Thursday, 26 February 2009

February 26, 2009
 
"Still Time?"
 
It appears that the appointment of Chas Freeman to the chair of the National Intelligence Council is not yet final. This according to Ron Kampeas of the JTA, today.
 
Kampeas cites Steve Rosen, formerly with AIPAC, who has written in his blog that:
 
"Freeman is a strident critic of Israel, and a textbook case of the old-line Arabism that afflicted American diplomacy at the time the State of Israel was born...[Freeman's] views of the region are what you would expect of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, with which he maintains an extremely close relationship, and not the top CIA position for analytic products going to the president of the United States."
 
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And so, my friends in the US, I urge you to make your voice heard. 
 
You can register your protest to President Obama, at:
 
Phone: 202-456-1111   Fax; 202-456-2461  Via e-mail form at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
 

To locate your representatives in Congress, see:

http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml

To locate your senators:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

At the bottom of this posting I will include the members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence again.
 
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The Likud negotiating team continues to meet with the right wing/religious parties that are expected to be part of the governing coalition.  Lots of rumors regarding who will get what, nothing definitive yet.
 
Tomorrow is the final time that Netanyahu will be meeting with Livni, in order to coax her to form a unity government. I will not rest altogether easy until after that meeting and her final rejection.
 
Many theories have been advanced as to why he is pursuing her so vigorously -- including the notion that he is really courting the "rebels" of Kadima, who will be annoyed at her refusal and break away to return to Likud.  But today I picked up what might be some inside information that tends to indicate that he really means it.  Why?  So she cannot undermine from the opposition -- she will be, in essence, co-opted.  My thought is that she'd do more undermining from within.
 
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Netanyahu has said that he would make concessions to bring Livni in, including some commitment to negotiate with the Palestinians.  He stopped short, however, of being ready to commit to a "two-state solution."  This is the essence of her position.
 
Netanyahu also plans to try to convince Secretary of State Clinton -- who will be here next week -- that a Palestinian unity government is a bad idea, and that the US should isolate Hamas.
 
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US Envoy Mitchell -- after a meeting with Livni -- had a talk with Netanyahu.  It went surprisingly well, according to reports.  There was no pressure brought to bear at this point regarding settlements or any other  matter.
 
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Laugh of the day:  PM Olmert said in a statement in Ashkelon today that he was "within a whisker" of making an agreement with the Palestinians, but political realities intervened. This strikes me like being a little bit pregnant.  If "political realities" intervened, he wasn't that close.  I, for one, am convinced the PA would never settle under any terms, and certainly not on the terms that even Olmert might have offered. 
 
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Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chair of the Committee
Phone: (202) 224-3841   Fax: (202) 228-3954
 
Christopher (Kit) Bond (R-MO) Vice Chair (important to reach)
Phone: (202) 224-5721
 
Others who are friends, and should hear from us:
 
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Phone: (202) 224-5251   Fax: (202) 224-6331
For e-mail form: http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact
 
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
 
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Phone: 202-224-5754   Fax: 202-224-6008
For e-mail form: http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCoburn.Home
 
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Phone: (202) 224-5623   Fax: (202) 228-1377
For e-mail form: http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/
 
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Phone: (202) 224-4654   Fax: (202) 224-8858
 
Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Phone: (202) 224-5344   Fax: (202) 224-1946
 
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Posted by Britannia Radio at 22:14