Cross-posted from Wallwritings
In a rare public statement about a US political figure, AIPAC had this to say about the legacy of Dennis Ross:
"In his tireless pursuit of Middle East peace, Ambassador Ross has maintained a deep understanding of the strategic value of the U.S.-Israel relationship and has worked vigorously to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons."
For True Believers in militant Zionism, AIPAC's linkage is clear, the strategic bond of the US and Israel, very good; an Iran that even looks toward nuclear capability, very bad.
The Jewish US online Forward publication, which reported the Ross resignation, described him as "a veteran of four failed presidential pushes for Middle East peace." (The picture of Ross, above, is from Forward.)
This is not a record of success, but an obvious absence of progress does not displease AIPAC, which, like the current right-wing Israeli government, has a higher priority than peace; specifically, it desires a militarily powerful and expanding Israel.
Dennis Ross is leaving the White House as President Obama's Middle East advisor, but he is not going far. He will move to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the think tank created by AIPAC, which because of its loyalty to Israel, is currently pointing all of its rhetorical big guns at Iran.
Joining AIPAC's praise of Ross' career as Israel's man in four successive US presidential administrations, Alan Solow, a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and a prominent Obama backer, offered this legacy description:
"[Dennis Ross'] legacy is going to be the unprecedented sanctions the United States imposed on Iran, which he worked tirelessly on."
An American diplomat leaves public service after working for peace, unsuccessfully, for four US presidents, and his major legacy is what he did for Israel? There is something seriously wrong with this picture. This is not dual loyalty; this is Zionist loyalty.
Meanwhile, the action continues at WINEP, which Ross directed before he joined Obama, and which he will direct again, post-Obama.
On Saturday, the day after Ross made his resignation announcement to a luncheon of Jewish leaders in Washington, some news broke at WINEP.
That news involved Andrew Shapiro, US assistant secretary for political-military affairs, who chose WINEP as his venue to deliver the news that Israel and the US will embark on the "largest" and "most significant" joint exercise in the allies' history.
The story was carried in Jerusalem's Ha'aretz newspaper. It received virtually no attention in US media outlets.
In his statement, Shapiro said that "joint exercises allow us to learn from Israel's experience in urban warfare and counter-terrorism."
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