Seeking Israeli Investment: Bill Moves before AIPAC

 

The House Judiciary Committee marked up a bill granting Israeli investors access to the E-2 visa which allows foreign nationals making significant investments to live in the U.S.  Rep. Howard Berman spoke on his bill:

I appreciate marking up this bill and moving it quickly very much.

This bill will encourage Israeli business leaders to further invest in the United States. It will lead to the creation of jobs for American workers. The legislative scope is narrow, but when so many Americans are looking for jobs and families are struggling to make ends meet, every little bit helps. 

Our Nation will benefit from bringing their business to our shores.  The E-2 treaty investor visas will enable the business communities in both countries to increase their bilateral investment flow.

The E-2 investor visa program will strengthen the U.S.- Israeli relationship, boost the American middle class, help grow the economies of both countries.

Rep Gallegly added:

E-2 visas are temporary visas issued to foreign investors who come to the U.S. as executives or supervisors in order to develop and manage their investments.

This is "one of these opportunities where we can work in a bipartisan way to show our support for Israel, but also our support for the American economy."

Obama Not Bluffing on Iran

For more on President Obama's tough talk, read the AIPAC blurb and listen carefully to Obama's AIPAC speech, once it's delivered. 

Netanyahu on "Atrocious Massacres" of Trapped Citizens

The Jerusalem Post reported on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's upcoming meeting with President Obama:

Speaking at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said, "Our region is volatile and quickly changing in the North, South and East, including the atrocious massacre we are seeing in Syria against innocent civilians. All of these subjects will be raised at the meeting, but one issue will be central: the increasing power of Iran."

After Israel pummeled Gaza and its one million citizens, most of whom were innocents, Netanyahu offered:

"I'm sorry to say we haven't gotten the job done," the former prime minister, known for his hawkish views on peace talks, said in a radio interview Thursday. "It is clear that Hamas is rearming, clearly it is hitting us, clearly it is testing us. The next government will have no choice but to finish the job and uproot ... the Iranian terror base."

President-elect Obama sat on his hands while Israel killed scores of innocents between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009.  Here's the official U.S. position on civilian deaths from Secretary of State Condi Rice:

"It is very difficult in a circumstance like Gaza, which is a very densely populated area," to protect civilians.

Obama and Netanyahu will meet on March 5. 

Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to the United States next week, where he will address the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC's annual policy conference, which will be held from March 4-6.

Watch for a string of U.S. politicians talking tough on Iran at AIPAC.The official list includes:

• President of the United States Barack Obama
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
• Israeli President Shimon Peres
• Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
• Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
• Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)
• Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
• Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
• CNN Contributor Paul Begala
• Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile  
• Fox News Contributor Liz Cheney
• President of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Former Member of Congress Jane Harman
• Founding Editor, The Times of Israel David Horovitz
• CEO, Kathy Ireland Worldwide Kathy Ireland
• Editor of The Weekly Standard William Kristol
• Political Analyst for NBC News Mike Murphy
• Director, George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs; Former Anchor and Washington Bureau Chief, CNN Frank Sesno
• Middle East Commentator for Channel 2 Television, Israel Ehud Yaari

President Obama has requested $3.1 billion in military aid to Israel as part of his budget for fiscal year 2013.

Israel spends more on defense as a percentage of GDP than any Western country and nearly double that of the United States.

The public must be moved to war and any method is O.K..

Pentagon Shifts $100 Million to Iran

WSJ reported:

The Pentagon is beefing up U.S. sea- and land-based defenses in the Persian Gulf.

YNET added:

The readiness push, lead by the military's Central Command, indicates the extent to which war planners are taking tangible steps to prepare for a possible conflict with Iran, even as top White House and defense leaders try to emphasize other options over war. 

Officials said that the Pentagon submitted a request to Congress on February 7 on behalf of Central Command seeking to reallocate $100 million in defense funding to "bridge near-term capability gaps" in the Persian Gulf.

It's a global affair...

"(British) MoD planners went into overdrive at the start of the year. Conflict is seen as inevitable as long as the regime pursue their nuclear ambitions."

Haaretz reported:

A United Nations report on Iran's nuclear program proves that Israeli estimates concerning Tehran's progress were accurate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding that Iran was continuing to advance their efforts "uninterrupted."  

Spending as to war, which includes graphics like The Sun's.  The case for war may be more important than its conduct.  No support, no youth to sacrifice.

Which Middle East Nuclear Arms Race?

Haaretz reported

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Saturday a nuclear-armed Iran would trigger an arms race in the Middle East and nations should impose "crippling" sanctions on Iran to force it to give up its atomic program.

"A nuclear Iran is a threat to the whole world, not just to Israel ... Other major powers in the Middle East will have to try to reach nuclear capability, probably Saudi Arabia, probably Turkey, probably even Egypt," Barak told reporters in Tokyo.

The same article characterized Israel's nuclear weapons capabilities as:

Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, has said a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence. 

And what role does Israel's possession of several hundred nuclear weapons have on any Middle East nuclear arms race?

Consider the vectoring on the Iranian threat:

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in an interview published on Saturday Iran was trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability and if it succeeded it would set off a dangerous round of nuclear proliferation across the Middle East.

United Nations Chief Ban Ki-Moon kept the theme going.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said today in Vienna that Iranian assertions that its nuclear program is peaceful are unconvincing and that it is up to the government in Tehran to dispel suspicions about its atomic work.

