There are some certainties all human beings can depend on happening without question such as the Sun will always rise in the East, a compass always points to magnetic North, and everyone dies. For Americans, a certainty is that every two years Republicans marshal their xenophobic supporters to angrily decry immigrants destroying their ‘white’ America to ensure comprehensive immigration reform in this country will never happen. Since the 2000 general election, another certainty meant to help Republicans every two years involves a foreign nation taking advantage of America’s electoral process to influence elections and garner monetary and ideological support for their war efforts against Muslims because it is electoral death to criticize “America’s ally;” particularly during an election year.
A few days ago this column posed a query that will never be answered solely because the Israeli government has done nothing whatsoever to earn America’s military funding or moral support; including not even consider giving the Palestinian people what America gave Israel; a homeland. It is likely unbeknownst to him, but on Monday in an article Juan Cole provided an answer to the question; what has Israel ever done for America? It turns out they have done quite a lot to endanger America’s national security at home and abroad with unwavering support from all Republicans, and some Democrats, in Congress. It is crucial to note that America is nearly as culpable as Israel for enraging Muslims around the world, but only because of its unwavering support for anything the Jewish state does.
If Americans remember, beginning in 2008 when John McCain was running for President, he actively called for the United States to “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” to accommodate Israel while claiming then-candidate Democrat Barack Obama did not support Israel. It happened again in 2012 when Mormon Willard Romney travelled to Israel, insulted the Palestinian people and made provocative statements against the “Mullahs in Iran.” Romney garnered and endorsement and electoral support from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s because Romney called for military action against the Islamic state to accommodate Israel. Two years later, and Israel is using the midterm elections for Republican support, and Democratic silence, in its war against Palestinian civilians sequestered in a fenced and mined “reservation” in Gaza. Since America has not condemned, openly, the Israeli invasion and killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, Muslims throughout the Middle East are rightly outraged and their fury is aimed at America.
As Cole elucidated on Monday, while the United States is facing increasing challenges in the Muslim world, Israel’s Gaza campaign is endangering both American diplomacy there and the very security of the United States in the Middle East and at home. Cole wrote that “Given the series of setbacks for the US in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt, Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu could scarcely have chosen a worst time to kill hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the full light of world media.” Now, to be clear, America is not killing Palestinian civilians, but it is providing funding and support for the Israeli war effort against Palestinians by eother openly supporting the attack on civilians or not condemning Israel for humanitarian violations like the preponderance of United Nations Humanitarian organization.
There was already suspicion, and frankly hatred, for America among radical Islamists in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and now America’s ally Turkey, but scenes of Israeli bombs killing innocent Palestinians has been a valuable recruitment tool for Muslim extremists as well as radicalizing another generation of young Muslims against America. Every time an American politician, predominately Republicans, make statements of unwavering support for Israel’s Gaza campaign, regardless the inhumane slaughter of innocent Muslim civilians, “fundamentalist radicals see blood” and blame America.
Even Turkey, a NATO member America is pledged to defend if attacked is livid over the Israeli attack on Palestinian civilians. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, called the Israeli Gaza invasion a “genocide”and threatened to send humanitarian aid ships to Gaza flanked by Turkish destroyers. Even in Egypt, a Muslim nation where many citizens “deeply dislike Hamas” there is a virtually unanimous outcry against the Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians. They, like any decent human being, Muslim or otherwise, find it intolerable that American government officials defend Israel’s onslaught against civilians.
One thing is abundantly clear; America has always, and will continue, staunchly defending Israel’s right to defend itself. One would think that funding 21% of Israel’s military is proof enough for even the most pro-Israel advocate that this country IS Israel’s most ardent defender and only ally. However, this unwritten statute that condemning Israel for slaughtering innocent men women, and children in Gaza is an affront to god, Israel, and treason against America endangers American national security in the Middle East and domestically. It is important to remind Republicans particularly that Osama bin Laden launched the 2001 terror attacks against America because of its unwavering support of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people.
President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have made every attempt to bring Israel’s assault on Palestinian civilians to an end. All they have received in return was Israel’s rage and Republicans accusing the Obama Administration of “throwing Israel under the bus;” even as Secretary Kerry requested hundreds-of-millions of American dollars to bolster Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Israel does not seem to care that their military action against civilians makes America the target of increased Muslim rage, or that this country’s national security is jeopardized with every new radicalized Muslim recruit ready to unleash a terror attack on American interests in the region or on American soil. Further, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is well aware that during an election year, it is electoral suicide to condemn “America’s ally” for anything, much less killing innocent Palestinians. This simple fact is not lost on Republicans who ramped up their criticism against the Obama Administration for calling for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli attack on civilians in Gaza, and openly defend its assault on civilians.
No-one expects Israel to sit idly by while Hamas launches rockets into Israel, but Hamas is not the Palestinian government or the civilian population taking the brunt of Israel’s bombing campaign. However, how can America criticize Israeli aggression against a civilian population when this country launched two wars against innocent Iraqi and Afghan civilians because a terror group attacked America for supporting Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinians. Bush’s two wars against innocent Muslims were a monumentally successful recruitment tool for radicalized Muslims, and despite President Obama’s foreign policy of diplomacy, Israel is providing radical Muslims with the same recruitment tool with Republican support under the guise of “defending America’s ally.”
There is a reason Israel refuses to negotiate a free and unified Palestinian state and it is simply because they know that every two years Republicans will use the “Americas ally” meme as a campaign tool against Democrats who are mortified of being accused of throwing Israel under the bus. This election cycle is no different and while Israel assaults innocent civilians in Gaza, Democrats, save President Obama and Secretary Kerry, are terrified of condemning Israel’s human rights violations, while Republicans openly support Netanyahu’s war against Palestinian civilians they call terrorists.
Israel really has nothing to lose waging war against innocent Palestinians and they know it, but their actions are jeopardizing American national security with every new image of innocent Palestinian civilians killed by bombs this country likely provided. If Republicans cared about America’s security as much as they do Israel’s, the least they could do was stop publicly supporting or praising the killing of innocent civilians as
“Israel defending itself.” However, this is an election year, and like Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Republicans know an easy path to victory is accusing Democrats of not supporting Israel’s assault on innocent civilians; even if it means putting America’s security at risk which is what Israel has done for America as recompense for supporting their war against Palestinian civilians.
H/T Juan Cole
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