U.S.-Israel Political Maneuvers Go Deep and Dark

Steve Clemons at the Washington Note has a piece observing  a new development in the increasingly adversarial U.S.-Israeli relationship: More secrecy.

As AIPAC boasts on its website of its influence on our Congress in imposing “crippling sanctions on Iran,” AIPAC’s long-held policy position detailed in a letter “[s]igned by over three-quarters of the entire Congress – 81 senators and 366 House members,” Clemons notes “AIPAC itself has sent out this past week a roster of statements from Obama administration officials, that showed that much had been done to move the hard edged differences between the administration [and Israel] out of the public and into private channels.”

Considering that our republic is founded on the foundation that the consent of citizens direct our elected representatives, this move towards secrecy (private channels) appears antithetical to democratic notions of citizens deciding the direction of public policy.

We are engaged in a political fight with a political enemy, but this fight ought to be discussed endlessly in the public sphere of our country.

In these pages Jeff Gates writes, “[f]orced to face the reality of an enemy within, [Israel], our military leadership signaled Obama that they are prepared to cover his back. The oath of office mandates a defense against all enemies. Yet it also places our defense under civilian control. …”

Civilian control indeed, American citizen control. Let’s reaffirm the alliance between American citizens and our government, a tradition dating back to our first president who warned of the dangers of foreign nations who seek to influence the American people and its government.