if It Doesn’t Reach a Peace Deal...>>> ....Netanyahu made the remarks upon landing in Washington, where he was to meet Monday with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, who is managing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Netanyahu and Kerry will also speak at the conference of the AIPAC pro-Israel lobby in the capital. ..>>>>..Obama’s Ominous Warning to Israel ....>>> ...Though seemingly critical of Netanyahu not endorsing as of yet the proposal being brokered by Secretary of State John Kerry, the president expressed sympathy with Israeli concerns about strife in its immediate neighborhood....>>> ..... President Barack Obama is warning Israel of a bleak future characterized by international isolation and less security should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not agree to a U.S.-proposed framework peace agreement.....>>> ...“[T]here comes a point where you can’t manage this anymore, and then you start having to make very difficult choices,” Obama said. “Do you resign yourself to what amounts to a permanent occupation of the West Bank? Is that the character of Israel as a state for a long period of time? Do you perpetuate, over the course of a decade or two decades, more and more restrictive policies in terms of Palestinian movement? Do you place restrictions on Arab-Israelis in ways that run counter to Israel’s traditions?”..>>>... “You have the chaos that’s been swirling around the Middle East. People look at what’s happening in Syria. They look at what’s happening in Lebanon. Obviously, they look at what’s happening in Gaza. And understandably a lot of people ask themselves, ‘Can we afford to have potential chaos at our borders, so close to our cities?’ So he [Netanyahu] is dealing with all of that, and I get that,” Obama said....>>> ...Obama mengatakan kepada Bloomberg View bahwa ia akan mendesak pemimpin Israel untuk mendukung kerangka kerja yang telah dirancang oleh AS untuk kesepakatan damai dengan Palestina, atau menghadapi isolasi internasional di masa depan. Tapi Netanyahu, memiliki plan sendiri dengan mencoba untuk melibatkan Gedung Putih dalam konflik di Timur Tengah..>>> ..Kelompok CODEPINK juga telah mempelopori kampanye boikot terhadap perusahaan yang bekerja sama dengan Israel termasuk Elbit Systems, sebuah perusahaan yang memproduksi pesawat tanpa awak untuk tentara Israel. Dalam undangan demo kepada para pendukungnya untuk berpartisipasi dalam protes anti Israel yang dijuluki dengan Boikot AIPAC di halam Facebooknya, kelompok itu menulis, "Muak dengan gerakan AIPAC karena [mereka] membawa kita pada perang dengan Iran! Muak melihat dolar pajak AS mengalir ke Israel sementara mereka melakukan pelanggaran HAM di Palestina!"..>>> ...Pelobi AIPAC juga mengedarkan surat yang mendesak Obama untuk melakukan pendekatan demi membatasi program nuklir Iran. Benjamin menambahkan, kelompok anti perang telah melakukan protes serupa setiap tahunnya dalam beberapa tahun terakhir karena mereka muak pada AIPAC yang sangat mencengkeram kebijakan luar negeri AS...>>> ...Laporan terbaru dari Lebanon mengkonfirmasikan dukungan luas masyarakat dan para pejabat Lebanon terhadap Hizbullah. Masalah ini menunjukkan betapa popularitas muqawama Hizbullah jauh lebih tinggi dari militer negara ini. Warga kota Seida di Lebanon selatan menunjukkan dukungan mereka dalam sebuah demonstrasi massif. Warga kota Seida, Ahad (2/3), menyatakan bahwa mereka sepenuhnya mendukung muqawama Lebanon dalam menghadapi rezim Zionis Israel dan kejahatan para teroris Takfiri. ...>>>......Konflik di Ukraina, Venezuela, dan Suriah memiliki satu kesamaan: pemerintah AS mendukung kelompok "oposisi" yang bernafsu menggulingkan--atau telah menggulingkan--pemerintahan berkuasa. Dukungan itu diberikan entah secara politik, keuangan, atau militer. Demikian ungkap analis politik internasional, Shamus Cooke....>>> ..."Mengapa pemerintahan Obama memilih jenis kebijakan luar negeri ini?," tanya Cooke. Alasan utamanya, negara-negara target tadi telah keluar dari orbit kendali AS, dan hanya kelompok ultra-kanan yang tertarik untuk menarik kembali ke orbit AS. "Akhirnya, para kapitalis AS meraup keuntungan menggunung bila suatu negara bergantung pada pinjaman AS, serta produk AS seperti senjata, barang-barang manufaktur, bahan makanan, dan lain-lain," paparnya...>>>>...Jika kelompok itu berkuasa, lanjut Cooke, kondisi negara bakal jauh lebih buruk ketimbang sekarang. "Contohnya Ukraina. Sehari setelah pemerintah yang terpilih secara demokratis melarikan diri dari Kiev, para pemimpin 'oposisi' langsung memberitahu publik bahwa mereka 'harus membuat beberapa keputusan tidak populer'. Perdana Menteri baru menyebut kabinetnya 'pemerintahan Kamikaze (bunuh diri)'," imbuhnya. Pemerintah "bunuh diri" itu, kata Cooke, diharuskan mencari pinjaman dari lembaga keuangan Barat--seperti IMF dan Komisi Eropa--yang jual mahal; dengan imbalan uang, Ukraina harus melakukan penghematan besar-besaran di mana standar hidup Ukraina akan hancur seperti Yunani. "Ini alasan sebenarnya Presiden Ukraina terguling Viktor Yanukovych mulai merapat ke Rusia, karena Putin setuju untuk memberi Ukraina uang tanpa pamrih," pungkasnya. ...>>> ....Islam versi Arab Saudi, ujar Cooke, menjadi tipe ultra-kanan yang disukai monarki diktator penguasa negara itu. "Seperti teman fasisnya di Ukraina, AS mengandalkan ideologi ultra-kanan lain di Suriah dalam upaya menciptakan pemerintahan pro-AS," tegasnya. Koalisi terbaru oposisi (teroris) bersenjata Suriah menyebut dirinya Front Islam. Media AS, kata Cooke, menggambarkan kelompok ini "pemberontak yang baik" versus al-Qaeda yang juga memerangi pemerintah Suriah. "Tapi tentu saja media AS bungkam saat milisi terkuat dalam Front Islam, Ahrar al-Sham, mendeklarasikan diri sebagai perwakilan "asli" al-Qaeda di Suriah (politisi AS sudah lama tahu Ahrar al-Sham secara ideologis terkait dengan al-Qaeda)," tulisnya...>>> ....Venezuela juga baru-baru ini menjadi berita karena diguncang protes kelompok oposisi ultra-kanan yang didukung 100 persen oleh rezim Obama, kata Cooke. "Dalam artikelnya yang sangat baik di Guardian, Mark Weisbrot menyebut bahwa rezim Obama memberi dukungan politik dan keuangan kepada para oposisi Venezuela yang melancarkan protes," imbuhnya. "Jika oposisi Venezuela berkuasa, kita tahu persis apa yang akan mereka lakukan," tulis Cooke. Saat sekejap mengambil alih kekuasaan dalam kudeta militer dukungan AS pada 2002, lanjutnya, mereka langsung membubarkan seluruh lembaga demokratis yang mengatur negara. Mereka lebih memilih jenis sistem politik yang melayani mereka dengan baik selama ratusan tahun kediktatoran pra-Chavez...>>>

