"This bubble was a dangerous fantasy, believed by way too many people in the Middle East. This bubble said that it was OK to plow airplanes into the World Trade Center, commit suicide in Israeli pizza parlors, praise people who do these things as 'martyrs,' and donate money to them through religious charities. This bubble had to be burst, and the only way to do it was to go right into the heart of the Arab world and smash something -- to let everyone know that we, too, are ready to fight and die to preserve our open society."
8. Obama caves on the settlements.
Barack Obama took Jimmy Carter's line at the beginning of his presidency: The settlements must stop. But in the end settlements thrived under Obama -- literally thousands of settlements were added. Indeed, as he started his run for reelection in 2011, Obama reversed himself on settlements, vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution opposing them. And when he dared to suggest that the '67 lines should be the basis of partition, he was lectured by Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House in ways reminiscent of Dayan humbling Jimmy Carter.
Indeed, at almost every turn in his foreign policy, Barack Obama was painted into a corner by Netanyahu with the engaged support of the organized Jewish community, his former top foreign policy aide documented.
To be sure, Obama managed to get the Iran Deal despite the opposition by the conservative Israel lobby and Netanyahu. But a, he depended on crucial support from wealthy liberal Zionists whom he once characterized jokingly as his "cabal" and b, party leaders opposed him on the deal and Hillary Clinton would need to distance herself from Obama.
At crucial points, in a foreshadowing of the attacks on Ilhan Omar, Obama was attacked as an anti-Semite for knocking the influence of "donors" on the Senate, and for impugning the loyalty of Israel advocates when he said it would be an "abrogation of my constitutional duty" to side with Israel rather than the U.S.
9. Trump has been Adelson's puppet.
Donald Trump said back in 2015 that Marco Rubio would be Sheldon Adelson's "perfect little puppet" if Rubio won the Adelson primary, the battle to get the casino mogul's money, but after Trump won the nomination and the Adelson primary, gaining over $100 million in backing, he became that perfect puppet himself, abandoning the isolationist policies he had mouthed during his campaign.
The tilt began before he assumed office, when Trump's transition team approached the Russians about supporting Israel in defiance of President Obama's last-minute opposition to settlements at the U.N. Former national security adviser Mike Flynn may soon go to jail for lying about that call.
In due course, Trump would destroy the Iran deal and move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and appoint Adelson favorite John Bolton as national security adviser.
To be clear, Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam have said their "biggest mission" is to protect Israel. Adelson has also said that he wished he had served in the Israeli army, not the U.S. one. Adelson called on Obama to nuke Iran, not cut a deal.
New York Times columnist Timothy Egan says that Adelson is more powerful than the secretary of state, "controlling" U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Eli Clifton asserted that three pro-Israel billionaires influenced Trump to trash the Iran deal.
"[T]oday's unpopular announcement may have been exactly what two of Trump's biggest donors, Sheldon Adelson andBernard Marcus, and what one of his biggest inaugural supporters, Paul Singer, paid for when they threw their financial weight behind Trump. Marcus and Adelson, who are also board members of the Likudist Republican Jewish Coalition, have already received substantial returns on their investment: total alignment by the U.S. behind Israel, next week's move of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and the official dropping of 'occupied territories' to describe the West Bank and East Jerusalem."
10. Nancy Pelosi's allegiance to the lobby.
The Speaker of the House has been one of Ilhan Omar's leading critics following Omar's criticisms of the lobby.
Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said that Israel's creation was the greatest achievement of the 20th century, and she told an Israel lobby group that the Capitol will crumble before the Congress falls out with Israel. Maybe, just maybe, this is about the Democratic Party's dependence on Jewish Zionist donors? Today AIPAC announced that Pelosi will be groveling later this month.
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