Would a Clinton Win Mean More Wars?

"The deployment of a battle tested, Ukrainian infantry company or larger unit to reinforce the defense of NATO territory in Central Europe would be a positive contribution to the Alliance force posture in the region."

Following the Playbook

This kind of tough-talking jargon is what the next President, whoever he or she is, can expect from Official Washington. From Obama's interview in The Atlantic, it's clear that he feels surrounded and embattled by these warmongering forces but takes some pride in resisting -- from time to time -- the Washington "playbook."

But how would President Clinton-45 respond? When she appeared before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 21 -- at a moment when it appeared she had all but nailed down the Democratic nomination -- Clinton showed what you might call her true colors, fawning over how loyal she would be to Israel and promising to take the very cozy relationship between the U.S. and Israel "to the next level."

By reviewing Clinton's public record, one could reasonably conclude that she is herself a neocon, both in her devotion to Israel and her proclivity toward "regime change" solutions. She also follows the neocon lead in demonizing any foreign leader who gets in their way. But even if she isn't a full-fledged neocon, she often bends to their demands.

The one possible deviation from this pattern is Clinton's personal friendship with longtime adviser Sidney Blumenthal, who was an early critic of the neoconservatives as they emerged as a powerful force during the Reagan administration. Blumenthal and his son Max have also dared criticize Israel's abusive treatment of the Palestinians.

However, the Israel Lobby appears to be taking no chances that Sidney Blumenthal's voice might be heard during a Clinton-45 administration. Last month, a pro-Zionist group, The World Values Network, bought a full-page ad in The New York Times to attack Blumenthal and his son and declared that "Hillary Clinton must disavow her anti-Israel advisors."

Though Clinton might not publicly disassociate herself from Sidney Blumenthal, the preemptive strike pushed him further toward the margins and helped clear the path for the Kagan/Nuland faction to rush to the center of Clinton's foreign policy.

Indeed, Clinton's primary focus if she gets elected is likely to be ensuring that she gets reelected. As a traditional politician, she would think that the way to achieve reelection is to stay on the good side of the Israeli leadership. Along those lines, she promised AIPAC that, as President, she would immediately invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.

So, what would happen if Clinton takes the U.S.-Israeli relationship "to the next level"? Presumably that would mean taking a super-hard line against Iran over last year's nuclear deal. Yet, already Iran is questioning whether its acceptance of extraordinary constraints on its nuclear program was worth it, given the U.S. unwillingness to grant meaningful relief on economic sanctions.

A belligerent Clinton approach -- decrying Iran's behavior and imposing new sanctions -- would strengthen Iran's hard-line faction internally and might well lead to Iran renouncing the agreement on the grounds of American bad faith. That, of course, would please the neocons and Netanyahu by putting the "bomb-bomb-bomb Iran" option back in play.

A Stunning Reversal

Clinton may have viewed her AIPAC speech as the beginning of her long-awaited "pivot to the center," but afterwards she suffered a string of primary and caucus defeats at the hands of Sen. Bernie Sanders, most by landslide margins.

Besides those stunning defeats, Clinton's campaign clearly has an "enthusiasm gap." Sanders, the 74-year-old "democratic socialist" from Vermont, draws huge and excited crowds and wins younger voters by staggering percentages. Meanwhile, Clinton confronts polls showing high negatives and extraordinary public distrust.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5

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