Dukungan Luas Masyarakat Lebanon Terhadap Hizbullah

Senin, 2014 Maret 03 16:25

  http://indonesian.irib.ir/fokus/-/asset_publisher/v5Xe/content/dukungan-luas-masyarakat-lebanon-terhadap-hizbullah?redirect=h

Laporan terbaru dari Lebanon mengkonfirmasikan dukungan luas masyarakat dan para pejabat  Lebanon terhadap Hizbullah. Masalah ini menunjukkan betapa popularitas muqawama Hizbullah jauh lebih tinggi dari militer negara ini.

 

Warga kota Seida di Lebanon selatan menunjukkan dukungan mereka dalam sebuah demonstrasi massif. Warga kota Seida, Ahad (2/3), menyatakan bahwa mereka sepenuhnya mendukung muqawama Lebanon dalam menghadapi rezim Zionis Israel dan kejahatan para teroris Takfiri.

 

Osama Saad, Sekjen Partai Rakyat Naseri Lebanon, yang juga ikut serta dalam demonstrasi itu, mengecam kejahatan teroris Takfiri dan sejumlah negara di kawasan dan global dalam memberikan dukungan finansial dan senjata kepada kelompok-kelompok teroris tersebut.

Kebungkaman sejumlah kelompok dan partai politik Lebanon menghadapi kejahatan para teroris Takfiri sangat disayangkan. Aksi perusakan negara-negara Islam dan Arab serta penyulutan fitnah yang dilakukan kelompok tersebut, tidak lain merupakan pengkhidmatan terhadap rezim Zionis Israel dan kepentingannya.

Dalam menyikapi hal ini, penting sekali bagi rakyat Lebanon untuk bersatu sementara di sisi lain, pemerintah Lebanon juga harus bekerjasama dengan Hizbullah untuk memberantas fenomena bejat Takfiri itu.  

Bertentangan dengan seruan tersebut, Presiden Lebanon Michel Sleiman menilai perimbangan rakyat, militer dan muqawama adalah perimbangan yang rapuh.

Lain halnya dengan sikap Gibran Basil, Menteri Luar Negeri Lebanon, yang menekankan berlanjutnya muqawama anti-Israel untuk membebaskan wilayah Lebanon yang dijajah Israel. Berbeda dengan Sleiman, Basil menyatakan bahwa tidak ada yang dapat menghentikan muqawama anti-Israel. Karena muqawama telah terbukti berhasil dalam melawan agresi serta penjajahan Israel dan dalam menjaga Lebanon.

Wajar jika pejabat Lebanon ini tidak dapat menyembunyikan penentangannya terhadap pernyataan Sleiman, bahkan ia menyatakan terkejut  karena seorang pemimpin seperti Sleiman diharap dapat bersikap lebih netral dan logis.

Sleiman menuntut agar opsi muqawama yang selama bertahun-tahun telah menyelamatkan Lebanon, yaitu Hizbullah, agar segera dihapus.(IRIB Indonesia/MZ)

 

'Iran akan Bangun 

Pembangkit Nuklir Kedua 9 April nanti'

Islam Times - http://www.islamtimes.org/vdcbzzbf8rhbs0p.qnur.html

Bulan Februari lalu, perusahaan nuklir milik Rusia, Rosatom mengumumkan bahwa Tehran dan Moskow sedang melangsungkan negosiasi tentang pembangunan pembangkit listrik tenaga nuklir kedua di Provinsi Bushehr.

abdolkarim Jomayri (Fars News)

Iran akan mulai membangun pembangkit listrik tenaga nuklirnya yang kedua di Provinsi Bushehr tanggal 9 April nanti, seorang anggota senior Parlemen mengatakan.

