Beam Me Up Scotty, I Am A Palestinian (Or Scott Ritter kisses Israeli butt)
By: Hesham Tillawi
“Did you read the latest article by Scott Ritter?” my friend excitedly asked. Not wanting to rain on his parade, nevertheless I was as frank as possible in my answer–”I don't like political prostitution.” I calmly answered. “What do you mean?” my friend asked, half-surprised and half-not. “I don't like people going on at length with how much they admire Israel before they critique her.”
As much as I am glad to see him finally seeing and stating the obvious, nevertheless there are a few things I would like to ask Ritter were he here right now, such as “What about the Palestinians Scott?” or “What do you have to say about the Holocaust taking place against them right now, a continuation of what has been going on for the last century? Is that okay with you?” Do they exist in your book?
Let us consider for a moment what Mr. Ritter wrote in his latest article–
“I have for some time now publicly articulated my sympathy and support for the state of Israel, even while criticizing those cases that I believed constituted poor judgment and bad policy.”
BUTT KISS #1
Of course Scott could not start his article with anything less than this, a way of bowing down before the master before pointing out something that is painful yet true.
He continues–”As a weapons inspector I made numerous visits to Israel for the purpose of coordinating with the Israeli intelligence community on matters pertaining to Iraqi WMD.”
Yes, and that is exactly why Saddam did not want you back in Iraq Scott. You knew then how deep the Israelis were in our government. Why are you waking up to this only now Scotty, to the fact that Israel is no good for the US?
“I was greatly impressed not only with the professionalism of the Israeli intelligence services, but also with the Israeli people and society. During my time in Israel, I was witness to numerous horrific events, including several terrorist bombings and the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The resilience of the people of Israel in absorbing these blows yet continuing to live life to its fullest was remarkable, and worthy of admiration.”
can you tell me what bombings are you talking about in 90 and 91? you must had a back to the future episode at that time, and just for the record, Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist settler.
Ok, at the risk of appearing base, nevertheless let me continue in the same vein–
BUTT KISS # 2
Can you name those “horrific” events, the several terrorists bombings you are talking about? I am wondering how many horrific events you can recall that the Palestinians went through while you were enjoying yourself on the streets of Tel Aviv? How many homes were demolished? How many children became orphans, how many wives became widows and how many Palestinians were kidnapped from their homes and taken to Israeli prisons for no fault of their own and who as of yet have not had their day in court? I guarantee you Scott, were you as aware of these items as you were the ‘resilience’ of the Israelis, you would be filled with “admiration” for the Palestinians too.
“As a firsthand witness to the remarkable vigor of the Israeli state and its people, and as someone who considers himself to be their friend, …”
Kiss…well, never mind, you get the picture–
BUTT KISS # 3
“The government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has embarked on policies that are questionable at best when one examines them from a purely Israeli standpoint; they are nothing less than a betrayal of the United States when examined from a broader perspective.”
Just the government of Ehud Olmert, Scott????? What about the policies of all Israeli governments, PERIOD? You don’t think they were in control of our White House when they forced (politically, of course) to have our president recognize the “Jewish” state back in 1948 which was contrary to our vital national interest, and the advice of the vice-president and many others at the time? What about when they torpedoed our USS Liberty and killed our own in cold blooded murder? That was an ‘Okay’ policy with you? You know our President at the time felt like you and said it in plain English, that he DID NOT WANT TO EMBARRASS AN ALLY.
The point is, they were in control back then Scott. Israel controlling the Media and the government here as you implied in your article is not something new brother, its been there, you just chose not to say anything about it–until now of course, when it is safer to do so. You knew it back in the early 90’s when you were fooling around with Iraqi SCUDS. And, by the way, Israel’s role in 9/11 is yet to be known to the public because you refuse to mention it in your many articles and speeches. Or maybe the policies of Israel that brought Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, et al were okay, it’s just Olmert’s policies that are really bothering you? Maybe attacking Iraq for Israel and loosing 4000 of our good Americans, killing a million Iraqis and sending 4 million of them into refugee status in Jordan and Syria is an ‘okay’ thing with you. Losing one third of our dollar’s value as a result of all this madness may not be a bad thing, it’s just Olmert that you are having a problem with???
While we are doing some math, let’s consider this–The Arabs are about three hundred millions…The Muslims are a billion and a quarter and all of them would have been consumers of American products, but now because of your friends in Israel we alienated all of them and made them enemies. All this waste, this lost opportunity unprecedented in human history was done just to please Israel and keep our “selected” officials elected. And yet, after all this you maintain that Israel was your friend and if they will just change Olmert’s policies they can go back to being your good friend, something that you would like to see again, as you stated in your article.
And now, bringing it back to what I told my good friend, this is what I term ‘Political Prostitution.’
“The insidious manner in which the current Israeli government has manipulated the domestic political machinery of the United States to produce support for its policies constitutes nothing less than direct interference in the governance of a sovereign state.”
Scott, people reading this will think you have lost your mind. The “Current Israeli government”? Are you saying this problem of manipulating the domestic political machinery only happened by this “current Israeli government”? I think that is what you are saying Scotty. Did you forget JFK and his stand against the Israeli government? He lost his life by the way for that stand. What about when Bush, the father, not the son and the holy ghost, tried to stand in their way and stipulated that they stop building the illegal Jewish settlements on stolen Palestinian land, because it was an ” obstacle” to peace? I still remember Yitzhak Shamir when asked by a TV reporter on the streets of Jerusalem to comment on President GHWB’s decision to withhold the 10 billion dollars in loan guarantees unless Israel stops building the settlements, and he said “I WILL HAVE HIS JOB” and he did. Don’t you think back then they had that manipulation over our Media, Government, and our Money?
