AIPAC on an island: ‘Politico’ report says Israel lobby alone in pushing for war in Syria

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

AIPAC on an island: ‘Politico’ report says Israel lobby alone in pushing for war in Syria

Adam Horowitz on September 6, 2013 4

Screenshot of the AIPAC.org homepage, September 6, 2013.

AIPAC is planning to go “all out” to push for a U.S. attack on Syria, but according to reports in Politico it appears they will be doing it alone. Rep. Alan Grayson, who has been leading the charge against authorizing an attack, estimates that constituents calls are “100-to-1” against the resolution, but the Israel lobby group plans on sending 250 lobbyists to the hill next week to push for military intervention (with their eye on Iran):

The powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC is planning to launch a major lobbying campaign to push wayward lawmakers to back the resolution authorizing U.S. strikes against Syria, sources said Thursday.

Officials say that some 250 Jewish leaders and AIPAC activists will storm the halls on Capitol Hill beginning next week to persuade lawmakers that Congress must adopt the resolution or risk emboldening Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon. They are expected to lobby virtually every member of Congress, arguing that “barbarism” by the Assad regime cannot be tolerated, and that failing to act would “send a message” to Tehran that the U.S. won’t stand up to hostile countries’ efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, according to a source with the group.

“History tells us that ambiguity [in U.S. actions] invites aggression,” said the AIPAC source who asked not to be named. The source added the group will now be engaged in a “major mobilization” over the issue.

But who else will be joining them? A separate report from Politico says that most of the groups that were set up in the wake of 9/11 to promote the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are sitting this one out, or have disappeared all together. The only groups actively mobilizing to pressure Congress in support of an attack seem to be the lobby:

It remains to be seen if any other center-left groups will come out in support of Obama’s request for action in Syria. The liberal groups organized around the Iraq and Afghanistan wars would be unlikely to abandon their anti-war politics at Obama’s demand. Several of those outfits, such as the veteran-led VoteVets.org and the grassroots group MoveOn, announced their opposition to striking Syria on Wednesday.

The hawkish groups that existed back in 2008 were overwhelmingly on the right. As much as an attack on Assad’s Syria might be in line with the larger goals of foreign policy hawks, it’s not as if Obama has even partially embraced the broader agenda of 2008-vintage groups such as Freedom’s Watch . . .

As of mid-week, that left several major Jewish political organizations – including the Republican Jewish Coalition, the National Jewish Democratic Council and AIPAC – in what several strategists described as a lonely and uncomfortable position of endorsing military action against Syrian dictator Bashar Assad without much help from other advocacy-group allies.

http://mondoweiss.net/2013/09/aipac-on-an-island-politico-report-says-israel-lobby-alone-in-pushing-for-war-in-syria.html

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Obama claims he found ten allies this morning at the G20.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Obama claims he found ten allies this morning at the G20.

Yes, that's what he said. But it's not entirely clear that he has 10 allies who will support a US military strike without a green light from the UN. Condemning the use of chemical weapons is not the same thing as cheering on a US attack.

STRELNA, Russia — President Obama ran into an impasse on Friday in his bid to rally international backing for a military strike on Syria as world leaders wrapped up a summit meeting here remaining deeply divided over the right response to what the Americans have called the deadliest nerve gas attack in decades.

After a dinner debate that lasted into the early morning hours of Friday, Mr. Obama emerged with a few supporters but no consensus, as other leaders urged him not to attack without United Nations permission, which is not forthcoming. Instead, the president had to resign himself to generalized statements of concern over the use of chemical weapons.

Even France, which has offered the strongest support to Mr. Obama of the European allies, on Friday said that it would not strike Syria as part of a coalition until the United Nations completes its work on assessing the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, has declined to specify when the results will be known.

The failure to forge a stronger coalition here in the face of opposition from the Russian host, President Vladimir V. Putin, raised the risks even further for Mr. Obama as he headed home to lobby Congress to give him the backing his international peers would not. It also left Mr. Obama in the awkward position of defending his right to take action largely alone if necessary after campaigning against what he portrayed as the unilateralist foreign policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Mr. Obama acknowledged that he had a “hard sell” with Congress and announced that he would deliver a televised address to the nation Tuesday evening from the White House.

But much of the world, at least as represented at the Group of 20 meeting here in this St. Petersburg suburb, did not favor Mr. Obama’s proposed course of action. Mr. Putin said a majority of the leaders joined him in opposing a military strike independent of United Nations approval, including those from Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa.

Citing remarks by Jacob Zuma, the South African president, Mr. Putin said: “ 'Small countries in today’s world in general are feeling increasingly vulnerable and unprotected. There is an impression any superpower at any moment at its discretion may use force.’ And he’s right.”

The only countries that supported Mr. Obama’s plan, the Russian leader said, were Canada, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, all nations that were on Mr. Obama’s side when he arrived here on Thursday.

Trying to counter the impression of isolation, the White House arranged for a joint statement including those allies as well as Australia, Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain and South Korea condemning the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus, which according to American intelligence agencies, killed more than 1,400 people.

“We call for a strong international response to this grave violation of the world’s rules and conscience that will send a clear message that this kind of atrocity can never be repeated,” the statement said. “Those who perpetrated these crimes must be held accountable.” Still, the statement did not explicitly endorse military action.

But Mr. Putin pointed to a statement issued by Pope Francis on Thursday opposing military strikes and cited polls showing that the citizens of most countries, including the United States, also did not favor an American-led strike. “I can assure you — and the latest polls say this as well — the overwhelming majority of the populations in these countries is on our side,” he said, his voice rising combatively.

....

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/world/middleeast/obama-syria-strike.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Obama claims he found ten allies this morning at the G20.

He has.

http://www.khon2.com...sad-for-attack/

The countries are Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

He has.

http://www.khon2.com...sad-for-attack/

The countries are Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Yes, those are the countries on Obama's list.

But according to Putin, as cited in the NYT article I posted above, 6 of those countries have only condemned the use of chemical weapons - they haven't said they support a US military strike without UN approval. And look at the caveat about France's support - they now say they won't participate until the UN finishes its investigation.

And Putin lists Italy as one of the countries opposed.

So... different stories emerging from the G20....