Washington Report, January/February 2006, page 82
Publishers' Page
President Bush Has Admitted That...
Regarding the decision to invade Iraq, “much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong.” (We would humbly point out that it was wrong all along.) Even though the decision to invade has, to date, cost the lives of more than 2,000 American troops and, according to the president, some 30,000 Iraqis, Bush later told Fox News that he “absolutely” would have invaded even had he known that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps, unbeknownst to the American street, the administration is operating on a new principle:
Who Needs Intelligence?
Hard on the heels of Iraq’s parliamentary elections, another occupied Arab land, Palestine, votes for its own national legislature. Both polls were held amid assassinations of candidates, armed soldiers arresting citizens who “walked suspiciously” by polling stations, and border closings and checkpoints. Nevertheless, in the last of his four speeches on the Iraq war to the American people, Bush asserted that “a free Iraq is in our interests, because a free Iraq will be a beacon of hope.” Gee, we thought to ourselves...
We Can Hardly Wait Till November.
The Coming Year Is Crucial...
For Iraqis, Palestinians and Americans alike. While the U.S. may not physically have invaded Palestine, it is American tax dollars that make Israel’s brutal occupation possible. And it is the representatives
American voters elect to Congress who, every year, give that money to Israel with virtually no strings attached—with a not-so-discreet nudge from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Israel’s Washington, DC lobby, and its coterie of deceptively named “stealth PACS.” Without U.S. financial and political support, Israel could not afford to carry out its ethnic cleansing of Arabs from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We sense, however, that...
The Tide Is Beginning to Turn.
As the downward spiral of President Bush’s approval rating indicates, Americans are beginning to question, if not reject, the direction in which this country is heading. Not only is the “war on terror” resulting in more, not fewer, American deaths, but critical needs at home, from hurricane relief to health care, remain unmet. Despite the president’s assurances, Americans are savvy enough to ask whether they should believe administration officials...
Or Their Own Eyes.
Here in Washington, while the mainstream media now acknowledge the existence of the neocons and their role in crafting the war on Iraq, they tend to describe these indiviuals as “empire builders”—but fail to add that the empire they aim to build is Israel. The media may be unable to keep this connection from public view, however, as two trials get underway early in the new year—those of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, and of former Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin and AIPAC honchos Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman. Whether it’s...
Names or National Secrets...
That were leaked, whether to the media or to a certain foreign government, there are so many overlaps that the media will have their hands full trying to keep them separate. You can be sure that they’ll try, however—and equally sure that those links will be fully exposed in the pages of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. And because, as noted above, 2006 is an election year, we’ll also be providing our biannual compilation of pro-Israel PAC contributioins to all congressional candidates, as well as our “Hall of Fame and Shame,” listing the voting records of all representatives on key issues involving the...
U.S. Role in the Middle East.
The Washington Report Faces a Crucial Year as Well.
With this issue, we begin our 25th year of publication—although we’ll actually celebrate that birthday in April 2007. There’s no guarantee, however, that we’ll be around to celebrate it. The respected London-based Middle East International recently folded after 34 years of publishing, as did the younger, online Palestine Report. At this time in our country’s history, when Americans want and need to know where their country is heading, and why, we need more voices, not fewer, to give them the unbiased facts and analysis they need.
We Need Your Help...
To continue to explain—in the pages of this magazine, on our free Web site, <ww.wrmea.com>, and by selling the best Middle East books available—why Israel’s occupation of Palestine is at the root of the expanding crisis in the Middle East. Following this past year’s tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the earthquake in Kashmir, Americans are suffering from donor fatigue—and our recent donation letter so far has not generated the kind of response we count on to get through the next several months. And while we can’t prevent future natural disasters, we can...
Prevent Future Misadventures...
Not only in Palestine and Iraq, but in Syria, Iran and other countries where Israel would like the U.S. to do its dirty work. As the annus horribilis of 2005 comes to an end, let’s be prepared for the coming year’s judicial and electoral opportunities by giving the public the information it needs. If you haven’t made a contribution this year to AET, publisher of the Washington Report, or the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment, it’s not too late. In fact,
It’s Never Too Late.
So whether you’re seeing out the old year or ringing in the new, please send the most generous contribution you can and...