AIPAC is in big trouble and the media here is ignoring it. If this was, say, the National Rifle Association or NARAL, this story would be on page one.
But it's AIPAC, and few want to mess with it. (NEW: The Jewish FORWARD is on the case).
The story is explained in Al Jazeera and, first, in the Antiwar.com piece but is carried in the court filings by AIPAC and its ex-employee Steve Rosen who was fired by the lobby after being indicted under the Espionage Act (the case never went to trial).
So if you don't trust Al Jaz or Antiwar, go directly to AIPAC's filings for it all in raw, (very raw) form.
So now Rosen is suing AIPAC for "unlawful dismissal" and defamation of character. If he wins, AIPAC could have trouble meeting the mortgage payments on its brand new eight story headquarters a few blocks from the Capitol.
So, on November 10th, it fired back at Rosen.
I am not going into the details except to say that with all the illicit goings on at AIPAC (this is a X rated document), it is hard to believe it had the time to intimidate the entire US Congress into permanent submission.
Beyond the smut, the most shocking revelation in the court documents is when Rosen reveals that immediately upon being told by the FBI that he was in serious trouble, and being warned by AIPAC's counsel to come immediately to his office and talk to no one in advance, he immediately ran to meet with the #2 at the Israeli embassy!
Now it's war. AIPAC is putting out everything it has on Rosen and Rosen is about to put out everything he has on AIPAC. If he does -- he won't, it appears, if AIPAC pays him off -- it is probably the end of the organization. Why? Because Rosen's claim, which he will back up with documents in his possession, is that his operations -- which AIPAC claims was more like those of "a secret agent than a lobbyist" -- were standard operating procedure for the lobbying powerhouse. And that would mean that AIPAC is not a domestic lobbying organization at all, but something very, very different.
AIPAC is on the brink.
Soon we may hear Congress singing, "Free at last..."
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"A lobby is like a midnight flower, it thrives in the dark and wilts in the light"
[Rosen]
www.ifamericansknew.org
Call your representatives and ask that they pledge allegiance to J Street and divest from AIPAC because AIPAC has allegations against it for being a foreign agent of the Israeli government. Plain and simple. That's it. You can even just let the aide who answers relay the message. Hell. Be vigilant. Send letters.
Disassemble their policies which support:
(1) occupation
(2) settling
(3) falsification of an Iranian nuclear threat and stoking possible world conflict
(4) control our media and politicians (ask Politicans to divest towards more moderate groups like J-Street or the NIAC for foreign policy in the Middle East).
Spread the word, get voters to actually vote. Voting is the key. The voter turnout in this country is horrendous. It's like 30%, so 5% of the population pwns. Cantor is such a whip.
The US will never get rid of this burden.
cantor will save them.
Cantor, Israel's representative in Congress:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/101112_cantor.jpg
He also led the Jewish caucus of Congressman that, for the first time in history, reprimanded OUR President for being too "harsh" at Netanyahu after he insulted our VP and slapped us in the face with a settlement expansion announcement. We were asking them to stop their illegal settlement building because it was, according to our CENTCOM commanders, Gen. Mullen and Gen. Petraeus, causing ACTUAL HARM to our troops. When told we were concerned about our troops and needed Israel to stop it's ILLEGAL practice, they embarrassed our VP, told our Prez he can't call out Israel for its wrongs and should apologize to a FOREIGN Prez, and now Obama is an enemy of Israel.
No problem; the guys would just move into the Capitol, where they really belong.
I am reading the document now. The filings are not as massive as you would think. Typical verified complaints with supporting affidavits for far smaller matters can reach 150 pages easy.
Probably, this document is a declaration against interest or a party admission in any trial that would question AIPAC's status here. There are numerous statements that confirm AIPAC's manipulation of US media and politics to exert undue influence on US foreign policy, and this is from an insider, Rosen.
The translation from civil trial to the criminal arena is where the next battle lies and it is one AIPAC often wins. Too bad, this time, they're fighting amongst themselves and prone to a lot of public relations damage once America begins learning about AIPAC, USS Liberty, Stephen Walt (haha), Jonathon Pollard, the realities of the occupation and more. Not to mention our military is getting pretty pissed at the Israeli war hawks who keep beating their chests on our behalves when all we want them to do is shut up and sit in the back somewhere out of view.
I'll be back to relate on what I found if no other person gets to a good summary sooner.
Finally, I'm not really much of a hero myself as compared to some other brave folks who have done far greater work than me. We are all in the struggle together - it is a human one. I hope to share your praise, then, with those other individuals who sometimes go unrecognized. I choose peace for my children and I hope one day that resonates with people who continue to fight the wars of their fathers and fail to repair past wrongs.
Anyway, either tomorrow or the next there will be summaries to show your a liar liar nose as long as a telephone wire Saint Poopypants!
Ending to Munich: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0fmQTS_ETw&feature=related
(And P.S. to the Moderators: Please don't block my message this time. There is no violence in this scene and nothing derogatory. It is commentary on the hawkishness of Israel and the silencing of doves. Peace.)
P.S.S. Author David Grossman: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11241#schedule
* May 2005 - Larry Franklin, a former employee of the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans, is indicted for passing to lobbyists for AIPAC information about US policy on Iran.
* Around mid-2005: The Justice Department expands its investigation into AIPAC spying case to include whether Harman schemed with AIPAC to have wealthy supporters lobby House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to reappoint Harman as top Democrat on the House intel committee. In return, it was alleged that Harman said she'll press DOJ to go easy on Steve Rosen and Ken Weissman, two former AIPAC staffers implicated in Franklin indictment.
* Aug 2005: Rosen and Weissman are indicted (pdf) for receiving classified information from Franklin.
* Oct 2005 - Franklin pleads guilty to unauthorized disclosure of classified information, and is later sentenced to almost 13 years in prison.
* Around Oct 2005: An NSA wiretap picks up a phone call between Harman and a "suspected Israeli agent," discussing the quid pro quo involving Rosen, Weissman, and the intel chair job. (A different report suggests that the wiretap was carried out not by the NSA, but by the FBI, as part of the Rosen-Weissman probe.)
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/the_harman-aipac_story_a_timeline.php