Fars News hari Senin (3/3/14) melaporkan bahwa Abdolkarim Jomayri menyampaikan hal itu di kota Bushehr pada Minggu malam (2/3/14). Jomayri mengatakan, "Mengingat fakta bahwa pembangunan pembangkit listrik tenaga nuklir kedua akan dimulai di Bushehr 9 April nanti, kami telah mengadakan pembicaraan langsung dengan Bapak Presiden dan Wakil Presiden serta meminta mereka untuk menyediakan anggaran yang kami butuhkan demi memindahkan penduduk Halileh dan Bandargah sebelum meluncurkan pembangkit listrik baru Bushehr."

Halileh dan Badargah adalah tempat di mana pembangkit listrik nuklir tersebut akan dibangun.

Bulan Februari lalu, perusahaan nuklir milik Rusia, Rosatom mengumumkan bahwa Tehran dan Moskow sedang melangsungkan negosiasi tentang pembangunan pembangkit listrik tenaga nuklir kedua di Provinsi Bushehr.

"Kami sedang berdialog dengan pihak Iran tentang pilihan memperpanjang kerjasama kami mengenai pembangkit listrik tenaga nuklir Bushehr," kata Wakil Ketua Rosatom, Nikolai Spassky.

Akhir tahun 2013, Presiden Iran telah mengumumkan bahwa Iran akan memproduksi lebih banyak listrik melalui energi nuklir di tahun-tahun mendatang dengan membangun pembangkit listrik tenaga nuklir kedua di Bushehr.[IT/FN/NAT]

 

Aktivis Politik: 

Obama Harus Tolak Permintaan Netanyahu

IslamTimes.
http://www.islamtimes.org/vdcaa0new49nmm1.h8k4.html

Seorang aktivis politik Amerika mengatakan bahwa ia berharap Obama tidak mendengarkan permintaan Perdana Menteri Israel Benjamin Netanyahu dari Presiden AS. "

Seorang aktivis politik Amerika mengatakan bahwa ia berharap Obama tidak mendengarkan permintaan Perdana Menteri Israel Benjamin Netanyahu dari Presiden AS. "

Obama akan bertemu Netanyahu di Gedung Putih hari ini (3/3/14) untuk membahas diplomasi Timur Tengah.

Obama mengatakan kepada Bloomberg View bahwa ia akan mendesak pemimpin Israel untuk mendukung kerangka kerja yang telah dirancang oleh AS untuk kesepakatan damai dengan Palestina, atau menghadapi isolasi internasional di masa depan. Tapi Netanyahu, memiliki plan sendiri dengan mencoba untuk melibatkan Gedung Putih dalam konflik di Timur Tengah.

"Netanyahu terkenal karena berbagai usahanya untuk menyebarkan plot agresif, seperti penyebaran Mossad untuk berpartisipasi dalam serangan militer di Suriah, penggunaan senjata kimia di Suriah, dan perkembangan nuklir Iran, yang merupakan plot Zionis Israel seperti halnya 9/11, kata James Henry Fetzer, editor Veteran Today, kepada Press TV pada hari Senin (3/3/14).(IT/TGM)

AIPAC Rapat, 

Warga AS Gelar Demo Anti Zionis

http://www.islamtimes.org/vdcd550s5yt0kx6.lp2y.html

 

Islam Times - "Hari ini, kami berada di sini, di luar [gedung] konferensi kebijakan AIPAC di Washington DC. Ada ratusan orang yang memprotes konferensi kebijakan AIPAC. Kami menyerukan perdamaian dengan Iran dan juga keadilan untuk Palestina," kata Medea Benjamin dalam sebuah wawancara dengan Press TV.

Anti AIPAC di Washington, AS.jpg

Co-founder of CODEPINK, gerakan perdamaian dan keadilan sosial bersama ratusan demonstran anti perang menyerukan perdamaian dengan Iran di luar tempat konferensi kebijakan tahunan American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington DC.

"Hari ini, kami berada di sini, di luar [gedung] konferensi kebijakan AIPAC di Washington DC. Ada ratusan orang yang memprotes konferensi kebijakan AIPAC. Kami menyerukan perdamaian dengan Iran dan juga keadilan untuk Palestina," kata Medea Benjamin dalam sebuah wawancara dengan Press TV.

AIPAC adalah kelompok lobi pro Israel terkuat di Amerika. Badan ini telah menekan pemerintahan Presiden Barack Obama untuk mengadopsi kebijakan yang lebih keras terhadap Iran dalam konferensi tiga hari yang dimulai 2 Maret lalu.

Pelobi AIPAC juga mengedarkan surat yang mendesak Obama untuk melakukan pendekatan demi membatasi program nuklir Iran.

Benjamin menambahkan, kelompok anti perang telah melakukan protes serupa setiap tahunnya dalam beberapa tahun terakhir karena mereka muak pada AIPAC yang sangat mencengkeram kebijakan luar negeri AS.
Kelompok CODEPINK juga telah mempelopori kampanye boikot terhadap perusahaan yang bekerja sama dengan Israel termasuk Elbit Systems, sebuah perusahaan yang memproduksi pesawat tanpa awak untuk tentara Israel.

Dalam undangan demo kepada para pendukungnya untuk berpartisipasi dalam protes anti Israel yang dijuluki dengan Boikot AIPAC di halam Facebooknya, kelompok itu menulis, "Muak dengan gerakan AIPAC karena [mereka] membawa kita pada perang dengan Iran! Muak melihat dolar pajak AS mengalir ke Israel sementara mereka melakukan pelanggaran HAM di Palestina!"