While “the onus is on the Iranian side to convince the international community that their nuclear program is genuinely peaceful,” Ban said

Contrasting this line of thought was U.S. General Martin Dempsey, currently visiting Israel:

Gen. Dempsey said that Iran is a "rational actor" and that the U.S. thinks that Iran has not yet decided whether to make a nuclear weapon.

Middle Eastern countries may have noticed President Obama's appointment of neocon and Israel lover Dennis Ross to manage the Iranian problem in 2009.  Oddly, White House retiree Dennis Ross wrote three days ago:

Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have consistently called for “crippling sanctions,” reflecting a belief that Iran’s behavior could be changed with sufficient pressure. The fact that crippling sanctions have finally been applied means that Israel is more likely to give these sanctions and the related diplomatic offensive a chance to work. And it should.

Ehud Barak's comments weren't for giving already imposed, crippling sanctions time to work.  Does this mean "crippling sanctions" is just a meme, repeatedly stated no matter how high or costly sanctions become for the Iranian people?

A meme in the opposite direction is the U.S. call for Israel to "stop building settlements."  Frankly, the words have no meaning after decades of use. 

Did Middle East countries watch the West turn its back on Libya's Gadhafi?  This occurred despite Gadhafi's renouncing nuclear weapons, investing heavily in Western private equity firms and opening Libya to foreign corporations, albeit not fast enough.

The common denominator for U.S. led Western intervention is a Project for New American Century piece, "Rebuilding America's Defenses."  Neocons, including the aforementioned Dennis Ross, called for Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran to fall under American influence.  Two down, two in play.

As for the Middle East arms race, what role did Israel play with its deep nuclear weapons capability and razing of Gaza and Southern Lebanon?  'How does $2.5 billion a year in American military aid factor in?

Update:  Tom Donilon (of Fannie Mae fame) visited Israel in his role of National Security Czar.  Israel's desire to strike Iran is growing   Netanyahu will tell Donilon the only test of sanctions is a positive outcome. "Any measure that doesn't stop Iran's nuclear program is inadequate."  Western banks in Iran won't stop any attack.

Update 2-19-12:  British Foreign Secretary Hague said if Iran succeeds in developing nuclear weapons, there will either be a war or a cold war.  "Either way, [Iran] will be attacked and there will be a war."

Update 2-22-12:  The U.S. State Department said it is closely consulting Israel in regard to Iran's nuclear program.  Obama spokesman Jay Carney's Iran language sounds like Ari Fleischer on Iraq.  Should I change the name of this blog to Carney's Freedom Switch?  Nah...

Update 2-23-12:  Iranian missiles could hit U.S. East Coast in 2-3 years, according to an Israeli official.  Another tooth in the cog of war.

Switch is On

The switch is nearly complete. Democracy is "out of date" and needs to be replaced by totalitarianism so the greedy can make more money.

The Carlyle Group closed its Cairo office last year in response to the political turmoil (call for democracy) in Egypt, re-locating personnel from there to its Dubai operation. 

State capitalism ensures greater returns for the purveyors of the Government-Corporate Monstrosity (GCM), Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex (MIC) on trillions in federal budget steroids.

The last task will be to round up the un-American, who have no rights to privacy or a trial in front of their peers.  How long before the U.S. re-imports summary execution at the hands of those charged with protecting?

Mindless drones are coming.

Drone Lobby Presentation

Update 2-12-12:  Middle East private equity deals were down due to "last year's Arab Spring uprisings introduced political uncertainty into the equation."  How long before the new totalitarians, wielding State Capitalism, replace messy democracy?

Update 2-28-12:  Congress passed a bill making public protests illegal at events with a Secret Service presence.  It's Obama-Bush's to sign.  Will a Jeffersonian figure rise as a result?

44% of Americans support strike against Iran

The Jerusalem Post reported:

In the United States, 44 percent of those polled supported bombing Iran's nuclear facilities, whereas only 23% of British, 20% of Middle Easterners, and 18% of Germans supported such a move.

It seems those who've had war at their doorstep the last century aren't excited for it to return. 

In the Middle East - defined as the Gulf states, North Africa and the Levant - Iran sanctions enjoyed the support of 44% of the population, still only a fraction of the 70% support seen in the United States.

It's a Red/Blue PNAC'ers dream.  Iraq?  Check.  Libya?  Check, despite Gadhafi's dropping nuclear weapons and offering to play with Western corporation.  Syria?  In play.  Iran?  Up next.

With its ability to use a small fleet of frigates and fast patrol craft, along with submarines, mines, and advanced anti-ship cruise missiles, Iran also represents a hybrid threat. Iran’s coastline and 17 islands in the Persian Gulf are a strategic choke point in the maritime commons and a potential challenge to the U.S. military. Iranian military doctrine suggests that it will employ asymmetric tactics that exploit the constricted geographic character of the gulf and the advanced systems that it has acquired

The Center for New American Security reported:

Natural gas from Turkmenistan may one day flow through Afghanistan, for example, en route to Pakistani and Indian cities and ports, one of several possible energy links between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Both the Chinese port in Gwadar, Pakistan, and the Indian port in Chah Bahar, Iran, may eventually be connected to oil- and natural-gas-rich Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and other former Soviet republics.

The political foundation has been laid. It's up to war planners to deliver the New American Century, where America can project its power anywhere on the globe.

Update 2-11-12:  Even the neocons are back.