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Oct. 30, 2006 In a recent poll commissioned by the Council for National Interest and conducted by Zogby International, it was found that 39% of Americans believe, with varying degrees of conviction, that Israel was a key factor in the decisions to invade Iraq and to press Iran on the nuclear issue. 40% disagreed, with more or less certainty, while 22% expressed no opinion. http://www.cnionline.org/learn/polls/czandlobby/index2.htm It’s hard for me to understand how 61% of Americans can be in denial or oblivion on this subject, but I would have put the figure even higher, judging by the way I’ve heard Americans talking. I was a little dubious of the poll though, as it was conducted by Zogby International, founded by John Zogby, an American of Arab extraction. On matters like this, I would prefer to rely on disinterested sources, in order to avoid any bias. But I see that The Jewish Daily Forward is taking the poll quite seriously, so that sets my doubts aside as well. http://www.forward.com/articles/report-fbi-in-expanded-aipac-probe/ AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) was dismissive of the poll however. I guess they know they wield enough power that they do not have to be concerned with what hoi polloi think. As the article in The Forward mentions, AIPAC’S former agents, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, have been indicted for receiving classified information from the Pentagon. It’s truly odd that AIPAC can still swing its weight in Washington, as if immune to any wider congressional investigation of what may be tantamount to espionage. There are also suggesations in The Forward’s article that the FBI may have investigated AIPAC for trying to rig a congressional appointment, though this issue may be dormant. In another poll, conducted by TNS and released by the Washington Post, it was found that 76% of Americans believe that the war with Iraq has damaged America’s reputation in the world at large. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13587 Most of the proponents of the war, by their own admission, couldn’t care less about America’s reputation, provided only that America remain the most powerful nation of all. But for those of us who like to think of the US as the land of integrity and decency, it’s distressing to perceive that the invasion of Iraq was a fraud, instigated by and large by a foreign nation, Israel, in its own interest without any tangible benefit for the US. It’s even more distressing that many or most Americans can’t comprehend this fact, or pretend that they think it’s a myth. Anyway, 39% of 78% is about 30%, and this means that about 30% of Americans believe that Israel was a key factor in having the US wage a war that has damaged the US’s reputation. Too bad the other 70% can’t see the light of day! If they could, we could start thinking of plucking this thorn out of our side. The TNS poll found also that 47% of Americans think that the American presence has been instrumental in upgrading the lives of Iraqis. The war has cost the US $12,400 per Iraqi. My feeling is that the average Iraqi would probably rather see the $12,400 than streets littered with bodies and rubble. Of course, what a large sector of the population thinks and what the truth really is may well be entirely unrelated, as in the days of flat-earthers, but it's heartening to see the general public moving in the right direction in their thinking about Israel, even if the White House and Congress are still held in the grips of their mania. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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