As of this writing, it remains unclear whether Mubarek will hold onto power in Egypt. As I pointed out before, the implications for peace in the region are enormous, as an undermining of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel could spark regional war.
There is understandable caution among the governments of the U.S. and Israel, and people who care about avoiding a destabilizing Iranian-style revolution.
But the Media Matters anti-“Israel lobby” machine never pauses for thought or reflection. And neither does M.J. Rosenberg of Media Matters, a former “Israel lobbyist” whose new religion is bashing the “Israel lobby.”
Media Matters “Political Correction Project,” through Rosenberg, already is seeking to blame Israel’s supporters in the U.S. for the crisis, AIPAC’s Egypt Miscalculation:
If one needs additional proof that the “pro-Israel” lobby and the policies it dictates to US policymakers are bad for both the U.S. and Israel, look no further than what is happening in Egypt.
The regime that the Israeli government and its U.S. lobby have depended upon to enforce the status quo is going down. It is not clear when, but it’s going to be soon, much sooner than anyone ever anticipated. And you can be sure that any democratic government that takes Mubarak’s place is not going to play the role of America’s (let alone Israel’s) enforcer in the Middle East.
The notion that the “Israel lobby” is responsible for the problems in Egypt is preposterous.
Using that logic, why isn’t the anti-Israel lobby to blame; after all, those who argued that the U.S. needed more “balance” in the Middle East long have advocated greater support for existing governments of Egypt and other Arab countries. The calls for greater democracy in the Middle East, even at the risk of destabilizing authoritarian governments, have come not from the anti-Israel lobby, but from the pro-Israel “neocons” and George W. Bush.
In the quest to demonize the “Israel Lobby,” Media Matters and Rosenberg take two unconnected issues and create a false causation argument.
At least they haven’t blamed Sarah Palin. But give it time.
Update: By the way, if you want a good example of how Media Matters deceptively spreads its talking points, Rosenberg wrote the column linked above for a Media Matters project as part of his job for Media Matters, but then re-posted the same column at TPM without any indication that the column originally was written for and paid for by Media Matters.
Update 2-1-2011: I brought the lack of attribution to Josh Marshall’s attention on January 29, but so far no response or updated disclosure at TPM.
——————————————–
Related Posts:
I Am Just A Member Of The Tribe
Why Do Leftist Jewish Bloggers Love The Dual Loyalty Smear?
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
Visit the Legal Insurrection Shop on CafePress!
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
OMG…I wrote that in the end the haters would blame it all on Israel.It is scary that they wasted no time..Perhaps we all just understand the mental illness that is the anti-Israel movement
http://libertysspirit.blogspot.com/2011/01/cultural-relativism-political.html
Does Rosenberg understand that we deal with the government of Egypt because they ARE the government of Egypt? Of course not. In this way leftists like Rosenberg are exactly like the reactionary ignoramuses across the region who think that America and "the Jews" are so powerful they could snap their fingers and have a new government made to order in an instant, that we refuse to "give" them democratic, responsive government because then it wouldn't do our bidding. Absolutely batshit crazy.
Isn't it beautiful? If there's one thing this entire sweep of events is showing is that Israel and settlements have absolutely nothing to do with the real problems in the Middle East. Honest analysts will take note.
I sometimes wonder if these people have ever looked at a world map. Israel is surrounded by huge nations, oil rich nations, tiny in comparison to those nations surrounding it. Yet, it is always Israel that must make concessions compared to these other nations.
And I have to wonder what causes people like Rosenberg to turn on his own. He seems like he would have enjoyed being a guard at a Nazi concentration camp; you know, siding with the enemy to save his own hide.
When Mubarak took to the tv cameras yesterday, he said nothing about Israel (the standard "Blame Israel" meme that so many subscribe to). The problems in Egypt are internal, not external. But Egyptians should be careful what they wish for. The happenings in Egypt the last couple of days remind me of the Iranian uprising when the mobs outed the Shah and Jimmy Carter kneecapped the Shah. YouTube is full of videos of a Shah controlled Iran; massive building projects, Iran's own airline, women in positions of power both in the civilian realm and in the military, mini-skirts, female scientists, even a cheer leading squad for their soccer teams. Then came the "revolution", and now look at Iran. A fanatical, Islamist nation that poses not just a threat to the entire region but to the U.S. and Europe.
Perhaps Rosenberg should look at the entire Middle East and tell us which nation is truely a democracy. Islam is not conducive to freedom, but I don't think Rosenberg ever gave that a thought.
We can only hope for the best of the worst case senarios in Egypt; that the citizens replace their government with those that want to bring Egypt into the 21st century, but alas, I fear the Muslim Brotherhood has already gotton a foothold on that nation. If the Muslim Brotherhood manages a coup, we will see another nation emerge that looks very much like Iran.
No American is safe from leftist propaganda as long as Media Matters is allowed to spout it. There is no chance they will publish the truth about anything.
The latest news is that Mubarak has appointed his security chief (top spy) Suleiman to be his VP which signals that Mubarak is likely to step down. The question is whether the people will accept Suleiman since he is a Mubarak crony.