“The degree to which the current Israeli government has succeeded in this regard can be tracked not only by the words and actions of the administration of President George W. Bush and the American Congress, but also by the extent to which a pro-Israel lexicon has taken hold within the mainstream media of the United States. Witness the pro-Israel bias displayed when discussing the situation in southern Lebanon, the air strike in Syria, or the Iranian situation, and the retarding of any effort toward a responsible discussion of anything dealing with Israel becomes apparent.”
My friend you forgot to mention the Palestinians. THE PALESTINIANS SCOTT, YOU FORGOT TO MENTION THEM. The Media has been wrong on the Palestinian issues too. They were able to make the victim look like the oppressor and the oppressor look like the victim. You yourself eluded to that. It’s been there Scott, and this is just another example of what I call ‘political prostitution.’
“One would expect such efforts to shape the domestic public opinion of a state deemed hostile, but when the target of these Israeli actions is its ostensible best friend, one must begin to question whether or not the friendship is a one-way street. And if this is indeed the case, then perhaps it is time for the United States to reconsider its decades-old policy of strategic partnership with Israel.”
Poor Scott, he really thinks it’s as easy as that. If it was that easy, the Palestinians would have been free a long time ago. It is an OCCUPATION Scott, not a relationship or ‘friendship’. Just ask the Palestinians about that relationship, they will tell you that anything short of an armed struggle will not free them from the “relationship” with Israel.
At the risk of appearing condescending, let me make it easy for you to understand, since you obviously are at a serious disadvantage here…
Once upon a time, the Palestinians were free people living on their land in peace and harmony…Then came the Israelis who occupied them militarily. Once upon a time there was a free nation called the United States of America, living free on the land, and, like what happened to the Palestinians, along came the Israelis and occupied them politically. I came from the land occupied by Israel to the land of the ‘free and the brave’ that turned out to be occupied by Israel too.
“It must be understood that the government of Ehud Olmert is acting in a post-9/11 environment, with considerable facilitators in the administration of President Bush, including the vice president. These two factors combine to create a cycle of ennoblement that allows a purely Israeli point of view to dominate American policy.”
Again, I don’t want to beat a dead horse to death, if you don’t like Bush Administration, just look back at Clinton’s.
“If the Israeli point of view were built on logic, compassion, and the rule of law, then this tilt would not constitute a problem.”
In your opinion, the Israeli point of view is built on “logic, compassion, and the rule of law” when dealing with the Palestinians. If this is your definition of logic, compassion and rule of law, then I would hate to see what you think are the opposites.
Israel, the only country to violate many UN resolutions demanding her to leave the Palestinian areas, release Palestinian prisoners, stop killing innocent civilians, return the Palestinian refugees back to their lands, and tear down the Apartheid wall is all the product of her ‘compassion, logic, and the rule of law?’ I guess now you will call Israel’s killing of Palestinian children, a compassionate killing. Let us have mercy on these starving, homeless Palestinians and help them get rid of this horrible life they are under by exterminating them. What book are you using for definitions on these words, the Complete Ariel Sharon Annotated Dictionary of Zionist Doublespeak? What compassion are you talking about? It’s a Holocaust Scott, worse than the one you mentioned in your article. You see Scott, that one, the one that we hear about EVERY DAMN MINUTE OF EVERY DAMN DAY we don’t really have the full story on that one, but this one involving the Palestinian Christians and Muslims is taking place before our eyes EVERY DAMN MINUTE OF EVERY DAMN DAY. ‘Never again’ you say? Give us all a break–It’s happening, over and over AND OVER AND OVER, again and again, in Palestine, in Lebanon, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Sudan, in Somalia, and many other places. Same bullets, same plans, less outrage and less tears.
“If Israel decides it wants to be our friend, then it will change its behavior accordingly. Absent this, America has no choice but to declare its independence from a relationship that has destroyed our credibility around the world and drags us dangerously down the path toward another irresponsible military misadventure in the Middle East.”
Again, I hate to rain on your parade Scotty, but just a mere ‘declaration of independence’ won’t do it buddy. The Palestinians learned that hard lesson a long time ago. If you really want to liberate America from Israel, nothing short of another American Revolution will suffice. America did not get its independence from England just by declaring it, it earned it by fighting for it, and by the way, England at the time had given us more freedom to govern and did not take as much of our resources as Israel does today. If our independence back then was worth the sacrifice, then our independence now is well worth it also.
You’re late coming to these conclusions Scott, just like many others whom we have allowed to steer the ship of state. I want to give credit where credit is due, but your latest ‘declaration’ is nothing short of being in the middle of hurricane Katrina as it is blowing everything to bits and saying, “Hey, we have a real mess on our hands here” when the rest of us were sounding the alarms much earlier.
Nevertheless, I suppose we should be grateful for every hand on deck, even if they do show up late when the Captain gives the call for battle stations, and in that spirit perhaps we should just end this piece by saying ‘better late than never.’