Benjamin juga menambahkan bahwa kampanye CODEPINK untuk memboikot Israel telah tersosialisasi terutama di kalangan anak muda. Dia berharap lewat gerakan boikot, Tel Aviv bisa dipaksa untuk mematuhi hukum internasional.[IT/r]

 

AS Dukung Fasisme Eropa, Ekstrimisme Timur Tengah, dan Militerisme Amerika Latin

Islam Times- http://www.islamtimes.org/vdchqqnxq23nm-d.yrt2.html

Anehnya, tulis Cooke, dalam semua kasus itu, kelompok terkemuka yang dikendalikan "oposisi" itu sama sekali tak ada hubungannya dengan demokrasi--kelompok fasis Eropa di Ukraina, ekstremis Wahhabi di Suriah, dan elit penggila tradisi kediktatoran militer di Venezuela.

al-Qaeda sama dengan AS (http://gdb.rferl.org)

Konflik di Ukraina, Venezuela, dan Suriah memiliki satu kesamaan: pemerintah AS mendukung kelompok "oposisi" yang bernafsu menggulingkan--atau telah menggulingkan--pemerintahan berkuasa. Dukungan itu diberikan entah secara politik, keuangan, atau militer. Demikian ungkap analis politik internasional, Shamus Cooke.

Anehnya, tulis Cooke, dalam semua kasus itu, kelompok terkemuka yang dikendalikan "oposisi" itu sama sekali tak ada hubungannya dengan demokrasi--kelompok fasis Eropa di Ukraina, ekstremis Wahhabi di Suriah, dan elit penggila tradisi kediktatoran militer di Venezuela.

Jika kelompok itu berkuasa, lanjut Cooke, kondisi negara bakal jauh lebih buruk ketimbang sekarang. "Contohnya Ukraina. Sehari setelah pemerintah yang terpilih secara demokratis melarikan diri dari Kiev, para pemimpin 'oposisi' langsung memberitahu publik bahwa mereka 'harus membuat beberapa keputusan tidak populer'. Perdana Menteri baru menyebut kabinetnya 'pemerintahan Kamikaze (bunuh diri)'," imbuhnya.

Pemerintah "bunuh diri" itu, kata Cooke, diharuskan mencari pinjaman dari lembaga keuangan Barat--seperti IMF dan Komisi Eropa--yang jual mahal; dengan imbalan uang, Ukraina harus melakukan penghematan besar-besaran di mana standar hidup Ukraina akan hancur seperti Yunani. "Ini alasan sebenarnya Presiden Ukraina terguling Viktor Yanukovych mulai merapat ke Rusia, karena Putin setuju untuk memberi Ukraina uang tanpa pamrih," pungkasnya.

Di Suriah, ujar Cooke, Obama secara konsisten bergantung pada ekstrimis sayap kanan sebagai pemimpin "oposisi" melawan pemerintah al-Assad. "Peran ekstremis Wahhabi bergaya al-Qaeda ini telah diabaikan media, sekalipun kekejaman mereka sudah menumpuk di Youtube," paparnya.

Suriah adalah salah satu negara paling modern, kosmopolitan, di Timur Tengah dan sekarang sedang diseret kembali ke Abad Kegelapan, tulis Cooke. "'Sekutu' Obama di kawasan ingin Suriah terlihat seperti Arab Saudi ('sekutu dekat' AS lainnya), di mana tak ada kebebasan politik, agama, atau hal-hal yang berhubungan dengan ketenaga-kerjaan," paparnya.

Islam versi Arab Saudi, ujar Cooke, menjadi tipe ultra-kanan yang disukai monarki diktator penguasa negara itu. "Seperti teman fasisnya di Ukraina, AS mengandalkan ideologi ultra-kanan lain di Suriah dalam upaya menciptakan pemerintahan pro-AS," tegasnya.

Koalisi terbaru oposisi (teroris) bersenjata Suriah menyebut dirinya Front Islam. Media AS, kata Cooke, menggambarkan kelompok ini "pemberontak yang baik" versus al-Qaeda yang juga memerangi pemerintah Suriah. "Tapi tentu saja media AS bungkam saat milisi terkuat dalam Front Islam, Ahrar al-Sham, mendeklarasikan diri sebagai perwakilan "asli" al-Qaeda di Suriah (politisi AS sudah lama tahu Ahrar al-Sham secara ideologis terkait dengan al-Qaeda)," tulisnya.

Jika Obama berhasil dan Front Islam berkuasa, ujar Cooke, Suriah akan mengalami devolusi budaya seperti Afghanistan di masa Taliban. "Sementara itu, Obama dan Media AS akan terus memberikan dukungan politik yang penting untuk oposisi yang sebenarnya tidak layak," katanya.

Venezuela juga baru-baru ini menjadi berita karena diguncang protes kelompok oposisi ultra-kanan yang didukung 100 persen oleh rezim Obama, kata Cooke. "Dalam artikelnya yang sangat baik di Guardian, Mark Weisbrot menyebut bahwa rezim Obama memberi dukungan politik dan keuangan kepada para oposisi Venezuela yang melancarkan protes," imbuhnya.

"Jika oposisi Venezuela berkuasa, kita tahu persis apa yang akan mereka lakukan," tulis Cooke. Saat sekejap mengambil alih kekuasaan dalam kudeta militer dukungan AS pada 2002, lanjutnya, mereka langsung membubarkan seluruh lembaga demokratis yang mengatur negara. Mereka lebih memilih jenis sistem politik yang melayani mereka dengan baik selama ratusan tahun kediktatoran pra-Chavez.

