President Obama has selected Chas Freeman to be chairman of the National Intelligence Council.
I know I'm generally pro-Israel, but I have problems with a speech he gave to the Zionist Organization of America concerning the Arab residents of East Jerusalem:
[T]he truly unforgivable mistake of the authorities was the failure to intervene on a timely basis to nip the demonstrations in the bud, rather than -- as would have been both wise and efficacious -- to intervene with force when all other measures had failed to restore domestic tranquility. . . .
"I do not believe it is acceptable for any country to allow the heart of its national capital to be occupied by dissidents intent on disrupting the normal functions of government, however appealing to foreigners their propaganda may be. Such folk should expect to be displaced with despatch [sic] from the ground they occupy.
This is straight out of the playbook of Meir Kahane, and it's despicable.
Oh, wait, that speech wasn't in front of the Zionist Organization of America.
That was an article he wrote defending the CHINESE government's massacre of democracy activists at Tiananmen Square
He's actually been a strident critic of Israel, and as such, he's been getting praise in many diaries here.
Of course, his view on that issue may be colored by his having served on the board of the Chinese National Offshore Oil Cooperative, a Chinese state company that it engaging in neo-colonialism in eastern Africa, and, by its very nature (a Chinese oil company) is at the center of many national security issues.
In addition to the concerns we have with Ambassador Freeman which we have already communicated to you, we would ask you to pay particular attention to the following issue: soon the National Intelligence Council (NIC) will be tasked to produce National Intelligence Estimates on the Islamic Republic of Iran and the People's Republic of China. Ambassador Freeman served on the Board of Directors of the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), which is owned by the People's Republic of China.
As you may know, CNOOC also has significant business dealings with Iran. In fact, in 2007, CNOOC signed a $16 billion agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop Iran's North Pars gas field. CNOOC's investment in Iran's energy sector constitutes a possible violation of U.S. law. In addition, CNOOC's investment in Iran's energy sector deliberately undermines the foreign policy objectives of the United States, Europe and the United Nations Security Council.
And no, regardless of what these specific Congresspeople care about, Iran and anyone else in the Middle East is not half as much of a national security threat as China. That is a real conflict of interest that should dissuade any reasonable progressive from supporting his appointment.
But he's anti-Israel, so apparently he's fine and dandy.
Someone please explain this logic.