10 Jun, 2007

Jewish-American Neocon Openly Prays for Bush to Bomb Iran

Imtiaz Muqbil

Originally Published: 10 Jun 2007

On May 30, an opinion piece appeared in the pages of the Wall Street Journal with a very unequivocal message: It called on President Bush to bomb Iran. The concluding line is a revelation: “As an American and as a Jew, I pray with all my heart that he (President Bush) will (bomb Iran).”

So here we have it. An open and very public appeal and prayer for more conflict and violence by an American Jew named Norman Podhoretz, editor-at-large of Commentary. An adaptation of an address delivered at a conference organised by the Center for Jewish Studies at Queens College, City University of New York, in April, the column was a marketing pitch for Mr Podhoretz’ book, “World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism,” to be released on Sept. 11.

To back his “World War IV” argument, Mr Podhoretz describes “Islamofascism,” as “yet another mutation of the totalitarian disease we defeated first in the shape of Nazism and fascism and then in the shape of communism; it is global in scope; it is being fought with a variety of weapons, not all of them military; and it is likely to go on for decades.”

He says the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq should not be “regarded as self-contained wars” but rather “as fronts or theaters that have been opened up in the early stages of a protracted global struggle.” Iran should get similar treatment because it is now the “main center of the Islamofascist ideology against which we have been fighting since 9/11,” and “the main sponsor of terrorism” and “its effort to build a nuclear arsenal makes it the potentially most dangerous one of all.”

The rest is the usual dribble of lies and fabrications identical to the discredited, fraudulent and false arguments used to justify the attack on Iraq. Iranian President Mahmood Ahmedinejad is denounced for his “repeatedly and unequivocally announced” desire to “wipe Israel off the map.” Iran is painted as being threat to the oilfields, harbouring “a larger dream of extending the power and influence of Islam throughout Europe” and pursuing the ultimate goal to “the largest dream of all” — “a world without America.”

All the stereotypical scaremongering buzzwords which fooled the supposedly well-educated and well-informed Western citizenry and much of the world into backing the attack on Iraq are pressed yet again — “Hitler,” “appeasement” and of course that master-phrase, the “Holocaust”.

To authenticate and make his case appear more authoritative, Mr Podhoretz quotes fellow neocons John Bolton, Eliot Cohen and Bernard Lewis, all cohorts well known for their backing for the attack on Iraq, publicly-stated desire to redraw the map of the Middle East and, most important, ensure that Israel’s interests are protected at all costs.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the commentary is where Mr Podhoretz acknowledges that an attack on Iraq would probably lead to more American casualties in Iraq, a possible biological attack on Israel, “a vast increase in the price of oil, with catastrophic consequences for every economy in the world” and a reaction that would make the “anti-Americanism of today look like a lovefest.”

Although all these scenarios are “only too plausible”, Mr Podhoretz quotes the response given by Senator John McCain viz., “the only thing worse than bombing Iran is allowing Iran to get the bomb.”

In other words, Mr Podhoretz does not care about the consequences. Bomb first, fret later — just like Iraq.

I urge readers to please read the full article: http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110010139

Rather than call for condemnations of these calls for more violence, I would argue that we need more writers like Mr Podhoretz and more of their appeals and prayers — because as and when their prayers are granted, there will be absolutely no doubt about exactly whom to blame! And once their prayers are granted, they should also be brave enough to take full responsibility for the consequences.

Indeed, this is not the first such article. Several calls for an attack on Iran have already appeared in the neocon-backed American, Australian and European media, and the disinformation campaign to demonise Iran as the main troublemaker in Iraq and now as well in Afghanistan is in full swing.

Mr Podhoretz’ article not only proved right what many of us have long been saying about the dangerous role of these unaccountable and out-of-control Jewish neocons, but also raised a series of troubling questions that beg an answer:

<> As he is making his positions clear as an American and a Jew, what do non-Americans and non-Jews think about it?

<> If claiming to be an “American and a Jew” gives him the right to make such calls, inspite of Jews and Americans comprising a minority fraction of global populations, what level of attention should be paid to those who comprise a substantially larger share of the global population and want sanctions and other forms of punitive measures against Israel for its continued 40-year occupation of Arab lands, and violation of many a UN resolution calling for its unconditional withdrawal?

<> Would the Wall Street Journal like to give equivalent space to non-Americans and non-Jews to argue a contrary point?

<> What is the role played by these people and the various corporations, think tanks, research groups and media outlets they control in fomenting a Clash of Civilisations?

<> Are we wrong in asserting that the “war on terror” is really nothing more than a euphemism for a “war on Islam”?

<> Why does the Arab world continue to allow itself to be swayed and influenced by these neocons?

<> If a Muslim who supports acts of violence can be called an “Islamofascist,” why shouldn’t a Jew who also calls for an act of violence not be called a “Judeofascist”?

<> Is it about time to start seeking more accountability from these “Judeofascists” who apparently have just as little regard for human life as the “Islamofascists” they claim to be fighting?

<> And finally, if these people have no respect for human life, why should anyone pay any attention to the Holocaust and the lessons about the sanctity of human life that the world is supposed to learn from it?

As I said earlier, please do read the article. And re-read it when the first bombs begin to fall, and again when you lose your job in the economic meltdown that results.

And then decide whom to blame.