"Mengapa pemerintahan Obama memilih jenis kebijakan luar negeri ini?," tanya Cooke. Alasan utamanya, negara-negara target tadi telah keluar dari orbit kendali AS, dan hanya kelompok ultra-kanan yang tertarik untuk menarik kembali ke orbit AS. "Akhirnya, para kapitalis AS meraup keuntungan menggunung bila suatu negara bergantung pada pinjaman AS, serta produk AS seperti senjata, barang-barang manufaktur, bahan makanan, dan lain-lain," paparnya.

Inilah sebabnya mengapa penguasa AS--sekarang diwakili pemerintahan Obama--tidak akan begitu saja membiarkan Amerika Latin, Timur Tengah, atau Eropa Timur menjadi mandiri atau jatuh ke dalam orbit kekuatan regional saingan seperti Rusia, kata Cooke. "Terlalu banyak keuntungan yang dipertaruhkan. Perdamaian bukanlah pilihan," ujarnya.

Untuk menghentikan kegilaan perang tanpa akhir dari kebijakan luar negeri AS, lanjut Cooke, pemerintah AS sendiri harus berubah secara fundamental. "Penguasa AS pendukung sistem ekonomi kapitalis, tiada henti memprovokasi perang demi keuntungan, sementara sistem ekonomi tanpa motif keuntungan tidak butuh perang mancanegara," tulisnya.

Pepatah kuno mengatakan, "Tunjukkan siapa teman Anda, dan saya akan memberitahu siapa Anda." (IT/CP/rj)

Hezbollah: Resistance a 'Lebanese reality' against Israel, Takfiris

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1572391

Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general Sheikh Naim Qassem

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has urged tis rival groups to avoid chicanery in drafting the Cabinet’s policy statement, saying any such attempt would be futile as the resistance is now a "Lebanese reality.”

“The resistance is a reality and a destiny. It was the first supporter of the state and its strength is in facing challenges. There is no point in playing smart, looking for ways to remove this solid strategy,” Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, told reporters at his office on Tuesday.

“The resistance is no longer a proposal or an idea that can be questioned. It is fixed, just like Lebanon. The right of the resistance in the policy statement is a given and one of its primary premises,” he added.

His remarks come as ministers struggle to draft the Cabinet’s policy statement.

The March 14 coalition insists that the clause dealing with the resistance, known as the “Army, people and resistance” formula, should be dropped in favor of one that clearly places the resistance under the authority of the state.

However, the Hezbollah-led March 8 camp has rejected the demand, arguing that resistance against Israel is an inherent right.

The clause relating to the resistance represents the remaining hurdle for ministers drafting the policy statement.

During his brief chat with the press, Qassem said Israel and Takfiris represented a danger to Lebanon and that political stability was needed to address the two challenges.

“The all-embracing Cabinet was the first [step toward political stability] and now we call on our partners to continue this step and not present obstacles to do away with the resistance,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tammam Salam met with several officials including MP Qassem Hashem from Speaker Nabih Berri's Liberation and Development parliamentary bloc.

Hashem said the prime minister remained optimistic that rival parties would reach an understanding over the policy statement before the end of the Constitutional deadline on March 16.

“I emphasized the need for adherence to national principles in the ministerial statement, not to overlook the resistance, and reach an understanding,” he said.

BA/BA

- See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1572391#sthash.V3ebem0C.dpuf

AIPAC still threatens 

US national interests

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1572286

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington,DC on March 4, 2014.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is still one of the most powerful lobby organizations in the country, but fortunately, it is starting to lose its iron-clad grip on our policymakers. 

AIPAC lost the fight to stop Chuck Hagel from being confirmed as Secretary of Defense; it lost the push for the US military to attack Syria, and it is losing its effort to derail nuclear talks with Iran, Medea Benjamin, an American political analyst writes in an article reviewing AIPAC threats to US interests.

She says, in the old days, AIPAC bragged that it could, within 24 hours, get the signatures of 70 Senators on a napkin if it really wanted to.

This year, AIPAC got stuck at 59 cosponsors for its S.1881 sanctions bill–not enough support to force Senator Harry Reid to bring the bill to the floor or to override a threatened presidential veto.

Another sign of AIPAC’s waning influence is the fact that this year, at their March 2-4 Policy Conference in Washington DC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend but not President Obama or Vice President Joe Biden—both of whom have spoken in past years.

But it’s certainly not time to sound the death knell.

Benjamin says however, AIPAC still is a threat to US national interests in several key areas:

1. AIPAC continues to gun for a military confrontation with Iran.

AIPAC has been pushing for increased sanctions during these delicate international nuclear talks, a move that would violate the terms of the agreement, signal to Iran that the US negotiating team cannot deliver on its commitments and divide the US from its international negotiating partners. AIPAC is still pushing for this, but as a backup is trying to set the conditions for the talks. AIPAC’s policy would lead us down a path to yet another disastrous war in the Middle East (AIPAC was a big promoter of the war in Iraq–and look how that one turned out!).

2. AIPAC’s call for unconditional support for the Israeli regime undermines a possible negotiated solution between the Israelis and Palestinians.

AIPAC promotes Israeli policies that are in direct opposition to international law, including the establishment of settlements in the Occupied West Bank and the confiscation of Palestinian land in its construction of the 26-foot high concrete “separation barrier” running through the West Bank. On February 27 Amnesty International published a report called Trigger Happy providing chilling detail of Israel’s use of excessive force in the West Bank. AIPAC’s support of these illegal practices is in direct opposition to a negotiated solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. AIPAC has also been pressuring Secretary of State Kerry to keep the political representatives of Palestinians in Gaza–Hamas–completely out of the peace talks. How can you come to a negotiated solution if 40 percent of all Palestinians are not represented?

