nonetheless, Iran was very much at the forefront and part of the backstory of Israeli foreign policy at the time. U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz cautioned President Reagan’s National Security adviser Robert McFarlane that “Israel’s agenda regarding Iran ‘is not the same as ours’ and that relying on Israeli intelligence concerning Iran ‘could seriously skew our own perception.'”

Continue Reading

RJC, EMET, Eric Cantor to host ‘Iranium’ on the Hill

While following up on my review, with my colleague Eli Clifton, of the new Clarion Fund film “Iranium,” I stumbled upon an invite for a Capitol Hill screening of the film. The showing of the movie in the Rayburn House… Continue Reading