- Rep. Nancy Pelosi's recent speech to the Israeli-American
lobby (AIPAC) ought to be a clarion call for peace activists. Her address
did not contain any big surprises. But it is, nonetheless, remarkable for
its transparency. The speech (see below for the text) affords a up-close
look at what Pelosi thinks about Israel, the Palestinians, the Mideast,
and nukes.
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- It's worth a look too because Pelosi's beliefs on these
matters are not a departure. Most of the Democratic Party leadership espouse
similar ideas. The bipartisan voting record of Congress in recent years
on Mideast issues proves this to be the case. Remember, this is the party
that's supposed to represent the grassroots, i.e., we the people. So what
is the Democratic leader of the House doing, anyway, giving a pep talk
to the second largest lobby in Washington? Indeed, to the lobby of a foreign
power? It's a question more Americans ought to be asking.
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- Most of the speech is the same old stuff. I draw your
attention only to several points:
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- Pelosi denies that the key issue is Israel's occupation
of the West Bank and Gaza --- at a stroke repudiating numerous UN Security
Council Resolutions that the US voted for and supposedly still supports.
But clearly, that's no longer the case, and hasn't been for many years.
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- The real issue, she states, is the survival of Israel.
This is the familiar mantra by which anything and everything becomes possible.
Only, there's a minor catch: The statement isn't true and hasn't been since
probably 1949.
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- If nothing else, Pelosi is well-versed. She recites another
familiar line, the one about how there was no partner for peace until Arafat
expired, when light suddenly came flooding in. Pelosi makes it clear that
in her view the Palestinian leader Abbas' real job is to serve as policeman
for Israel. Evidently, his legitimacy largely depends on this. Looking
after the best interests of his own people comes in a distant second.
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- But her most revealing statements concern nuclear proliferation,
and they show why the Democrats (who don't get it) are no improvement over
the Republicans (who always get it wrong). In fact, the Democrats may be
even more dangerous, precisely because there is still the perception in
the land, however mistaken, that the Democrats are the party of enlightened
ideas. I would be willing to bet that most registered democrats are not
aware of how extreme their elected Democratic representatives are on these
key issues. Nor can most thus have a true sense of how dire the situation
is.
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- According to Pelosi, the biggest danger to Israel today
comes from Iran, whose nuclear ambitions, though still unproved, also threaten
the US. Her perspective contains the seed of ominous things to come, because,
after all, something will have to be done about Iran, right? Yes, and soon.
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- Meanwhile, Pelosi manages to overlook Israel's brutal
treatment of the Palestinians, which undoubtedly is the greatest danger
to Israel, by far, and comes from within. Nor does she mention Israel's
massive nuclear, chemical and biological weapons arsenal. But her statements
additionally contain the tacit and troublesome assumption that the only
people in the region who matter are Israelis and Americans. Everyone else,
virtually the entire population of numerous countries, though no less imperiled
by nuclear weapons (arguably even more so), simply don't count in this
calculus. In fact, Pelosi's remarks are implicitly racist for this reason.
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- The shocker, though, also near the end, is where Pelosi
takes the US and Israeli nuclear monopoly in the region for granted, as
if this were a good and necessary thing. The purpose of the NPT in her
view is to shut down the rogue proliferators, who by definition are always
those other guys, never us. It's the stuff of which nuclear nightmares
are made. I would also bet that the vast majority of people who live in
the Mideast take sharp issue with Pelosi's thinking, and probably have
a bone to pick with her about where the actual threat lies.
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- George Washington, our founding father, who warned against
entangling alliances, must be turning over, about now. But don't take my
word for it. Read Pelosi's speech (which follows) and draw your own conclusions.
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- Mark Gaffney is the author of Dimona: the Third Temple?,
a pioneering 1989 book about Mordechai Vanunu and the Israeli nuke program.
Mark's latest book is Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes. Mark can be reached
for comment at mhgaffney@sbcglobal.net
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