3. AIPAC’s influence on US policy–pushing it in the direction of unconditional support for Israel–increases anti-American sentiment around the world, sowing the seeds of more possible terrorist attacks against us.

Even General David Petraeus admitted that the US/Palestine conflict “foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of US favoritism for Israel.” He also said that “Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of US partnerships with governments and peoples in the [region] and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support.”

4. AIPAC makes the US a pariah at the UN.

AIPAC describes the UN as a body hostile to Israel and has pressured the US government to oppose resolutions calling Israel to account. Since 1972, the US has vetoed 44 UN Security Council resolutions condemning Israel’s actions against the Palestinians. President Obama continues that practice. Under Obama, the US vetoed UN censure of the savage Israeli assault on Gaza in January 2009 in which about 1400 Palestinians were killed; a 2011 resolution calling for a halt to the illegal Israeli West Bank settlements, even though this was stated US policy; a 2011 resolution calling for Israel to cease obstructing the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees; and another resolution calling for an end to illegal Israeli settlement building in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the occupied Golan Heights.

5. AIPAC attacks politicians who question unconditional support of Israel.

AIPAC demands that Congress rubber stamp legislation drafted by AIPAC staff. It keeps a record of how members of Congress vote and this record is used by donors to make contributions to the politicians who score well. Members of Congress who fail to support AIPAC legislation have been targeted for defeat in re-election bids. These include Senators Adlai Stevenson III and Charles H. Percy, and Representatives Paul Findley, Pete McCloskey, Cynthia McKinney, and Earl F. Hilliard. AIPAC’s overwhelmingly disproportionate influence on Congress subverts our democratic system.

6. AIPAC attempts to silence all criticism of Israel.

Journalists, think tanks, students and professors have been accused of anti-Semitism for merely taking stands critical of Israeli regime policies. These attacks stifle the critical discussions and debates that are at the heart of democratic policy-making. Most recently, AIPAC has been attacking supporters of the movement that calls for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions on Israel (BDS), a movement that has gained rapid momentum and multiple victories to put pressure on Israel to end the occupation. In December, the American Studies Association passed a measure supporting BDS. In direct response, AIPAC is trying to push a bill through Congress that would cut federal funding to American academic institutions that advocate a boycott of Israel. Several state-level bills are also in the works. Seems like AIPAC has a hard time with the First Amendment!

7. AIPAC feeds US government officials a distorted view of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

AIPAC takes US representatives on sugar-coated trips to the occupied territories. Every year, AIPAC takes dozens of members of Congress—and many of  their spouses—on a free junket to the territories to see precisely what the Israeli regime want them to see. It is illegal for lobby groups to take Congresspeople on trips, but AIPAC gets around the law by creating a bogus educational group, the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), to “organize” the trips for them. AIEF has the same office address as AIPAC and the same staff. These trips help cement the ties between AIPAC and Congress, furthering their undue influence.

8. AIPAC lobbies for billions of US taxdollars to go to Israel instead of rebuilding America or funding the truly needy.

While our country is still suffering from a prolonged financial crisis, AIPAC is pushing for no cuts in military funds for Israel. With communities across the nation slashing budgets for teachers, firefighters and police, AIPAC pushes for over $3 billion a year to Israel.

Benjamin says the bottom line is that AIPAC has influence on US policy out of all proportion to the number of Americans who support its policies.

When a small group like this has disproportionate power, that hurts everyone, she adds.

- See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1572286#sthash.tiYlOUsY.dpuf

AIPAC still threatens US national interests

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington,DC on March 4, 2014.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is still one of the most powerful lobby organizations in the country, but fortunately, it is starting to lose its iron-clad grip on our policymakers.

AIPAC lost the fight to stop Chuck Hagel from being confirmed as Secretary of Defense; it lost the push for the US military to attack Syria, and it is losing its effort to derail nuclear talks with Iran, Medea Benjamin, an American political analyst writes in an article reviewing AIPAC threats to US interests.

She says, in the old days, AIPAC bragged that it could, within 24 hours, get the signatures of 70 Senators on a napkin if it really wanted to.

This year, AIPAC got stuck at 59 cosponsors for its S.1881 sanctions bill–not enough support to force Senator Harry Reid to bring the bill to the floor or to override a threatened presidential veto.

Another sign of AIPAC’s waning influence is the fact that this year, at their March 2-4 Policy Conference in Washington DC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend but not President Obama or Vice President Joe Biden—both of whom have spoken in past years.

But it’s certainly not time to sound the death knell.

Benjamin says however, AIPAC still is a threat to US national interests in several key areas:

1. AIPAC continues to gun for a military confrontation with Iran.

AIPAC has been pushing for increased sanctions during these delicate international nuclear talks, a move that would violate the terms of the agreement, signal to Iran that the US negotiating team cannot deliver on its commitments and divide the US from its international negotiating partners. AIPAC is still pushing for this, but as a backup is trying to set the conditions for the talks. AIPAC’s policy would lead us down a path to yet another disastrous war in the Middle East (AIPAC was a big promoter of the war in Iraq–and look how that one turned out!).

2. AIPAC’s call for unconditional support for the Israeli regime undermines a possible negotiated solution between the Israelis and Palestinians.

AIPAC promotes Israeli policies that are in direct opposition to international law, including the establishment of settlements in the Occupied West Bank and the confiscation of Palestinian land in its construction of the 26-foot high concrete “separation barrier” running through the West Bank. On February 27 Amnesty International published a report called Trigger Happy providing chilling detail of Israel’s use of excessive force in the West Bank. AIPAC’s support of these illegal practices is in direct opposition to a negotiated solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. AIPAC has also been pressuring Secretary of State Kerry to keep the political representatives of Palestinians in Gaza–Hamas–completely out of the peace talks. How can you come to a negotiated solution if 40 percent of all Palestinians are not represented?

