Anthony Zinni appeared on 60 Minutes yesterday to lambast the Bush administration and the Pentagon in particular for having followed the neoconservative "ideology" with respect to the Middle East. IsraelInsider compares (perhaps unfairly) Zinni's opinions with those of Fritz Holling's, who seems to believe that Israel's interests were a primary driver for invading Iraq.
Zinni does rattle off names of prominent Jews in the Bush administration, namely Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, Eliot Abrams, Lewis "Scooter" Libby as the key neocons in the Bush administration. And I've seen several Norwegian articles claiming that these men have hijacked US policy against Israel in Sharon's favor.
How close is Zinni to being antisemitic?
I don't really know, but I'm not inclined to believe that Zinni is prejudiced against Jews or has an axe to grind when it comes to Israel. To me it sounds like he's mad at the neocons for getting us into a war that will be difficult to get out of.
But let's be clear here:
The charge that there is a cabal of Jews in the Bush administration that is putting Israel's interest before those of the U.S. is unreasonable and carries a huge burden of proof. Even if you think the neocons are fools or worse, you'd be hard pressed to convince anyone that their motivation is treasonous.
There are certainly other things to consider, as well:
- There are plenty of neocons who aren't Jewish. Dick Cheney being the most prominent example.
- Just because someone is Jewish doesn't mean that they'll prioritize Israel over the U.S.
- Israel and the US have indeed many shared interests in the region. In fact, it's hard to see where there might be a conflict of interest.
- It might even be that someone who pays close attention to Israel's problems might develop insights that are of use to the US in its war on terror
- Who says invading Iraq is good for Israel? Sure, it got rid of Saddam's funding for terrorists, but it also risks destabilizing the region further, especially if US efforts at reform ultimately fail, opening the door for Iran to promote a Shi'ite theocracy with borders to Jordan and Syria.
- There are plenty of otherwise moderate Jews who are as critical to the neocons as anyone else is.
- As a matter of fact, it's been asserted that precisely these neocons have been instrumental in pressuring Sharon to change the course of the West Bank barrier.
In other words, anyone who draws lines between neocon policy, the Jewish background of some of its proponents, the interests of Israel, and the detriment of the US, is ignoring a whole lot of other data points that may be just as important.
I'd say that anyone who insists that these connections are real is promoting an antisemitic canard.
ToH to document.no.
Don't forget that Jews also tend to be left-of-center while the neo-cons are the exception.
Posted by: Joseph | May 24, 2004 at 06:50 PM