It's not clear to me that El Baradei is acceptable either. It all dependes on whether this is a truly grassroots pro-democracy uprising or just Muslim Brotherhood-sponsored riots to create ongoing discord until their guy surfaces.
On the other hand, Michael Scheuer (CIA terror analyst) is reading today's latest developments, particularly Mubarak shipping his family to London and elevating his cronies, as an ominous sign that he is determined to win and will soon launch a violent military assault.
Ah, well, just remember Tom Lehrer's classic, National Brotherhood Week, which reminds us that:
Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics
And the Catholics hate the Protestants
And the Hindus hate the Moslems
And everybody hates the Jews
Now King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is denouncing the protests.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/01/29/egypt.middle.east.reaction/index.html?hpt=T2
This is a real mess for us diplomatically. It is the direct of forming unholy alliances based on expediency and devoid of principle. On the one hand, we may be witnessing the demise of some really ugly regimes that fund much of the anti-West terrorism were Egypt and Saudi Arabia to fall. But then they would be replaced by radical anti-West regimes who want to destroy all of Western civilization and will start with Israel first.
This is not going to work out well for us if we don't find the spine to defend our principles when engaging in international diplomacy. America is not an anachronism constrained by an obsolete Constitution. We Americans embrace our Constitution yet our leaders insist on kow-towing to foreign interests by denigrating the American culture seeking tomorrow's profit unconcerned about the destruction waiting for us at the end of that road.
If this Egyptian uprising is going to result in a favorable outcome of freedom for Egyptians who feel warmly about America, we are going to have to stop this "on the one hand but on the other hand" dialog that is going on among our top leaders. Stand on principle! American principles!
Part of the dialogue should include a "grown up talk" that the Egyptian people have never given us an alternative to forging agreements with their Mubaraks. If they want to be free, they have to FIGHT for freedom and then INSTITUTIONALIZE it. Freedom is not a gift that someone can give you and not a single American life should be wasted fighting the fight for them.
We need to know what they plan to do once Mubarak is out and the Muslim Brotherhood is not acceptable. With that as a backdrop, we have a foundation for giving the possibility of a better life for Egyptians. Without that, the odds of this working out well are near zero.
This uprising will be just another opportunity for "workers of the world" or "Muslims of the world" to unite to bring about a world that is much more violent and less free.
The worst kind of coward is a man who eagerly throws the most vulnerable under the bus in order to appear "charitable", and to selfishly shield himself from any criticism that (supposedly) would otherwise be directed his way. That's M.J. Rosenberg, typing away from his safe, cozy confines while the Israelis live in perpetual fear for their very existence.
Phil, you must also accept that these are not people with Western values that are protesting. They are, first and foremost, Muslims and in Islam, there is no such thing as "free will" since all human events have already been predetermined by Allah. Iran is a prime example of why totalitarianism is allowed to flourish. Do you think that life in Iran is now better than it was under the Shah? Think again.
We, as Americans, tend to view the Middle East through the eyes our own values. But when you are a member of a religious group that believes you really have nothing to say in the events of your life because a higher power controls all things, individualism is lost and that gives groups like the Muslim Brotherhood an advantage.
There is NO good that will now come out of Egypt.
The Obama administration reacts to the situation in Egypt: http://tiny.cc/5t66i
What MJ neglects is that in stirring up potential anti-Israel feelings, which then lead to anti-Jewish stirrings, he has forgotten that he is Jewish and eventually, he'll pay for his own stupidities.
What do Egyptians really want?
“about three out of four agree with seeking to "require Islamic countries to impose a strict application of sharia," and to "keep Western values out of Islamic countries." Two-thirds would even like to "unify all Islamic counties into a single Islamic state or caliphate."
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/incl/printable_version.php?pnt=346
Mideast Expert Phares: Egyptian Turmoil Could Push It Into Jihad hands
“prominent Egyptian cleric, Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazali, an official of Al Azhar University,… "A secularist represents a danger to society and the nation that must be eliminated. It is the duty of the government to kill him.";
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/the_muslim_mainstream_and_the.html
In Herman Wouk's classic story of World War II 'War and Remembrance' there is an unforgettable character who reminds me strongly of people like Rosenberg. the character was a Jew who became a Catholic and wrote a best-selling book called 'A Jew's Jesus'. He and his daughter (who was married to one of the main character's sons) eventually ended up in Auschwitz. The old man died; the daughter managed to survive.
That character was a perfect example of the Rosenberg mindset. "Oh, I'm so sophisticated and un-Jewish, they won't come for me because I write what they like to hear.' Well, sooner or later, forces like Islam or Communism (both ideals that Rosenberg apparently professes to favor)WILL come for those on their enemies' list. And history shows over and over again that it doesn't matter then how 'un-Jewish' one is. In your enemy's eyes, it doesn't matter. Rosenberg is one more useful idiot egging on the forces that will eventually destroy him. And the poor fool doesn't even realize it.
Remind me again why we should pay any attention to these supposed 'intelligentsia'?