3. AIPAC’s influence on US policy–pushing it in the direction of unconditional support for Israel–increases anti-American sentiment around the world, sowing the seeds of more possible terrorist attacks against us.

Even General David Petraeus admitted that the US/Palestine conflict “foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of US favoritism for Israel.” He also said that “Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of US partnerships with governments and peoples in the [region] and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support.”

4. AIPAC makes the US a pariah at the UN.

AIPAC describes the UN as a body hostile to Israel and has pressured the US government to oppose resolutions calling Israel to account. Since 1972, the US has vetoed 44 UN Security Council resolutions condemning Israel’s actions against the Palestinians. President Obama continues that practice. Under Obama, the US vetoed UN censure of the savage Israeli assault on Gaza in January 2009 in which about 1400 Palestinians were killed; a 2011 resolution calling for a halt to the illegal Israeli West Bank settlements, even though this was stated US policy; a 2011 resolution calling for Israel to cease obstructing the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees; and another resolution calling for an end to illegal Israeli settlement building in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the occupied Golan Heights.

5. AIPAC attacks politicians who question unconditional support of Israel.

AIPAC demands that Congress rubber stamp legislation drafted by AIPAC staff. It keeps a record of how members of Congress vote and this record is used by donors to make contributions to the politicians who score well. Members of Congress who fail to support AIPAC legislation have been targeted for defeat in re-election bids. These include Senators Adlai Stevenson III and Charles H. Percy, and Representatives Paul Findley, Pete McCloskey, Cynthia McKinney, and Earl F. Hilliard. AIPAC’s overwhelmingly disproportionate influence on Congress subverts our democratic system.

6. AIPAC attempts to silence all criticism of Israel.

Journalists, think tanks, students and professors have been accused of anti-Semitism for merely taking stands critical of Israeli regime policies. These attacks stifle the critical discussions and debates that are at the heart of democratic policy-making. Most recently, AIPAC has been attacking supporters of the movement that calls for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions on Israel (BDS), a movement that has gained rapid momentum and multiple victories to put pressure on Israel to end the occupation. In December, the American Studies Association passed a measure supporting BDS. In direct response, AIPAC is trying to push a bill through Congress that would cut federal funding to American academic institutions that advocate a boycott of Israel. Several state-level bills are also in the works. Seems like AIPAC has a hard time with the First Amendment!

7. AIPAC feeds US government officials a distorted view of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

AIPAC takes US representatives on sugar-coated trips to the occupied territories. Every year, AIPAC takes dozens of members of Congress—and many of  their spouses—on a free junket to the territories to see precisely what the Israeli regime want them to see. It is illegal for lobby groups to take Congresspeople on trips, but AIPAC gets around the law by creating a bogus educational group, the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), to “organize” the trips for them. AIEF has the same office address as AIPAC and the same staff. These trips help cement the ties between AIPAC and Congress, furthering their undue influence.

8. AIPAC lobbies for billions of US taxdollars to go to Israel instead of rebuilding America or funding the truly needy.

While our country is still suffering from a prolonged financial crisis, AIPAC is pushing for no cuts in military funds for Israel. With communities across the nation slashing budgets for teachers, firefighters and police, AIPAC pushes for over $3 billion a year to Israel.

Benjamin says the bottom line is that AIPAC has influence on US policy out of all proportion to the number of Americans who support its policies.

When a small group like this has disproportionate power, that hurts everyone, she adds.

- See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1572286#sthash.tiYlOUsY.dpuf

Netanyahu on Obama’s critique:

I won’t give in to pressure

Hours after president warns US will be hard-pressed to protect Israel if peace talks fail, PM says Palestinians are at fault

By Aron Dónzis March 3, 2014, 8:30 am 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-palestinians-arent-doing-peace-dance-with-israel-and-us/

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wife Sara at his side, responds to President Barack Obama's criticism on his arrival in the US, March 3, 2014 (photo credit: Channel 2 screenshot)

• Benjamin Netanyahu
• Barack Obama
• Israel-US relations

• Israel must make tough choices for peace, Obama says
• Abbas insists on settlement freeze before more talks
• McCain pans Obama’s ‘feckless’ policy on Iran, Syria, Ukraine
• Current Iran sanctions sufficient, Lew tells AIPAC
• What Netanyahu will say to Obama on Iran
• Obama: US won’t be able to defend Israel if peace talks fail
• AIPAC conference opens with appeal for bipartisanship
• AIPAC offers Senate Democrats a way out on Iran
• Netanyahu to urge Obama to rule out Iranian enrichment
• Embarking for US, Netanyahu says Israel will reject pressures
• For Netanyahu, a bombshell battering by Obama

Blame for the morass in the Middle East peace process lies squarely with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Sunday, hours after US President Barack Obama was quoted saying that Washington would be hard-pressed to defend Israel should talks fail.

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Netanyahu made the remarks upon landing in Washington, where he was to meet Monday with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, who is managing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Netanyahu and Kerry will also speak at the conference of the AIPAC pro-Israel lobby in the capital. 

“The tango in the Middle East needs at least three,” Netanyahu said in a statement to the press. “For years there have been two — Israel and the US. Now it needs to be seen if the Palestinians are also present,” he said.

“In any case, in order for us to have an agreement, we must uphold our vital interests. I have proven that I do so, in the face of all pressures and all the turmoil, and I will continue to do so here as well,” he said.

