Obama's 'helplessness' an act:

Snowden reveals scale of US aid to

Israel
US President Barack Obama, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin etan!ah", #dward Snowden
$%e"ters&'(P Photo)
*he t"rmoil +rippin+ the Middle #ast is a direct res"lt of the provision of
cash, weapons and s"rveillance to Israel b! the US, the latest Snowden leak
ill"strates, Obama-s .helpless detachment/ is j"st for show, the Intercept-s
0lenn 0reenwald writes,
In a bold e1amination, the former 0"ardian jo"rnalist reveals the ama2in+
contrast between what the United States sa!s p"blicl!, and what it does
behind the c"rtain, *his involves President Barack Obama-s apparent
heartbreak over the Middle #astern re+ion, as well as the 'merican love for
p"blicl! listin+ Israel as a threat to re+ional peace at a time when billions of
dollars- worth of its weaponr! and intelli+ence were bein+ s"pplied to the
3ewish state since the 4567s,
0reenwald has p"blished his anal!sis of the latest leaked #dward
Snowden doc"ment of 'pril 48, 8749, wherein it-s e1plained j"st how false
the notion that the US is a b!stander to the Middle #astern crisis reall! is,
In fact, :the sin+le lar+est e1chan+e between S' and ISU is on tar+ets in
the Middle #ast which constit"te strate+ic threats to US and Israeli
interests,: the leaked paper reveals,
:*he m"t"all! a+reed "pon +eo+raphic tar+ets incl"de the co"ntries of
orth 'frica, the Middle #ast, the Persian 0"lf, So"th 'sia, and the Islamic
rep"blics of the former Soviet Union, ;ithin that set of co"ntries,
cooperation covers the e1ploitation of internal +overnmental, militar!, civil
and diplomatic comm"nications< and e1ternal sec"rit!&intelli+ence
or+ani2ations,:
One of the :ke! priorities: of this cooperation is :the Iranian n"clear
development pro+ram, followed b! S!rian n"clear e=orts, >ebanese
?i2b"llah plans and intentions, Palestinian terrorism, and 0lobal 3ihad,:*he
paper talks abo"t :tar+etin+ and e1ploitin+: these,
It +oes on to show that both intelli+ence services have liaison o@cers in
each other's embassies, enjo! a :cr!ptanal!tic: partnership, and that Israel
has direct access to the hi+hest 'merican militar! technolo+!, 0reenwald
s"pplements this with proof of millions in emer+enc! US f"nds stockpiled in
the Middle #ast, which Israel can "se for its own strate+ic p"rposes b!
simpl! writin+ a reA"est,
Over the last decade, 0reenwald writes, the S' has "pped the ante
+reatl! on s"rveillance technolo+!, f"ndin+ of operations and weapons to
its Israeli co"nterpart, the SI0I* ational Unit, ' b"lk of this assistance
has been "sed to B+ht its battles with occ"pied Palestine C incl"din+ the
0a2a operation, as well as other re+ional pla!ers,
On at least one occasion, a covert transaction of a massive pa!ment in cash
to Israeli operatives was carried o"t as part of the 'merican initiative of
"sin+ Israel and other USDsponsored actors $incl"din+ 'rab monarchies) to
do its s"rveillance on Palestinian tar+ets for it,
*he new doc"ments "nderscore the indispensable, direct involvement of
the US +overnment and its ke! allies in Israeli a++ression a+ainst its
nei+hbors, *hat covert s"pport is sA"arel! at odds with the post"re of
helpless detachment t!picall! adopted b! Obama o@cials and their
s"pporters,/ 0reenwald bl"ntl! states,
*hat is despite the US president-s statement on how .heartbreakin+/ it is to
see the 0a2a crisis "nravel,.as if he-s j"st a b!stander, watchin+ it all
"nfold/, wrote Eore! %obin, a Brookl!n Eolle+e Professor,.Obama talks
abo"t 0a2a as if it were a nat"ral disaster, an "ncontrollable biolo+ical
Israeli soldiers from the Givati brigade return to Israel from Gaza August 3, 2014. (Reuters!az Ratner"
event,/
0reenwald +oes on to list the occasions on which the US has been e1posed
as s"ppl!in+ arms to Israel< the last s"ch occasion was j"st before the start
of the operation in 0a2a, wherein a F4 billion stockpile of amm"nition the
US stored in Israel speciBcall! for sit"ations like these was "sed, *he ori+ins
of this partic"lar stockpile date back to the 4557-s, when the US #"ropean
Eommand alle+edl! stocked it there for f"t"re "se,
;hat was not known to man! is that Israel onl! had to make an emer+enc!
reA"est to have access to it, One s"ch case was the 8776 war a+ainst
?e2bollah in >ebanon,
("rther s"pport involved m"ltiple U resol"tions shieldin+ Israel from
international condemnation and enablin+ it C somethin+ 0reenwald sees as
pec"liar, +iven the 'merican media-s shocked reaction at how the Middle
#ast sit"ation s"pposedl! takes on a life of its own, despite ever!one-s best
#ournalist ins$e%t the damaged buildings after Israeli air raids in southern !eirut #ul& 20 200'. (Reuters"
e=orts,
*he new Snowden doc"ments ill"strate a cr"cial fact: Israeli a++ression
wo"ld be impossible witho"t the constant, lavish s"pport and protection of
the US +overnment, which is an!thin+ b"t a ne"tral, peaceDbrokerin+ part!
in these attacks, 'nd the relationship between the S' and its partners on
the one hand, and the Israeli sp!in+ a+enc! on the other, is at the center of
that enablin+,/ 0reenwald writes,
"mero"s evidence of this incl"des the 0"ardian-s September
8749 disclos"re of 'merican .ro"tine/sharin+ of raw intelli+ence with Israel
witho"t botherin+ to remove data on US citi2ens, B"t the new Snowden
leak, p"blished this Monda! b! the Intercept, details also how the .S'
maintains a farDreachin+ technical and anal!tical relationship with/ Israeli
intelli+ence, involvin+ all t!pes of data from comm"nications intercepts to
tar+ets, lan+"a+e and anal!sis,
Israeli defense intelli+ence and Mossad are e1posed as ke! partners in this
relationship, "nder which access to .+eo+raphic tar+ets GthatH incl"de the
co"ntries of orth 'frica, the Middle #ast, the Persian 0"lf, So"th 'sia, and
the Islamic rep"blics of the former Soviet Union/ is freel! provided b! the
US,
("rther to that, Israel-s intelli+ence has access to advanced 'merican
militar! technolo+! and eA"ipment for "se a+ainst what Israel candidl!
calls .Palestinian terrorism,/
'nd this cooperation dates back to the late 4567s, while e1panded +reatl!
in 8779,
It is therefore "nclear to 0reenwald how the S' then lists Israel amon+ the
n"mber of threats to Middle #astern re+ional sec"rit!, *he p"blic
statements made b! 'merican and British o@cials are in stark contrast to
what the latest Snowden leak reveals,
Posted by Thavam