The prime minister also told Channel 2 that he wanted a peace deal, “but it must be a good deal.”

Netanyahu’s response came hours after Bloomberg published an interview with Obama, during which the US president stressed that time was running out for Israel to achieve a peace deal.

US President Barack Obama delivers the 2014 State of the Union address (screen capture: White House)

Obama also said that Abbas was, in fact, a true peace partner who “has proven himself to be somebody who has been committed to nonviolence and diplomatic efforts to resolve” the conflict.

However, if Netanyahu “does not believe that a peace deal with the Palestinians is the right thing to do for Israel, then he needs to articulate an alternative approach,” Obama said, adding that he believed Israel’s prime minister had the capacity to rally his citizens behind an agreement..

“There comes a point where you can’t manage this anymore, and then you start having to make very difficult choices,” he said.

Obama also cautioned that Israel can expect to face international isolation and possible sanctions from countries and companies across the world if Netanyahu fails to endorse a framework agreement with the Palestinians and engages in more settlement building.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting on February 16, 2014 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/POOL/Flash90)..

“If you see no peace deal and continued aggressive settlement construction — and we have seen more aggressive settlement construction over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time — if Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited,” Obama said.

Netanyahu will reportedly seek to steer the conversation away from peace talks and toward dealing with Iran’s nuclear program.

Before boarding his plane to the US, the prime minister said he had rejected pressures in the past and would continue to do so.

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, who accompanied Netanyahu to the US, was more blunt in rebuffing Obama’s comments.

“We want to promote a political settlement; however, are justifiably concerned about our national security — there is no reason to pressure Israel. We are only caring for Israel’s most fundamental needs,” he said.

Direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, which began last July with the goal of reaching a deal within nine months, have made no visible progress.

Kerry is now focused on getting the two sides to agree on a framework proposal which would extend the deadline until the year’s end.

Although the document has not yet been made public, it is understood to be a non-binding proposal laying out guidelines for negotiating the central issues of the conflict, such as borders, security, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The proposal, or its outline, is likely to be presented to Netanyahu this week and to Abbas on March 17 when he meets Obama at the White House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Obama’s Ominous Warning to Israel 

if It Doesn’t Reach a Peace Deal

Mar. 3, 2014 9:00am Sharona Schwartz

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/03/obamas-ominous-warning-to-israel-if-it-doesnt-reach-a-peace-deal/ 

President Barack Obama is warning Israel of a bleak future characterized by international isolation and less security should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not agree to a U.S.-proposed framework peace agreement.

In this Sept. 30, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. (AP/Charles Dharapak)

Speaking to Bloomberg View’s Jeffrey Goldberg, Obama suggested that time was running out for Israel to agree to a deal or else otherwise face international isolation and the prospect of losing its Jewish majority.

Goldberg wrote that he took Obama’s remarks “to be a veiled threat” that the administration might not be able to continue to defend Israel at the United Nations and other international forums where the Jewish state faces attacks on its policies.

Obama called the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security “rock solid” and “not subject to periodic policy differences.”

“But what I do believe is that if you see no peace deal and continued aggressive settlement construction — and we have seen more aggressive settlement construction over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time — if Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited,” Obama said.

Responding hours before the two leaders were set to meet in Washington on Monday, Netanyahu suggested the Palestinians are to blame.

“The tango in the Middle East needs at least three,” Netanyahu said. “For years there have been two — Israel and the U.S. Now it needs to be seen if the Palestinians are also present.”

He added, “In any case, in order for us to have an agreement, we must uphold our vital interests. I have proven that I do so, in the face of all pressures and all the turmoil, and I will continue to do so here as well.”

Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 2 News that he favored reaching a peace deal, “but it must be a good deal.”

Obama referred to the building of homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as “aggressive” and further warned that international isolation could make Israel less safe.

“[I]n today’s world, where power is much more diffuse, where the threats that any state or peoples face can come from non-state actors and asymmetrical threats, and where international cooperation is needed in order to deal with those threats, the absence of international goodwill makes you less safe,” Obama said. “The condemnation of the international community can translate into a lack of cooperation when it comes to key security interests. It means reduced influence for us, the United States, in issues that are of interest to Israel. It’s survivable, but it is not preferable.”

Though seemingly critical of Netanyahu not endorsing as of yet the proposal being brokered by Secretary of State John Kerry, the president expressed sympathy with Israeli concerns about strife in its immediate neighborhood.

“You have the chaos that’s been swirling around the Middle East. People look at what’s happening in Syria. They look at what’s happening in Lebanon. Obviously, they look at what’s happening in Gaza. And understandably a lot of people ask themselves, ‘Can we afford to have potential chaos at our borders, so close to our cities?’ So he [Netanyahu] is dealing with all of that, and I get that,” Obama said.

“[T]here comes a point where you can’t manage this anymore, and then you start having to make very difficult choices,” Obama said. “Do you resign yourself to what amounts to a permanent occupation of the West Bank? Is that the character of Israel as a state for a long period of time? Do you perpetuate, over the course of a decade or two decades, more and more restrictive policies in terms of Palestinian movement? Do you place restrictions on Arab-Israelis in ways that run counter to Israel’s traditions?”

Besides a theoretical discussion of border adjustments that could place a limited number of Arab citizens of Israel under Palestinian Authority control, peace talks have not focused on Israeli-Arabs. Israel’s Arab citizens are represented in the nation’s parliament, as diplomats and as high-ranking military commanders.

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz also responded to Obama’s warning, saying: “We want to promote a political settlement; however, are justifiably concerned about our national security. There is no reason to pressure Israel. We are only caring for Israel’s most fundamental needs.”